What to do with rhubarb in the fall. With Rhubarb both in winter and in summer. Care. Reproduction. Beneficial features. How to sow hydrangea

Rhubarb petioles are used to prepare fresh salads, added to soups, sauces and baked goods, and compotes and jams are made from them.

Many people are interested in whether it is possible to freeze rhubarb, because its season passes quickly, the stems become too rough and not so juicy. Rhubarb stalks keep well frozen and do not cause much trouble when preparing for freezing and during thawing.

Before sending rhubarb stems to the freezer, we pre-treat them:

• We choose young rhubarb petioles, elastic and juicy: wilted and too coarse stalks are not suitable.

• Young petioles do not need to be peeled; we remove the skin from more mature ones: it is easy to remove by prying it with a knife.
• We thoroughly wash the raw materials with running water and dry them, leaving no drops of moisture on them.
• We store rhubarb pieces or whole stems in plastic bags or plastic containers.

Vegetables intended for making sauces, jams, creams or puree soups can be frozen by grinding in a meat grinder or grinding in a blender.

The shelf life of frozen rhubarb is 10-12 months.

Frozen rhubarb is prepared in natural, blanched, pureed form and with sugar.

Freezing fresh rhubarb in pieces or stems

Having found out whether it is possible to freeze rhubarb, and having prepared the stems according to the scheme described above, we proceed to freezing them:

• We cut the petioles into pieces of the same size: large ones for compotes and jams, small ones for soups and fillings.
• We cover baking sheets or trays with cellophane or paper and arrange the vegetable pieces in one layer.
• We place them in the freezer.
• Pour the finished product into containers or bags (Ziploc bags are especially convenient) and put them in the freezer.

Rhubarb stems can also be frozen whole.

Freezing blanched rhubarb for the winter

• We process the rhubarb raw material and cut it into pieces of the desired size.
• Place a large pot of water on the fire and wait for it to boil.
• Place part of the slices in a colander and immerse in boiling water for a minute.
• Cool it quickly under running cold water.
• After letting the water drain, pour the blanched pieces onto towels to dry.
• We cover trays or baking sheets with paper and lay out the prepared raw materials in one layer.
• We put the preparations in the freezer.

After freezing, pour the rhubarb pieces into plastic bags or containers and store in the freezer.

Rhubarb frozen with sugar

Having cleared the stems of foliage and skin, we wash, dry them and proceed to freezing:

• Cut the petioles into pieces and mix with granulated sugar at the rate of 0.5 tbsp. sugar for 2 tbsp. raw materials.
• Place the mixture into containers, cups or bags and freeze.
• After freezing, remove it from the freezer and mix, separating the frozen pieces.

We seal the container and put it in the freezer for further storage.

How to freeze rhubarb puree

Having prepared the rhubarb stalks, we proceed to further processing and freezing:

• Cut the petioles into medium-sized pieces.
• Grind the slices with a blender or scroll in a meat grinder.
• If desired, add sugar to your taste and mix thoroughly.
• Place the rhubarb puree into small plastic containers like sour cream cups.

We seal the containers and place them in the freezer compartment for freezing and subsequent storage.

Having found out whether rhubarb can be frozen, we can use this valuable vegetable product all winter to prepare cream soups, salads, side dishes, delicious pastries, jams, compotes and other dishes. The main thing is to defrost it correctly so as not to deprive it of most of the valuable microelements. You need to defrost rhubarb in the refrigerator - in the vegetable compartment, taking as much product as you need for cooking, since there is no point in re-freezing it.

Rhubarb is a useful plant brought to our region from Southeast Asia. This is a vitamin-rich vegetable crop that is widely used in cooking and is an excellent addition to the daily diet. Juicy young leaves and petioles of rhubarb with a sour-refreshing taste are a valuable source of vitamins, pectins and minerals. This is one of the first vegetables that appears on our tables in early spring. By eating rhubarb, you can solve the problem of seasonal vitamin deficiency, as well as improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Rhubarb is an unpretentious garden crop that can easily be grown in a summer cottage.

