Rhubarb


Rhubarb
One of the surest signs that spring is coming along is the annual growth and then harvesting of rhubarb. My cousin Abbie used to make a wonderful rhubarb pie, and the official dessert of Nova Scotia in May could well be rhubarb crumble, or in June a strawberry rhubarb combination that finds its way into pie, jam or even a crisp.
Our rhubarb here came from some that was growing here when we got here, and since I’ve divided it and supplemented the plants with new ones growing in their own double raised beds. The small leaves shown will soon give us the long stalks of rhubarb that we will then process into our own take on “best” use – we are quite partial to rhubarb done up all on its own so it can be put into yogurt or mixed with applesauce.
Rhubarb is great as a garden plant, as it doesn’t have many things that will try to munch on it – the rabbits and deer here don’t touch it, and the other small animals like mice and the odd squirrel also give the rhubarb patch a wide berth. The odd slug is about the only villain in the rhubarb, and they simply get washed off. It really is a great plant to have and since it is early to harvest, it’s well worth the effort to get going on one’s own produce.
We’ll be harvesting rhubarb very soon, and I’m sure some will even make its way into a pie – but I’m not as good at crusts as Abbie, so …as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.