Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I always tell this story because it reminds me of my childhood which is wayyyyy different from what kids experience today. When I was probably around 10 years old, a neighbor friends grandmother and father were eating these plants. I didn't know what they were but they asked me if I wanted to try it and of course I did. It was rhubarb. They had a rhubarb patch by their garage and they told me it was ok to eat the stalks but not the leaves. Rhubarb is kinda like celery in texture but a sour/tart taste when raw or cooked. I like sour stuff, lemonheads were my thing when I was a kid lol. So I was pretty much addicted to rhubarb from day 1. I remember over the years into my teens I would always ask if I could have some and of course it was always available anytime I asked when it was in season. As I got older, I even mowed their yard which gave me the perfect opportunity to monitor the rhubarbs growth so I always knew when it was available. It's kind of funny how experiences like this at a young age can shape your future but you don't even know it. Today, many many many years later, every time I have rhubarb, I am always reminded of the first time I tried it (and that is one childhood memory the chemo and radiation didn't wipe out so that's win-win). Of course, I am able to grow it myself now .... I do just that. I will sample it throughout the growing season, make jams and jellies, cobblers, cakes, pies ..... and since I am a beekeeper, rhubarb has a hidden secret useful for beekeeping (I have to admit I have experimented with it some). That hidden secret is that rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid which is what beekeepers use to treat mites on bee hives and colonies. Anywho, every year I am always excited to see the rhubarb growing since it is almost always the first thing showing signs of growth after winter is coming to an end (maybe its a tie with the elderberries which imho is usually really a few days earlier than rhubarb on my homestead) ... it's one of my favorites, reminds me of my childhood, and also marks the start of a new beekeeping year.
Tips on growing rhubarb:
They are pretty much a plant the crowns 4-6" deep and 3-6 feet apart in direct sunlight and forget them type of perennial plant, meaning they come back every year with very little maintenance. Once planted, the first year you don't want them to go to flower so pick off any buds that start to form (they will be longer than the stalks and not contain leaves) and keep any harvest to a minimum (if you bought 2 year old crowns or someone gifted you rhubarb, you can take a little the first year to sample but you really want them to focus on growing a good root system - the second year you can take up to 1/4 of the growing stalks and each year after you can harvest 1/2 of the growing stalks). Rhubarb can grow for 20 plus years ... which when you consider how bountiful they are, that is a rather cheap investment cost even if you bought them commercially that just keeps on giving year after year after year (its even better if you can get them free from someone doing splits aka dividing the roots). They don't require a lot of maintenance because they shade the ground under where they are growing so weeding isn't too much of an issue. They usually don't require additional nutrients outside of whatever your soil provides. The ONE maintenance item they need done on established plants is every 5-7 years you need to divide the roots (some people dig them up and split them with a knife but I literally take a shovel and go to the center of the plant and insert the shovel into the soil deep enough to split the plant in half. Then remove 1/2 of the plant and gift it to another person or plant it at least 4-6 feet away -- to be honest, I usually only do about 3-4 feet away as in the video - splitting the plants root keeps them from getting crowded and keeps them vigorous). You harvest rhubarb as soon as the stalks start forming but before they start turning "woody". I usually prefer them about the size of celery stalks at the area right before the leaf growth starts (on celery stalks) so maybe 1/2 - 1" wide. If they get any larger, they will start to get woody .... you will tell when that is when you go to bite into it.
Using rhubarb:
There are gobs of rhubarb recipes online and I have several on my youtube channel. I almost always make strawberry & rhubarb jam, spiced rhubarb jam, rhubarb cobbler, rhubarb pie, rhubarb cake, rhubarb ice cream. Since rhubarb is often described as sour or tart, it pairs well with sweet ... just like chinese sweet and sour sauce lol. Don't eat the leaves!