Rhubarb belongs to the genus of herbaceous plants of the Buckwheat family. It is a perennial with a powerful root system and a thick, woody stem of a reddish hue. The stem is straight, hollow, with a diameter of 2 to 5 cm, its height reaches 1 meter, some plant species grow up to 2.5 meters in height. A large paniculate inflorescence up to 50 cm long is formed at the top of the stem. Rhubarb blooms in the second or third year after planting with white, greenish, and less often pink and red flowers. The basal leaves of rhubarb are large and whole, while the stem leaves are small. The leaves grow on dense petioles, reaching a length of 70 cm and a width of 3-4 cm. The color of the leaves is green or reddish. The juicy petioles have high nutritional value and have a sour taste reminiscent of apple and lemon. They are used to prepare compotes, jelly, pie fillings, jams, and candied fruits. The fruit of rhubarb is triangular nuts, ripening time is July. Rhubarb has a short growing season and produces high yields all year round. In one place, the plant gives a good harvest for 10 to 12 years. Rhubarb is a frost-resistant plant that is not afraid of spring frosts and can withstand temperatures down to minus 10 degrees. But young buds can develop normally only at 2-6 degrees below zero. The optimal temperature for rhubarb growth is 16-20 degrees Celsius. A hot climate is unfavorable for the plant, as its delicate petioles become coarse and fibrous, losing their juiciness. Rhubarb: varieties More than 50 species of the plant are known, most varieties grow primarily in the homeland of rhubarb - Asia. The most famous plant species: Altai rhubarb. Rhubarb grows in the highlands and rocky areas of Siberia, Mongolia, and China. Perennial, reaching a height of up to 1.2 meters. The stem is strong, powerful, hollow inside, 1-3 cm in diameter. Altai rhubarb has a powerful root system. The root of the plant is used in folk medicine to treat psoriasis, the stems are used to treat gastrointestinal diseases, anemia, and tuberculosis. Tangut palmate rhubarb. The species is native to the mountains of southern and western China. People call it rhubarb officinalis. The stems of the plant reach a height of up to 2 meters, have a reddish tint, and are ribbed. The leaves are collected at the base into a basal rosette, the petioles are long and fleshy. Used in folk medicine as a laxative and choleretic agent. In our region, such popular rhubarb varieties are grown as: Victoria. An early, high-yielding variety with amazing taste. The length of the petioles is up to 60 cm. The variety is distinguished by abundant flowering, which, according to gardeners, is its only drawback. Ogre-13. A productive, mid-season variety with large petioles and excellent taste. Moskovsky-42. An early variety with high yield. Large-petiolate. An early variety resistant to diseases and pests. Resistant to low temperatures, but demanding on soil. The petioles are juicy and sweet. Red early. An early variety with strong, bright red petioles. Has excellent taste. How to grow rhubarb in your summer cottage Rhubarb is an undemanding, frost-resistant perennial crop that can grow and produce a generous harvest in one place for 10 years. Therefore, the most important condition for successfully growing a garden crop is the choice of planting location. Choosing soil for planting rhubarb Rhubarb is a shade-tolerant crop; it can grow in partial shade, but develops better in sunny areas. Young shoots especially need good lighting during the period of active growth. The main requirement for the planting site is fertile soil with natural air exchange. The ideal soil for growing the plant is loamy soil, saturated with organic fertilizers, without the presence of groundwater. In poor soil, rhubarb leaves will be small. The soil in the garden bed should be loose and moist. Preparing the bed for planting Preparing the site for planting begins in the fall. The planting site should be dug well using a spade, and organic fertilizers should be added to the soil: 2-3 buckets of manure, humus, peat per square meter of land. If the soil is acidic, you need to add slaked lime or dolomite flour. Repeated soil treatment is carried out in early spring. The soil in the garden bed needs to be loosened with a pitchfork or rake and mineral fertilizer applied per square meter: Urea – 30 g. Superphosphate – 60 g. Potassium chloride – 30 g. Rhubarb: propagation Rhubarb can be grown from seeds or by dividing the rhizome. Growing rhubarb from seeds When using the seed propagation method, it is worth remembering that harvesting (twisting the petioles) is carried out only in the second year of the plant’s life. In the first year after planting, rhubarb actively increases its vegetative mass, and premature twisting of the petioles will weaken the young bush. Propagation by seeds occurs in several stages: Preparation of seed material. Rhubarb seeds are soaked in damp gauze until they swell. It is necessary to periodically moisten the gauze with warm, settled water and prevent the seeds from drying out. It will take several days (3-4 days) for the seeds to swell. As soon as sprouts 1-2 mm long appear, they are dried - the seeds are ready for planting in a container in a greenhouse or greenhouse. For sowing seeds, prepare boxes with fertile, loose soil. It is necessary to make grooves in the ground where rhubarb seeds are planted. Planting depth – 2-3 cm. Seed consumption during planting – 3-4 grams per meter of planting area. After deepening the seed into the ground, the ground is watered with warm, settled water. The first abundant shoots appear 4-5 days after sowing. As soon as a pair of strong leaves appear on the seedlings, the seedlings can be thinned out, leaving a distance of 20-25 cm between seedlings so that the plant actively develops. As they grow, the seedlings are watered, the soil is loosened, weeds are removed, and organic and complex mineral fertilizers are applied. By autumn, the height of young bushes reaches 25-30 cm, on which 4 developed leaves are formed. Overwintered specimens in early spring are ready to be transplanted to a permanent place, in open ground. The bushes are transplanted into shallow holes according to a 1 × 1 m pattern. When deepening a young plant, the apical bud should not be covered with soil by more than 1–2 cm. After transplanting, the plant must be watered. Propagation of rhubarb by dividing the bush The easiest way to plant rhubarb is to use the vegetative propagation method, dividing the bush. This method of reproduction is carried out in the autumn. For propagation, large adult plants with massive reddish petioles are chosen. The bush must be dug up and, using a sharp knife, the rhizome must be divided into several parts. Each new plant should have 1-2 growth buds. The delenki should be well dried in the sun, preventing them from rotting. Prepared new plants are planted in holes measuring 60 × 60 × 60 cm. A layer of organic matter (compost or humus) must be placed at the bottom of the holes. Planted seedlings are compacted tightly and watered abundantly. Regular watering of the young plant is necessary throughout the week. Rhubarb: care features Rhubarb is an unpretentious garden crop, rarely susceptible to disease and attack by harmful insects. Another feature of the plant is that practically no weeds form around the bush. In order for the plant to delight with a high yield of juicy, tasty and healthy petioles, it is necessary to regularly loosen the soil under the bush, ensure timely watering and fertilizing. Loosening and mulching rhubarb Rhubarb grows well in loose soil. Young plants especially need loosening of the root zone; their roots need to be provided with an influx of oxygen for further rooting. After planting, you need to mulch the soil well, and during active growth, promptly remove rare weeds. Watering rhubarb Rhubarb is a moisture-loving crop and needs abundant, timely watering. Insufficient soil moisture can lead to coarsening of the tender and juicy stems of the plant, making them unsuitable for consumption. Water the bushes 1-2 times a week (a bucket of water per 1 sq.m of soil). During the period of active growth, the water norm doubles. But, you should not allow an excess of moisture in the soil. In dry summers, rhubarb leaves are sprayed in the evening or morning hours, as they quickly lose moisture. In winter, rhubarb is not watered. Feeding rhubarb Rhubarb needs feeding only during the growing season; it prefers organic fertilizers, such as cow manure diluted with water. It is recommended to periodically replace manure with humus. 1-2 buckets of organic fertilizer are added to the rows between the bushes. In early spring it is advisable to apply mineral fertilizers. Rhubarb pruning To ensure high yields, it is necessary to promptly remove the plant’s uterine stems, which weaken its growth. As soon as rhubarb blooms, its flower shoots should be removed. The time for feeding is early spring and late autumn. How to collect rhubarb seeds If you want to collect the seeds yourself, you need to select a separate rhubarb bush and wait for it to bloom. Inflorescences with browned seeds must be cut off and tied in small sheaves for further ripening. After the seeds have ripened, they are dried and stored in fabric bags. One plant can produce up to 100 grams of seeds. Rhubarb: protection against diseases and pests Rhubarb is a crop that is resistant to many diseases and pests. In very rare cases, it is possible for the plant to be attacked by pests such as: Rhubarb weevil. The insect is brown or gray in color, 0.5 cm long. It feeds on the leaves of the plant. To combat it, bushes are treated before flowering with a 40% phosphamide solution. After flowering, re-treatment with a chemical composition is carried out. Cabbage and potato scoop. They look like caterpillars that feed on the rhizomes and petioles of the plant. You can notice the cabbage cutworm by the curled leaves; the plant slows down its growth and looks weak. If a pest is detected, damaged leaves are cut off. Particular attention should be paid to neighboring plants in the garden bed. Female cutworms can lay eggs in burdock and thistle leaves. Sorrel leaf beetle. A small pest that feeds on the hired part of the plant, eating holes in the leaves. Damaged leaves are removed. Excess moisture in the soil can lead to the development of fungal diseases such as gray rot and powdery mildew. Possible infection with ramulariasis. A disease characterized by the appearance of small brown spots on the petioles of the plant. Over time, the spots become paler and the leaves dry out. For treatment, I spray the bushes with Bordeaux mixture. The plant cannot be treated; infected specimens are removed and burned. To avoid possible problems in cultivation, it is not recommended to plant rhubarb bushes too densely. When to Harvest Rhubarb The first rhubarb harvest in the spring is already at the end of March or beginning of April. The harvest is harvested only from the second year after planting the young plant. The first year of life, rhubarb gains strength. Rhubarb is ready to eat when its leaves are about 25-30 cm long and have reached 1.5 cm in diameter. Mature petioles unscrew at the base of the bush. The petioles cannot be cut off so as not to damage the growing point of the plant. When collecting petioles, you need to leave a few leaves on the bush to avoid depletion of the root. The harvest can be harvested several times per season, 3-4 times over 8-10 weeks until the beginning of August. But rhubarb is of greatest value in early spring; it is a storehouse of vitamins and nutrients that our body needs after a long winter. In spring, young rhubarb leaves are used to prepare cabbage soup, borscht, and cabbage rolls. Vitamin desserts are prepared from the petioles of red-cut rhubarb: mousses, jellies, jams, candied fruits, as well as refreshing drinks (jelly, compote). Green rhubarb petioles are an excellent base for soups, vegetable purees and stews. In the first 2-3 years, up to 2.5 juicy and nutritious petioles can be collected from one bush. The productivity of an adult bush is up to 6 kg per season. Rhubarb stems can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week. They need to be wrapped tightly in cling film. If you want to prepare vitamin petioles for the winter, the stems need to be washed well, dried, then placed in a vacuum film and stored in the freezer. After freezing, rhubarb does not lose its beneficial properties and taste. Rhubarb is an unpretentious useful plant that is easy to grow in your summer cottage. The unforgettable taste and beneficial properties of the plant leave no one indifferent. Rhubarb has a high yield and can be harvested several times a season. By selecting and growing rhubarb varieties in the garden that differ in the ripening time of the petioles, you can harvest the crop all year round. Rhubarb, photo

