Back Acres: Strawberry and Rhubarb Pie - Just 1 Year Away

I'm very patient - more than happy to wait. Good things take time and planning, organic growth is preferred. You can see the wild strawberry patch in the wood framed raised garden bed that I planted last year. Very happy with how they turned out, the patch is filled with growing strawberries and strawberry flowers and will be giving strawberries into fall.

For more Information about Wild Strawberry: Wikipedia: Wild Strawberry

I had heard about Rhubarb, but didn't have much interest until recently when someone reminded me about strawberry and rhubarb pie. Knowing how well the wild strawberry patch was doing, my interest was suddenly peaked about growing rhubarb. We were at a hardware store when I was reminded by the seed rack that I was on the hunt for rhubarb. One of the clerks said they don't usually grow them from seed, the rhubarb patch just keeps getting larger and larger, so you split it. The rhubarb patch can easily be split and transplanted to another location. He mentioned that he had just removed a patch of rhubarb the other day - just missed it. My Aunt that was with me that day called a few days later. She was at a nursery and was picking up two rhubarb plants for me - very nice.

In the picture above you can see a bucket of water and the two rhubarb plants that my Aunt picked up for me. Some of the leaves were damaged on the transport, but the rhizomes - the upper bulb of roots that the plant grows out of - were in great condition. The rhubarb will bulk up this summer and will be ready for an early spring harvest. The young reddish leaf stalks are edible with a sweet and tart taste, but the leaves are toxic. My wife said that when she was little, she used to pick rhubarb from the garden and eat it dipped in sugar as a treat. Another popular use for rhubarb is to make a sweet and tart rhubarb pie.

For more Information about Rhubarb: Wikipedia: Rhubarb.

In the picture above you can see the two rhubarb plants transplanted into the soon to be rhubarb patch. First I mounded the dirt for good soil drainage, dug a small water catching ditch on the uphill side of the mound. I was sure to leave the top part of the rhizome above the ground - where the leaf stalks come out. Gave the new transplants a full bucket of water to help while the roots are expanding into their new ground.

Strawberry and Rhubarb pie pie pie - I can wait to grow and bake my own - Just 1 Year Away.

Have a great day!