Simple Diy Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Recipe! youtube.com/watch?v=fk2ZTqlh_kw
amazing sourdough rhubarb strawberry lemon cake youtube.com/watch?v=sWGB1QZLCos
home made ice cream the month June strawberry rhubarb youtube.com/watch?v=1yx9cc25DBQ
I always tell this story because it reminds me of my childhood which is wayyyyy different from what kids experience today. When I was probably around 10 years old, a neighbor friends grandmother and father were eating these plants. I didn't know what they were but they asked me if I wanted to try it and of course I did. It was rhubarb. They had a rhubarb patch by their garage and they told me it was ok to eat the stalks but not the leaves. Rhubarb is kinda like celery in texture but a sour/tart taste when raw or cooked. I like sour stuff, lemonheads were my thing when I was a kid lol. So I was pretty much addicted to rhubarb from day 1. I remember over the years into my teens I would always ask if I could have some and of course it was always available anytime I asked when it was in season. As I got older, I even mowed their yard which gave me the perfect opportunity to monitor the rhubarbs growth so I always knew when it was available. It's kind of funny how experiences like this at a young age can shape your future but you don't even know it. Today, many many many years later, every time I have rhubarb, I am always reminded of the first time I tried it (and that is one childhood memory the chemo and radiation didn't wipe out so that's win-win). Of course, I am able to grow it myself now .... I do just that. I will sample it throughout the growing season, make jams and jellies, cobblers, cakes, pies ..... and since I am a beekeeper, rhubarb has a hidden secret useful for beekeeping (I have to admit I have experimented with it some). That hidden secret is that rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid which is what beekeepers use to treat mites on bee hives and colonies. Anywho, every year I am always excited to see the rhubarb growing since it is almost always the first thing showing signs of growth after winter is coming to an end (maybe its a tie with the elderberries which imho is usually really a few days earlier than rhubarb on my homestead) ... it's one of my favorites, reminds me of my childhood, and also marks the start of a new beekeeping year.
Tips on growing rhubarb:
They are pretty much a plant the crowns 4-6" deep and 3-6 feet apart in direct sunlight and forget them type of perennial plant, meaning they come back every year with very little maintenance. Once planted, the first year you don't want them to go to flower so pick off any buds that start to form (they will be longer than the stalks and not contain leaves) and keep any harvest to a minimum (if you bought 2 year old crowns or someone gifted you rhubarb, you can take a little the first year to sample but you really want them to focus on growing a good root system - the second year you can take up to 1/4 of the growing stalks and each year after you can harvest 1/2 of the growing stalks). Rhubarb can grow for 20 plus years ... which when you consider how bountiful they are, that is a rather cheap investment cost even if you bought them commercially that just keeps on giving year after year after year (its even better if you can get them free from someone doing splits aka dividing the roots). They don't require a lot of maintenance because they shade the ground under where they are growing so weeding isn't too much of an issue. They usually don't require additional nutrients outside of whatever your soil provides. The ONE maintenance item they need done on established plants is every 5-7 years you need to divide the roots (some people dig them up and split them with a knife but I literally take a shovel and go to the center of the plant and insert the shovel into the soil deep enough to split the plant in half. Then remove 1/2 of the plant and gift it to another person or plant it at least 4-6 feet away -- to be honest, I usually only do about 3-4 feet away as in the video - splitting the plants root keeps them from getting crowded and keeps them vigorous). You harvest rhubarb as soon as the stalks start forming but before they start turning "woody". I usually prefer them about the size of celery stalks at the area right before the leaf growth starts (on celery stalks) so maybe 1/2 - 1" wide. If they get any larger, they will start to get woody .... you will tell when that is when you go to bite into it.
Using rhubarb:
There are gobs of rhubarb recipes online and I have several on my youtube channel. I almost always make strawberry & rhubarb jam, spiced rhubarb jam, rhubarb cobbler, rhubarb pie, rhubarb cake, rhubarb ice cream. Since rhubarb is often described as sour or tart, it pairs well with sweet ... just like chinese sweet and sour sauce lol. Don't eat the leaves!
Simple Diy Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Recipe! youtube.com/watch?v=fk2ZTqlh_kw
amazing sourdough rhubarb strawberry lemon cake youtube.com/watch?v=sWGB1QZLCos
home made ice cream the month June strawberry rhubarb youtube.com/watch?v=1yx9cc25DBQ
