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harvest for the full eight to ten weeks.

To harvest the plants pull the plants stalks and proceed to trim the leaf blades from each. Do not use the leaf blades as they contain oxalic acid. Remove only 1/3rd of the leaves so the plant will remain healthy and continue to produce.
Should your plant develop seed stalks and flowers quickly remove and discard them. The petioles or leafstalks should be of high quality with bright color, tenderness and flavor. The stalk should be thick and crisp when you break it off.

The major pest for your new rhubarbs will be the Rhubarb curculio which is a beetle which bores holes into the stalks and roots of your plants. Should you encounter badly infected plants with a vast number of beetle eggs simply burn them in July.
And now for the fun part. You have already grown your rhubarb so now let's make some tasty Rhubarb Lime Jelly.

You will need enough Rhubarb stalks to create five cups of juice
2 1/2 cups sugar
5 Tbsp of lime juice
5 tsp of Pomona pectin
5 tsp of calcium water

Wash your rhubarb stalks well and cut them into small chunks. Puree these chunks in a food processor using a cheesecloth for extracting your five cups of juice. Mix the rhubarb and lime juice with the calcium water in a pot. Mix the pectin with the sugar in a bowl. Bring the mixture in the pot to a boil and then add the sugar/pectin to it bringing it once again to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat and then ladle the mixture into pre-sterilized jars making certain to leave a 1/4" headspace. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for a period of 10 minutes. Be certain to adjust your time according to your altitude.

Your family is certain to enjoy this treat.

Learn more about this author, Joseph Parish.
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