Rhubarb

My father never ate rhubarb. He used to say: Something that sour can't be good for you.

But I love rhubarb! (Though I do add a lot of sugar to make it edible...)

I was delighted to find rhubarb growing in our yard when we moved here 30 years ago. But it was never as big as our neighbors'. I never knew why. I regularly covered it with compost when it died down in July, hoping for a better harvest the following year. One dry year I added Epsom salts to fertilize it when I watered it. (I had read that that helps.) But still no improvement.


















This year I read that rhubarb needs to be divided every few years. I've never done that! So I plan to do that when it dies down this year.














In the meantime, I have neighbors with enough rhubarb to share (like my neighbor Mary's above). When I mentioned dividing rhubarb to Mary, she told me she had moved hers several times.














But what a surprise! Once it is chopped up - all the rhubarb pictured in the chair above (taken from my garden and Mary's) only fills three and a half one-liter containers! (Each holds about 4 cups.) I was hoping for twice as much as that! (Another great thing about rhubarb: It can be washed, cut and then frozen for later use without any other preparation.)