Let's remember our childhood: grandma's rhubarb jelly, hot sun, homemade pies. Time flies, we grow up, but we don’t forget the tastes of childhood. That’s why rhubarb is appearing more and more often in our gardens. Lush rhubarb bushes appear in spring, at the end of April. Questions arise: what, when and how to collect?

What is collected from rhubarb?

Let's start with the fact that rhubarb is a perennial plant from the buckwheat family, used in cooking and has medicinal properties. The most famous types are Tangut rhubarb, Maksimovich rhubarb and wavy rhubarb. Curly rhubarb is most often used in preparing various dishes, and Tangut rhubarb is used for medicinal purposes.

In Europe, rhubarb is called pie plant.

Rhubarb collects substances useful to humans in the petioles of leaves and in the roots. Tangut rhubarb root has strong medicinal properties; in China, a number of medicines are made from it, grown on an industrial scale. At home, it is difficult to do everything correctly to obtain the necessary drugs, so you should not prepare medicine from rhubarb yourself.

Some varieties of Tangut rhubarb are often used as ornamental perennial plants. For example, Tangut rhubarb Atrosanguinea attracts designers with dark pink inflorescences against a background of purple foliage.

In addition to the rhubarb root, the leaves have medicinal properties. More precisely, leaf petioles contain many vitamins, organic acids (such as malic, citric, succinic) and microelements. The petioles of table varieties of rhubarb are highly valued not only for their healing properties, but also for their rich sweet and sour taste.

Our dear grandmothers carefully collected the petioles and prepared healthy and tasty dishes from them. For example, jam or jelly. Based on Maksimovich rhubarb and wavy rhubarb, people have already developed about a hundred varieties of all ripening periods from which petioles can be collected.

When people talk about harvesting rhubarb, they mean the stalks.

In folk medicine, young petioles and stems of rhubarb, or juice freshly prepared from them, as well as compotes and jelly, are used as a juice drink, tonic, antianemic, antipyretic and antitoxic.

Yusuf Nuraliev

Medicinal plants. Healing properties of fruits and vegetables. (From the experience of folk, ancient oriental and modern medicine) - 2nd edition, revised, - Nizhny Novgorod, JV "IKPA", 1991. – P. 117.

It is important to distinguish medicinal and ornamental types of rhubarb from table types used for food. The main distinguishing feature of table rhubarb is that its leaf edge is smooth and entire. And the leaf of medicinal or decorative rhubarb will be carved, resembling a palm or blade, finger-carved or lobed.

1 - palmate rhubarb, 2 - Tangut rhubarb, 3 - palmate rhubarb, Ace of hearts variety, 4 - wavy rhubarb, Victoria variety

Basic rules for harvesting rhubarb

To harvest rhubarb cuttings correctly and safely, you need to follow the rules.

The first rule that should be followed when “hunting” for rhubarb is that the petioles collected must be young, tender and soft.

A ripe petiole should be juicy, fleshy and soft

This is important because otherwise there is a risk of harming your health. When choosing petioles, they are carefully felt and examined. The ripeness of the petioles is determined by their length (not less than 20–30 cm and not more than 80 cm) and width (from 1.5 cm).

Second rule: the petiole is not torn off. It is carefully taken from the root base and, twisting, smoothly pulled up. As a rule, the petiole pulls easily, and this action does not cause difficulties.

If difficulties still arise, then you can simply cut off the petiole at the very root. After collecting leaves with petioles, you need to trim the leaf blade, then wash and remove the skin.

Now they are ready to eat.

Third rule. You cannot collect all the leaves from a plant, because it may die. For growth and a rich harvest in the future, rhubarb needs a minimum of 5-6 leaves, of which 1-2 are young.

