Rhubarb | A docile monster in the garden

The plant is huge, its huge leaves supported by very long petioles. To the point where one wonders if rhubarb really belongs in the vegetable garden. Especially since it can live a hundred years. For a lasting, happy and delicious marriage, why not find her a quiet corner on the edge of the vegetable garden, where she may satisfy you until the end of your days. A monster to tame.

Pierre Gingras
special collaboration

A decorative plant

Cultivated for a few millennia in Asia as a medicinal plant, rhubarbs come to us from as far away as Siberia, Mongolia or Tibet. There are about twenty species, several of which are cultivated primarily for decorative purposes. The food varieties are not left out. Their large heart-shaped embossed leaves and their petioles colored in red or in variations of pink and green are also very pretty. They appear very well in a border where you can also help yourself without affecting the beauty of the plant. Due to its large size and its leaves which sometimes exceed 60 cm in diameter, it would be beneficial to install it outside the vegetable garden, which will leave more space for lettuce or beans. Well-deserved stability for decades to come.

Random sowing

It is always preferable to put a rhubarb plant in the ground using large rhizomes sold in pots, because a seedling will not necessarily give the expected variety, sexual reproduction obliges. Place each plant 1 m apart and fertilize with well-rotted manure mixed with compost in fall or spring. Rhubarb likes rich, well-drained soil because it cannot stand in standing water or it will die. It thrives in full sun, but also appreciates a slightly shaded position. It is advisable to wait at least one or two years before proceeding to a first harvest, then it depends on the sources consulted. In some cases, it is suggested to harvest one-third or even two-thirds of the stems, but leave at least six to allow for good regeneration. In commercial crops where fertilization is maximum, up to 90% of the stems are cut.

We don’t cut, we tear!

Rhubarb stalks can be harvested all summer, but the stalks are usually at their peak in the spring. Remember that the leaves contain oxalic acid and are considered poisonous, but can still be composted. Instead of cutting them, it is better to tear the stems from the rhizome with a slight twist in order to prevent wounds from carrying diseases. Some also suggest cutting the large flower stalks, they easily reach 2 m, to avoid a loss of energy. However, their decorative aspect is well worth keeping a few. The color of the stalks varies by cultivar, but is not an index of their sugar percentage or their bitterness. Hybrids with green stems are said to be more productive. In the kitchen, you must avoid peeling the stems if you want to keep the original color. Rhubarb cultivars are not very numerous, but the best known is “Victoria”. It dates from 1837 and produces large green to bright red stems, depending on the lineage. “Canada Red” and “Cherry Red” are renowned for their high sugar content and their long stem in shades of more or less dark red. Smaller in size, ‘German Wine’ produces pinkish stems on a green background. They are mainly used to make wine.

Serbi’s century-old rhubarbs

If you’ve ever bought rhubarb in a supermarket, there’s a good chance they came from Fermes Serbi, in Saint-Eustache, the largest producer in Canada. Here, the most popular variety “Victoria” is grown exclusively in the world. “We have been growing rhubarb for three generations,” explains Sébastien Bigras, one of the owners. Our plants were first cultivated by my grandfather. They are therefore more than 100 years old. We divide them every 10 years. The demand is stable, but there is a craze for the juice, he adds. At Serbi, the harvest takes place from the end of May to the end of September, but yields have been affected in recent years by periods of drought or too much rain. Capricious, this rhubarb!