Rhubarb, rhubarb….
Rhubarb is a great addition to any garden, as it is easy to grow, and incredibly good for your health, as well as being very delicious. According to www.tuigarden.co.nz, rhubarb is frost tolerant, it can cope with cold, and it can handle wind. It keeps on growing and growing, once it is established, so it is a perfect staple for the kitchen garden. Apparently, it is technically considered a vegetable! It is very versatile, and has many health benefits, but you just make sure to only use the stems for cooking and eating. The leaves are extremely poisonous to eat, as they contain extremely high levels of oxalic acid, and they are toxic to the kidneys.
You can plant rhubarb in full sun, with good fertile soil, and a helping of compost or manure.
When the rhubarb stalks are roughly as thick as your finger, they are ready to pick. You should be able to break them off the plant quite easily. Make sure they are not too woody, as they will not be pleasant to eat.
Whilst the leaves are poisonous to eat, they make an incredibly good addition to your garden, as nourishment. They contain a good dose of nitrogen, and they are safe to use in the compost heap or dig straight into your garden bed. The website www.abc.net.au has lots of inventive safe ideas for using your rhubarb leaves, including laying them over problem weed areas to suppress and smother the weeds.
The website www.nature-and-garden.com gives a great recipe for a fermented rhubarb tea, which can be used as an excellent pest repellent for aphids and other persistent critters.
This is their recipe:
“There are 2 methods, both of which are very effective. Note that you should leave the barrel or container open at the top so that air can circulate during fermentation.
Macerate 35 to 50 oz (1 to 1.5 kg) rhubarb leaves in 10 quarts (10 liters) water for around 72 hours.
Filter out solids and retain only the resulting tea.
Spray with a spraying bottle or sprayer.The second option is to directly throw the leaves in boiling water, which will jump-start the maceration process. Firstly, boiling breaks down cell structure. After that, yeast drops in from the air around and gets right to work.
Let sit for 24 hours and spray on your plants.”
Rhubarb has many health benefits. It contains plenty of fibre, so it’s good for your heart and cholesterol levels. It contains large amounts of vitamin K, which is important for good brain health and functioning. It has lots of antioxidants, and contains anti fungal and anti bacterial properties. Those are some pretty fantastic reasons to add it to your garden!
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And as always, Happy gardening 🌻