Rule four. Rhubarb should not be allowed to bloom. During this period, the plant accumulates many substances that not only negatively affect the taste of the petioles, but can also be harmful to the human body. The stems of the peduncles are removed to increase the period of collecting petioles, while shortening the flowering time.

: how to remove rhubarb flower stalks

Timing for collecting petioles

If the plant was grown from seeds, then you will have to wait a year or even two before harvesting (depending on the variety and growing conditions). In early varieties of rhubarb, the petioles are collected in the second year after planting, in late-ripening varieties - in the third or even fourth year. In any case, the petioles are not collected in the first year. Allow the young plant to take root in a new place.

Petioles will be collected from young rhubarb plants next year

At the end of April - beginning of May, some plants begin to bloom and spread their first leaves, but the petioles of rhubarb leaves have just been saturated with enough juice and have gained strength to be collected by lovers of tasty and healthy things. Until the end of June, the plant will sprout new leaves, the petioles of which, after ripening, can be collected for food.

The technical maturity (30 cm or more) of petioles depends on the variety. The Victoria variety can be harvested on the 36th day from the moment the first leaf appears, and the Krupnochereshkovy variety is ready on the 40–45th day.

In the last ten days of June, the time for flowering begins, but due to the removed flower stalks it does not appear. Do not forget that this time is characterized by a special state of the plant. At this time, it spends most of its vitality on flowers and roots. As a result, there will be fewer and fewer new shoots.

It is easy to determine the flowering time. For some time, young petioles will stop appearing. Old, rough and tough shoots are harmful to the human body due to the high content of oxalic acid in them. In this regard, it is undesirable to collect petioles during flowering.

Towards mid-July, the rhubarb flowering time fades and new leaves begin to appear. Starting from mid-August and throughout September, the petioles of table varieties of rhubarb are again collected and prepared.

Summarize. After a long winter, delicious jelly made from fresh and young shoots of rhubarb is the best remedy for spring vitamin deficiency and bad mood. It is prepared from the petioles of table varieties of rhubarb from the end of April to mid-June. Tasty and healthy petioles are used for food before and after flowering, ending their collection in September, when the plant has enough young and mature shoots.

• Olga Fedorova
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Source: https://yagodka.club/ovoshhi/desertnye/reven-kogda-sobirat-urozhay.html

Useful properties of rhubarb

• Rhubarb improves kidney function.

• Anthraglycosides
• Tannins

When to Harvest Rhubarb for Food

Late spring in May

In September-October

How to dry rhubarb roots

Preparing rhubarb for jam

Contraindications

Source: http://OnWomen.ru/kogda-sobirat-reven.html

When to pick rhubarb – Website for a healthy lifestyle

Nowadays, almost no one is surprised by a garden plant with large leaves reminiscent of burdock, with reddish petioles that taste quite sour. And also the fact that this vegetable is used in cooking as a fruit or berry. It is used to make compotes, jams, and make sweet filling for pies. We're talking about rhubarb.

And once upon a time, rhubarb was known as the “big yellow root”, which healers used to treat diseases of the digestive tract.

Rhubarb is a very unusual perennial plant that grows its root system year after year - a thick rhizome and fleshy roots. But the above-ground part is green for only one season, and dies off by autumn.

Useful properties of rhubarb

• Rhubarb contains vitamins A, B1, B2, C, PP.
• There is calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, pectin, and resinous substances.
• The leaf petioles contain malic, succinic and citric acid.
• Rhubarb improves kidney function.
• It stimulates intestinal function.
• Has a choleretic effect.
• Is a good laxative.
• Helps better digestion of food.
• Serves as a prevention of cancer.

Rhubarb petioles without leaves are used for food, and For medicinal purposes, the rhizome with roots is prepared.

Rhubarb roots contain substances that have the exact opposite effect on the body:

• Anthraglycosides(glucorein, chrysophanene, rheochrysin) have a laxative effect.
• Tannins– tanoglycosides – have an astringent effect on the body.

Therefore, rhubarb in small doses strengthens, and in large doses it weakens.

When to Harvest Rhubarb for Food

Late spring in May, young rhubarb leaves appear from the ground on long pink petioles. At this time, the petioles are tender and juicy. It is enough to break them at the base, peel off the skin and eat them: raw, stewed or boiled.

When inflorescences appear, the growth of rhubarb temporarily stops, the petioles become coarse and are no longer suitable for food. The second wave of growth occurs in mid-July. New leaves with petioles that appear can again be broken off and eaten.

Old petioles are not used for food, as they are hard, tasteless and harmful to health. The fact is that with the growth of green mass, a large amount of oxalic acid appears in the leaves and petioles, which reduces calcium in the blood and promotes the formation of kidney stones.

Harvesting is then stopped until the following year. At this time, the accumulation of useful and nutrients occurs in the roots.

When to Harvest Rhubarb Roots

You can harvest the roots in early spring before the leaves appear or in the fall. In September-October When the above-ground part of the plant begins to die, roots are harvested.

The dug roots are cleared of soil, the petioles with leaves and small roots are cut off, and then washed in cold water.

Then the roots are laid out on the grass or flooring for pre-drying.

How to dry rhubarb roots

Dried rhubarb roots are dried in a well-ventilated area or in the open air.

You can also dry the roots in dryers at a temperature of 50-60°.

Well-dried roots are brittle and light. Store dry roots in wooden boxes or cardboard boxes in a dry, cool place for about three years.

Preparing rhubarb for jam

Rhubarb is harvested when the petioles are still pink, soft and juicy, and their length is 20-30 cm.

Rhubarb loves moisture very much, so shortly before harvesting the vegetable it is recommended to water it well, otherwise the petioles will be less juicy, which will negatively affect the quality and quantity of the harvest. By the way, the amount of oxalic acid with good watering is significantly reduced.

For jam, young petioles are used, on which the skin has not yet hardened, since coarsened petioles significantly impair the quality of the jam.

Then the thin skin is removed from the petioles.

After this, the prepared rhubarb is washed and cut into pieces.

Despite the fact that when rhubarb is cooked, oxalic acid is destroyed, which causes great harm to health, not everyone can eat this vegetable.

Contraindications

• Raw rhubarb should not be eaten by children due to the presence of oxalic acid. For them, this vegetable is boiled in milk.
• Rhubarb is not recommended for use by people with metabolic disorders, patients with tuberculosis and inflammation in the intestines.
• If you have kidney stones, you should also avoid eating this vegetable.

