Here ’s how and when to harvest rhubarb plant so plant keep growing and delay healthy .
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new rhubarb plant is a springtime treat that’sdelicious in jam , jellies , andstrawberry rhubarb pie . you could absolutelygrow this vegetableyourself , but if you need to get the heavy and tastiest rhubarb stalks , you need to control the fine art of harvesting rhubarb . From timing your harvesting topreserving new picked pieplant , these tips will help you harvest a big crop of stalks without compromise the health of your plants .
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The stalk of rhubarb plant are dependable to eat , even raw , but the leaves are toxic to humansand animate being .
1. Be Patient
Rhubarb plants are perennialsthat grow relatively lento , and harvesting them before they ’re fully mature can soften the industrial plant and make stunted growth . Rhubarb grown from baby’s room starts can be harvested in its 2nd yr , one class after you plant it in your garden . However , if you’regrowing pieplant from seed , waitress until plants are at least three old age sure-enough to start harvesting .
2. Know When to Harvest
One of the great thing about rhubarb is that the stalks can be picked in spring — long before most other garden vegetable start producing . In the northern hemisphere , rhubarb time of year normally begins in April or May and dilute through the terminal of June . Rhubarb continues to develop through summertime and into fall , but it ’s just to halt harvesting plants by early July as the stalks can get woody in summertime , and the plant ask time to recover before winter hit .
3. Don’t Worry About Stalk Color
When most people suppose about eatable rhubarb plant , they intend about prospicient , frosty rhubarb straw that are bright reddened or pink . However , the stalk color does n’t indicate whether rhubarb plant is ripe . Different varieties of pieplant have different colored stalks , and it ’s fine to harvest rhubarb with pallid stems .
4. Look for These Signs of Ripeness
The full style to differentiate if rhubarb is ripe is to appraise the rhubarb plant stem . Ripe rhubarb stalk should be at least 10 inches long ( not admit the leaves ) , but it ’s OK to harvest stalk that are longer . Rhubarb develops flavor as it grows , and longer stalks often have the estimable sense of taste . good for you rhubarb stems should also be crisp , steadfast , and plump . drippy or damage stems can be clipped away andcomposted , but spindly or lean root word should be leave on the plant . undersize stanch usually need more metre to grow , but they can also indicate that the industrial plant is debile and needs some prison term to recover before further harvesting .
5. Use the ‘Twist and Pull’ Method
One of the most common mistakes growers make when harvest rhubarb is using a tongue on the stalks . skip rhubarb stalks can make industrial plant more vulnerable to gadfly and disease like summit putrefaction . Also , cut stalking do n’t regrow , and they can redirect the industrial plant ’s muscularity away from producing raw stems .
or else of cutting the stalking , harvest your rhubarb by grasping a root near the grease line and wriggle it free with a gentle , pluck move . The radical should hail away easy from the plant at the theme line with a quiet pa . If the stalk is unmanageable to absent , move your hand closer to the soil line of descent and tear again . Using this “ braid and pull ” method is healthier for rhubarb plants and advance them to grow more theme for next harvest home .
6. Limit Your Harvest
Like most vegetables and herbaceous plant , pieplant plant can become weak and halt growing if they ’re over - harvest . To avoid this problem , always get out at least one - third to one-half of the industrial plant ’s stems integral and wait for the flora to produce more stalks before harvesting again . Also , remember that young plant should not be harvest as aggressively as older , established rhubarb plant .
7. Remove the Leaves
Immediately after harvest home , habituate a sharp knife to cut back the rhubarb leaves off the stalks . Rhubarb leaves are toxic , and they can cause harvested rhubarb stalks to wither untimely . While those rhubarb leaves should never be eaten , it’ssafe to compost them .
8. Store Your Harvest the Right Way
unfermented rhubarb straw can be stored in a perforated bagin the crisper draftsman of your fridgefor three to four week , but do n’t wash out them until in good order before you use them . For prospicient - term storehouse , pieplant can be freeze orcanned and stored in the larder . If you plan on using rhubarb to makestrawberry rhubarb Proto-Indo European , freezing the rhubarb stalks will secure you have hatful of rhubarb on mitt when strawberry season set about in June .
Frequently Asked Questions
Undersized stalk may intend that your rhubarb works is too immature to harvest or that the stalks need more time to grow . However , thin stem may also show that the rhubarbplants need fertilizeror are farm too close to other plants .
Rhubarb should not be pick after former July because the plants need time to recover and store energy before winter . Also , the chaff can become woody and unpleasant to eat as the season work up .
Some grower prefer to reap rhubarb plant in the dawn or eve , but rhubarb can be harvested at any time of the mean solar day . Just be certain to bring the stalks indoors soon after harvesting so they do n’t start to wilt .
Rhubarb . National Capital Poison Center
Rhubarb . ASPCA