Source: http://ForeverHealth.ru/kogda-sobirat-reven/

Good afternoon or evening, dear readers of the site! Rhubarb is a vegetable, but it is prepared like a fruit. Only the stem of the rhubarb is edible; the leaves and root of the rhubarb are considered poisonous. But the stem has a delicate sour taste. Rhubarb has a very interesting history.

Its medical use was known in China as early as 2700 BC. Rhubarb was later introduced to Ancient Greece.
The first European to describe rhubarb was Marco Polo. In his “Book of Marco Polo,” the traveler said that he was sent by Kublai Khan to remote areas of Tibet.

After 4 months of travel, Marco Polo’s caravan crossed the border of the Tunguska state. It was there that the traveler first saw an unusual plant with palmate leaves. The Tibetans took large plants out of the ground, threw away the leaves and petioles, and put the huge “roots” in a basket.

Marco Polo found out that the Tibetans call this plant the stomach root.
Rhubarb was brought to Russia at the end of the 17th century.

6 centuries after Marco Polo, our compatriot Mikhail Przhevalsky turned out to be the second European who managed to see the harvest of rhubarb root in one of the Northwestern regions of China. Przhevalsky collected rhubarb seeds and brought them to St. Petersburg.

It was there that the first rhubarb plants were grown for Russian gardens and vegetable gardens. Later, the German traveler Tafel also brought rhubarb seeds to Europe.

Rhubarb is a truly unique plant: firstly, it is very healthy, and secondly, it is the basis for many delicious and not only sweet dishes. However, we use it extremely rarely. I use rhubarb to make compotes, jelly, kvass, pie filling, and juice.

Spring is a great time to enjoy this rare and highly versatile plant, which remains a big mystery to many of us.

Rhubarb, cultivation

The advantage of this crop is its early harvest. I start harvesting the petioles in May, that is, when nothing in the garden except sorrel, onions and asparagus has yet ripened. Of course, I mean open ground, not a greenhouse. In terms of chemical composition and nutritional value, rhubarb is close to apples.

Depending on the variety and care, petioles are formed weighing up to 1 kg, up to 80 cm long and up to 4 cm thick, green or red in color. Rhubarb is a cold-resistant plant. Here in the Samara region it grows well, winters and produces high yields. Rhubarb is not demanding of light, but does need high soil moisture.

With a lack of moisture and elevated temperatures, weak leaves develop, the petioles become coarser, become low-juice and fibrous. In my garden plot I grow rhubarb of two varieties, differing in terms of ripening (early and late) and in the color of the petioles (green-petioled and red-petioled).

I grow varieties with green petioles mainly for making purees and green cabbage soup, and those with red ones for compotes and pies filling.

Moskovsky 42. Early, productive, with good technological qualities. Petioles are up to 70 cm long, up to 3 cm thick, smooth, green, with red dots and a solid red stripe at the base.

Victoria. Early, productive, good taste. Petioles are 60-70 cm long, 3.5 cm thick. In the consumer maturity phase they are green, with red spots on 1/2-1/3 of the length of the petiole. One drawback is strong flowering.

Tukumsky 5. Early, productive, with excellent taste and technological qualities. The petioles are 60-70 cm long, up to 3.5 cm in diameter, weighing 150-620 g. Their pulp is tender, juicy, and slightly fibrous. The color at the base is red, gradually turning into green. Blooms weakly.

Rhubarb grows well, without reducing the yield of petioles, in the same place for 8-10 years. It should be placed on fertile soils with a deep fertile layer.
Before planting, I fill the soil well with organic fertilizers at the rate of 2-3 buckets of manure or humus per 1 m2.

In addition to organic fertilizers, I add mineral fertilizers: per 1 m2 of urea or ammonium sulfate 30 g, superphosphate 60 g and potassium chloride 30 g. For acidic soils, lime. I usually apply organic fertilizers and lime under the shovel in the fall, and mineral fertilizers in the spring.

Rhubarb can be propagated in two ways: vegetatively, by dividing rhizomes, and by seed, through seedlings. For vegetative propagation, I dig up bushes selected in early spring and divide the rhizomes into parts with a knife so that each has 1-2 growth buds and roots. One rhizome can be divided into 5-10 parts.

After separating the rhizome, I immediately plant it. When using the seedling method, I first soak the rhubarb seeds in water until they swell, and then germinate them under damp burlap or gauze folded in several layers, moistening it periodically with water.

As soon as white sprouts 1-2 mm long appear, I lightly dry the seeds until they flow and then sow them. You need to sow in moist soil (with watering in the furrows). Friendly shoots from sprouted seeds appear on the 4-5th day after sowing. I sow in late April-early May with a distance between rows of 25 cm. I plant the seeds to a depth of 2-3 cm.

In the phase of 1-2 leaves, I thin out the seedlings, leaving the plants at a distance of 20 cm in the row. Further care of the grown seedlings consists of weeding, loosening, fertilizing with mineral and organic fertilizers and watering.

By autumn, the seedlings grow 20-30 cm high and form 3-4 well-developed leaves.

From 1 m of nursery I get 15-20 seedling plants. I dig up overwintered seedlings early in the spring for planting. Planting material - roots of seedlings or segments of rhizomes with buds that have just begun to grow - I plant in holes under a shovel according to the pattern 100 by 80 cm or 100 by 100 cm. When planting late, I remove strongly developed leaves.

I plant rhubarb in a permanent place so that the soil is tightly pressed to the roots, and the apical bud is covered with soil by no more than 1-2 cm. If the soil is not moist enough, I water the plants when planting.

Care after planting consists of loosening the rows, weeding, fertilizing with fertilizers, watering if necessary, controlling pests and diseases, and removing flower stalks. Once every 3-4 years I add organic fertilizers into the rows at a dose of 1-2 buckets per 1 m2.

In the second year after planting, rhubarb forms flower stalks, which greatly deplete the plants. That's why I cut them out.

Young and adult plants can be damaged by rhubarb beetles and larvae, buckwheat flea, and rhubarb bug.

Among the diseases, rhubarb is affected by spotting (ascochyta blight) and gray rot. It is allowed to use pesticides against pests and diseases only after the last crop of petioles has been harvested.

I begin harvesting in the second year after planting. Although in the first year rhubarb forms good petioles suitable for food, they do not need to be broken off. Next year the plant will not be weakened and will give a good harvest.

You can collect petioles several times a season. A month and a half before the end of the growing season, I stop harvesting and let the plant get stronger.

It is easy to collect rhubarb; I break it off (but do not cut it with a knife) and do not break off the petioles at their very base, after which I cut off the leaf.

Rhubarb pie

Rhubarb pie is prepared quickly, it is incredibly tasty. To prepare it we will need: 5-6 large stalks of rhubarb, 3-4 tablespoons of butter, half a glass of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. For the dough: 3 eggs, 250 grams of mayonnaise, 1 a glass of kefir, 0.5 tsp. soda (quench in kefir), 1.5 cups of flour.

Finely chop the rhubarb, melt the butter in a saucepan, add rhubarb, sugar, cinnamon. Simmer over low heat for 5-6 minutes. Pour into the mold. Dough: mix all the ingredients, add flour. The dough should be like pancakes, a little thicker. Pour our dough over the rhubarb and place it in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 20 minutes.

The rhubarb pie is ready, you can serve it with ice cream or with tea.

Sincerely, Irina and greenparadise2.ru

Source: https://greenparadise2.ru/reven/

Rhubarb, planting and care

Rhubarb is a useful plant brought to our region from Southeast Asia. This is a vitamin-rich vegetable crop that is widely used in cooking and is an excellent addition to the daily diet.

Juicy young leaves and petioles of rhubarb with a sour-refreshing taste are a valuable source of vitamins, pectins and minerals. This is one of the first vegetables that appears on our tables in early spring. By eating rhubarb, you can solve the problem of seasonal vitamin deficiency, as well as improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

Rhubarb is an unpretentious garden crop that can easily be grown in a summer cottage.

Rhubarb: description

Rhubarb belongs to the genus of herbaceous plants of the Buckwheat family. It is a perennial with a powerful root system and a thick, woody stem of a reddish hue.

The stem is straight, hollow, with a diameter of 2 to 5 cm, its height reaches 1 meter, some plant species grow up to 2.5 meters in height. A large paniculate inflorescence up to 50 cm long is formed at the top of the stem.

Rhubarb blooms in the second or third year after planting with white, greenish, and less often pink and red flowers.

The basal leaves of rhubarb are large and whole, while the stem leaves are small. The leaves grow on dense petioles, reaching a length of 70 cm and a width of 3-4 cm. The color of the leaves is green or reddish.

The juicy petioles have high nutritional value and have a sour taste reminiscent of apple and lemon. They are used to prepare compotes, jelly, pie fillings, jams, and candied fruits. The fruit of rhubarb is triangular nuts, ripening time is July.

Rhubarb has a short growing season and produces high yields all year round.

In one place, the plant gives a good harvest for 10 to 12 years. Rhubarb is a frost-resistant plant that is not afraid of spring frosts and can withstand sub-zero temperatures of up to 10 degrees.

But young buds can develop normally only at 2-6 degrees below zero. The optimal temperature for rhubarb growth is 16-20 degrees Celsius.

A hot climate is unfavorable for the plant, as its delicate petioles become coarse and fibrous, losing their juiciness.

Rhubarb: varieties

More than 50 species of the plant are known, most varieties grow primarily in the homeland of rhubarb - Asia. The most famous plant species:

• Altai rhubarb. Rhubarb grows in the highlands and rocky areas of Siberia, Mongolia, and China. Perennial, reaching a height of up to 1.2 meters. The stem is strong, powerful, hollow inside, 1-3 cm in diameter. Altai rhubarb has a powerful root system. The root of the plant is used in folk medicine to treat psoriasis, the stems are used to treat gastrointestinal diseases, anemia, and tuberculosis.

• Tangut palmate rhubarb. The species is native to the mountains of southern and western China. People call it rhubarb officinalis. The stems of the plant reach a height of up to 2 meters, have a reddish tint, and are ribbed. The leaves are collected at the base into a basal rosette, the petioles are long and fleshy. Used in folk medicine as a laxative and choleretic agent.

In our region, such popular rhubarb varieties are grown as:

• Victoria. An early, high-yielding variety with amazing taste. The length of the petioles is up to 60 cm. The variety is distinguished by abundant flowering, which, according to gardeners, is its only drawback.
• Ogre-13. A productive, mid-season variety with large petioles and excellent taste.
• Moskovsky-42. An early variety with high yield.
• Large-petiolate. An early variety resistant to diseases and pests. Resistant to low temperatures, but demanding on soil. The petioles are juicy and sweet.
• Red early. An early variety with strong, bright red petioles. Has excellent taste.

How to grow rhubarb in your summer cottage

Rhubarb is an undemanding, frost-resistant perennial crop that can grow and produce a generous harvest in one place for 10 years. Therefore, the most important condition for successfully growing a garden crop is the choice of planting location.

Choosing soil for planting rhubarb

Rhubarb is a shade-tolerant crop; it can grow in partial shade, but develops better in sunny areas. Young shoots especially need good lighting during the period of active growth.

The main requirement for the planting site is fertile soil with natural air exchange. The ideal soil for growing the plant is loamy soil, saturated with organic fertilizers, without the presence of groundwater.

In poor soil, rhubarb leaves will be small. The soil in the garden bed should be loose and moist.

Preparing the bed for planting

Preparing the site for planting begins in the fall. The planting site should be dug well using a spade, and organic fertilizers should be added to the soil: 2-3 buckets of manure, humus, peat per square meter of land. If the soil is acidic, you need to add slaked lime or dolomite flour.

Repeated soil treatment is carried out in early spring. The soil in the garden bed needs to be loosened with a pitchfork or rake and mineral fertilizer applied per square meter:

• Urea – 30 g.
• Superphosphate – 60 g.
• Potassium chloride – 30 g.

Rhubarb: propagation

Rhubarb can be grown from seeds or by dividing the rhizome.

Growing rhubarb from seeds

When using the seed propagation method, it is worth remembering that harvesting (twisting the petioles) is carried out only in the second year of the plant’s life. In the first year after planting, rhubarb actively increases its vegetative mass, and premature twisting of the petioles will weaken the young bush. Propagation by seeds occurs in several stages:

• Preparation of seed material. Rhubarb seeds are soaked in damp gauze until they swell. It is necessary to periodically moisten the gauze with warm, settled water and prevent the seeds from drying out. It will take several days (3-4 days) for the seeds to swell. As soon as sprouts 1-2 mm long appear, they are dried - the seeds are ready for planting in a container in a greenhouse or greenhouse.

• For sowing seeds, prepare boxes with fertile, loose soil. It is necessary to make grooves in the ground where rhubarb seeds are planted. Planting depth – 2-3 cm. Seed consumption during planting – 3-4 grams per meter of planting area. After deepening the seed into the ground, the ground is watered with warm, settled water.
• The first abundant shoots appear 4-5 days after sowing. As soon as a pair of strong leaves appear on the seedlings, the seedlings can be thinned out, leaving a distance of 20-25 cm between seedlings so that the plant actively develops.
• As they grow, the seedlings are watered, the soil is loosened, weeds are removed, and organic and complex mineral fertilizers are applied.
• By autumn, the height of young bushes reaches 25-30 cm, on which 4 developed leaves are formed.
• Overwintered specimens in early spring are ready to be transplanted to a permanent place, in open ground.
• The bushes are transplanted into shallow holes according to a 1 × 1 m pattern. When deepening a young plant, the apical bud should not be covered with soil by more than 1–2 cm. After transplanting, the plant must be watered.

Propagation of rhubarb by dividing the bush

The easiest way to plant rhubarb is to use the vegetative propagation method, dividing the bush. This method of reproduction is carried out in the autumn.

1. For propagation, large adult plants with massive reddish petioles are chosen.
2. The bush must be dug up and, using a sharp knife, the rhizome must be divided into several parts. Each new plant should have 1-2 growth buds.
3. The delenki should be well dried in the sun, preventing them from rotting.
4. Prepared new plants are planted in holes measuring 60 × 60 × 60 cm. A layer of organic matter (compost or humus) must be placed at the bottom of the holes. Planted seedlings are compacted tightly and watered abundantly.
5. Regular watering of the young plant is necessary throughout the week.

Rhubarb is an unpretentious garden crop, rarely susceptible to disease and attack by harmful insects. Another feature of the plant is that practically no weeds form around the bush. In order for the plant to delight with a high yield of juicy, tasty and healthy petioles, it is necessary to regularly loosen the soil under the bush, ensure timely watering and fertilizing.

Loosening and mulching rhubarb

Rhubarb grows well in loose soil. Young plants especially need loosening of the root zone; their roots need to be provided with an influx of oxygen for further rooting. After planting, you need to mulch the soil well, and during active growth, promptly remove rare weeds.

Watering rhubarb

Rhubarb is a moisture-loving crop and needs abundant, timely watering. Insufficient soil moisture can lead to coarsening of the tender and juicy stems of the plant, making them unsuitable for consumption.

Water the bushes 1-2 times a week (a bucket of water per 1 sq.m of soil). During the period of active growth, the water norm doubles. But, you should not allow an excess of moisture in the soil.

In dry summers, rhubarb leaves are sprayed in the evening or morning hours, as they quickly lose moisture. In winter, rhubarb is not watered.

Feeding rhubarb

Rhubarb needs feeding only during the growing season; it prefers organic fertilizers, such as cow manure diluted with water. It is recommended to periodically replace manure with humus. 1-2 buckets of organic fertilizer are added to the rows between the bushes. In early spring it is advisable to apply mineral fertilizers.

Rhubarb pruning

To ensure high yields, it is necessary to promptly remove the plant’s uterine stems, which weaken its growth. As soon as rhubarb blooms, its flower shoots should be removed.
The time for feeding is early spring and late autumn.

How to collect rhubarb seeds

If you want to collect the seeds yourself, you need to select a separate rhubarb bush and wait for it to bloom. Inflorescences with browned seeds must be cut off and tied in small sheaves for further ripening. After the seeds have ripened, they are dried and stored in fabric bags. One plant can produce up to 100 grams of seeds.

Rhubarb: protection against diseases and pests

Rhubarb is a crop that is resistant to many diseases and pests. In very rare cases, it is possible for the plant to be attacked by pests such as:

• Rhubarb weevil. The insect is brown or gray in color, 0.5 cm long. It feeds on the leaves of the plant. To combat it, bushes are treated before flowering with a 40% phosphamide solution. After flowering, re-treatment with a chemical composition is carried out.

• Cabbage and potato scoop. They look like caterpillars that feed on the rhizomes and petioles of the plant. You can notice the cabbage cutworm by the curled leaves; the plant slows down its growth and looks weak. If a pest is detected, damaged leaves are cut off. Particular attention should be paid to neighboring plants in the garden bed. Female cutworms can lay eggs in burdock and thistle leaves.
• Sorrel leaf beetle. A small pest that feeds on the hired part of the plant, eating holes in the leaves. Damaged leaves are removed.

Excess moisture in the soil can lead to the development of fungal diseases such as gray rot and powdery mildew. Possible infection with ramulariasis. A disease characterized by the appearance of small brown spots on the petioles of the plant.

Over time, the spots become paler and the leaves dry out. For treatment, I spray the bushes with Bordeaux mixture. The plant cannot be treated; infected specimens are removed and burned.

To avoid possible problems in cultivation, it is not recommended to plant rhubarb bushes too densely.

When to Harvest Rhubarb

The first rhubarb harvest in the spring is already at the end of March or beginning of April. The harvest is harvested only from the second year after planting the young plant. The first year of life, rhubarb gains strength. Rhubarb is ready to eat when its leaves are about 25-30 cm long and have reached 1.5 cm in diameter.

Mature petioles unscrew at the base of the bush. The petioles cannot be cut off so as not to damage the growing point of the plant. When collecting petioles, you need to leave a few leaves on the bush to avoid depletion of the root.

The harvest can be harvested several times per season, 3-4 times over 8-10 weeks until the beginning of August.

But rhubarb is of greatest value in early spring; it is a storehouse of vitamins and nutrients that our body needs after a long winter. In spring, young rhubarb leaves are used to prepare cabbage soup, borscht, and cabbage rolls. Vitamin desserts are prepared from the petioles of red-cut rhubarb: mousses, jellies, jams, candied fruits, as well as refreshing drinks (jelly, compote).

Green rhubarb petioles are an excellent base for soups, vegetable purees and stews. In the first 2-3 years, up to 2.5 juicy and nutritious petioles can be collected from one bush. The productivity of an adult bush is up to 6 kg per season. Rhubarb stems can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week.

They need to be wrapped tightly in cling film. If you want to prepare vitamin petioles for the winter, the stems need to be washed well, dried, then placed in a vacuum film and stored in the freezer.

After freezing, rhubarb does not lose its beneficial properties and taste.

Rhubarb is an unpretentious useful plant that is easy to grow in your summer cottage. The unforgettable taste and beneficial properties of the plant leave no one indifferent. Rhubarb has a high yield and can be harvested several times a season. By selecting and growing rhubarb varieties in the garden that differ in the ripening time of the petioles, you can harvest the crop all year round.

Many people have edible burdock - rhubarb - growing in their gardens and vegetable gardens. It has a sweetish-sour taste. Rhubarb is widely used to prepare various drinks and also as a filling for sweet pastries. For information on how to properly freeze rhubarb, read this article.

Rhubarb stems are freed from the leaf part and the root part is cut off by 1-2 centimeters. The leaves of this plant are not eaten because of the high content of oxalic acid in the greens.

Rinse the stems under the tap to remove sand and dust. After this procedure, you can blot them with a waffle towel.

To remove the skin you will need a sharp knife. At one edge the peel is hooked with a knife and removed along the entire length of the stem.

You can learn about the benefits of rhubarb from the video from the channel “JitZdorovo” - Rhubarb is an edible burdock

Ways to freeze rhubarb for the winter

Freezing raw rhubarb

Raw rhubarb can be frozen, with or without the skin. The vegetable is frozen with the skin, which will later be used for making compotes, and without the skin - for making soups and filling for baked goods.

To freeze rhubarb raw, simply cut it into arbitrary cubes.

To prevent the pieces from sticking into one lump in the freezer, they can be pre-frozen on a flat surface for 1-2 hours.

Frozen rhubarb is placed in bags or containers and stored in the freezer.

Marina Kopylova will tell you how to freeze unpeeled raw rhubarb in her video - Freezing rhubarb

Freezing rhubarb in sugar

Here, peeled rhubarb is also not subjected to heat treatment. As in the previous recipe, the stems are cut into pieces. Chopped rhubarb is placed in containers in layers, sprinkling each layer with sugar. Thus, approximately 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar are needed per half a kilo of vegetable mass.

How to Blanch Rhubarb Before Freezing

Blanched rhubarb retains its flavor and shape.

Peeled and cut into cubes stems are lowered into a pan of boiling water. The vegetable should be in boiling water for exactly 1 minute. After the allotted time, remove the rhubarb cubes with a slotted spoon and immediately lower them into a container of ice water. To achieve faster cooling, add a dozen ice cubes to the water.

The cooled rhubarb is dried on towels and laid out on cutting boards covered with cellophane. In this form, the vegetable is sent to the freezer for several hours.

The frozen pieces of rhubarb are then packaged in bags or containers for freezing.

How to Freeze Rhubarb in Syrup

The first step is to boil the syrup. To do this, take water and sugar in a ratio of 2:1. The syrup is boiled over a fire until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then it is cooled.

The syrup must be cool before freezing, so after it has cooled down, keep it in the main compartment of the refrigerator for another couple of hours.

The inside of the containers is lined with cling film and the rhubarb is placed in them. Then the vegetable is poured with cool syrup and sent to the freezer.

After a day, take out the containers and take out an ice block of rhubarb in syrup. This briquette is wrapped in several layers of cling film and stored in the freezer.

Freezing in juice

This method differs from the previous one only in that the vegetable pieces are poured not with syrup, but with juice. To do this, you can use any packaged juice: orange, grape, apple or pineapple.

How to store and defrost rhubarb

The shelf life of frozen rhubarb in the freezer is 10 to 12 months.

Rhubarb prepared for making soups is dipped into the dish right during its preparation.

To use as a pie filling, the rhubarb is thawed for several hours at room temperature. It is highly not recommended to use a microwave oven for this.

If you are reading this article, then you have heard or seen rhubarb at some point. Now is the time to find out even more about him. Let's take a closer look at this mysterious plant with a burning name - rhubarb. The plant is very useful in human nutrition. It is especially important for those who are on a diet in the fight against excess weight. For people suffering from cardiovascular diseases. Rhubarb contains potassium and magnesium salts, pectin, vitamins C and B.

Rhubarb is a perennial, frost-resistant plant. It can withstand frost down to -30C. In spring, as soon as the sun warms and melts the snow above it, the first leaves tend to the top.

Soil for planting rhubarb. Sandy, sandy-clay garden soil with a high organic content is preferable. In general, it will grow everywhere, only the yield will be reduced. It does not like stagnant water, so do not place it near the house in places where water drains from the roofs.

Planting or replanting rhubarb. In the fall, divide 5-year-old rhubarb into pieces. Each division should have at least 2 eyes and solid roots. Let the roots air dry. At this time we are preparing pits for our hero. Dig a hole, add manure and mix with soil. The depth of the hole is 30 cm or for a bayonet-shovel. The distance between the rows is 70 cm. Planting depth - the bud should be buried 3 cm. If the soil is heavy, then at ground level. After planting, water with nitrogen fertilizer. Repeat it after 3 weeks.

Feeding rhubarb

In the fall, add humus to the surface of the soil around the rhubarb.

First year: nitrogen fertilizers

Second year: in the spring, 20 g of ammonium sulfate, 30 g of superphosphate, 20 g of potassium salt are added under the rhubarb. After 2 weeks, mullein solution 1:5. In autumn, feed with ash 200 g per 10 liters of water.

Subsequent years: In the fall, after each rhubarb harvest, add 2 g of ammonium nitrate, 2 g of superphosphate, 1.5 g of potassium salt.

Rhubarb care. In the fall, remove dry leaves and cover them with soil before frosts to spud them up.

The harvest from stronger bushes is harvested not by cutting, but by twisting the stem at the base. Well-developed stems respond well to such thinning. The petioles are used for food, and the leaves are used as feed for livestock or in a box.

Dear gardeners, flower growers and builders. Send us your stories about growing vegetables, flowers and other plants. We are waiting for your photos with you and your family against the background of the plantings. Photos will be posted on the website in the gallery section or in a feature article.