Rhubarb from Seed: Good, and Good For You

Watching the weather on the 5 o'clock news tonight, I was totally appalled to hear we may be getting 6 inches more snow.  I love snow, I really do, but my town is covered already to that lovely stage where everything is smooth...the weeds are buried, the bumps evened out.  The roads are reasonably clear, too...all is right with the world.  But now, more snow.  *sigh*   So, I am writing about my very favorite springtime event...the coming of the rhubarb.  I love rhubarb, my husband loves rhubarb!  When he was single, I hear (often), one year on his birthday he had seven rhubarb pies made for him by seven ladies.  Now he gets one. 

Rhubarb is usually started nowadays by buying a root division. Seeds are still available but they have the interesting, or annoying, property of being very variable.

When you sow them you will get a variety of plants which you can pick through for the sort you like.  The highly colored crimson stems may be present, but so are green ones.  They taste the same but the color is lovely...and traditionally the colored stems brought more money in the market.

It wasn't used greatly as a stewed treat or pie until into the 19th century. In 1810, "Mr. George Myatts of Deptford, England,... sent his two sons to market with five bunches of rhubarb stalks, of which they could sell only three". By the late 1800s it was accepted and a very good market garden product. 

It was pursued with great fervor as a purgative, however, for hundreds of years before then with a huge amount of effort and money spent on traveling to distant countries looking for the best rhubarb, the elusive "true" rhubarb that was being traded from Russia and China. 

Link: Pantologia. A new (cabinet) cyclopædia, by J.M. Good, O. Gregory, and N. Bosworth assisted by other gentlemen of eminence - 1819  This is a passionate history that conveys the importance placed upon rhubarb as a curative. A story of complexity and adventure; a search for the best laxative...perhaps not movie material but interesting.

Link: Early Canadian Gardening: An 1827 Nursery Catalogue, By Eileen Woodhead  This is a clear history you can follow :-)  A currently available retail book.

Below are some modern rhubarb seed dealers.  Following that are a few articles from the 1800s and some rhubarb ephemera.  Enjoy!

There are few varieties commonly offered anymore. 

Rhubarb

Rheum rhabarbarum

Rhubarb is a garden anchor common around old farm houses.  It is long lived and typically     grown by dividing the plant crowns.  Starting from seed is not difficult but you will need to     plant at least twenty seeds to cull out ones that do not exhibit the desired traits for the         variety.  For the average family, three plants will be enough.                                                

Rhubarb 'Glaskin's Perpetual'

Rheum x hybridumHardy Perennial
Started in heat in late winter Rhubarb 'Glaskins Perpetual' can be harvested lightly the following year. The large, juicy stems are excellent for tarts, pies, jam, and wine. As its name suggests, this reliable rhubarb can be harvested late in the season due to its low oxalic acid content. This easy to grow garden variety will produce some variation in the seedlings ranging from green to pink and even red stemmed plants. Height: 60cm (24"). Spread: 120cm (47").   1 packet (60 seeds)

Victoria Heirloom Rhubarb Seed

Perennial. OP Heirloom. Victoria has been around since 1837, and originated in England. It is reliable, productive, and long lived. It has a gourmet, winey/tart flavor that complements strawberries just perfectly. We can up dozens of jars of strawberry/rhubarb jam and syrup from our Victoria patch every year. It also freezes well, so you can have rhubarb cake in January! Rhubarb is easy to grow from seed. It does not require bottom heat. It prefers cool room temperature to germinate. The plants start small, however, and should not be harvested from until the second year. Folks seem to want their rhubarb red, although we have never noted a taste difference between red and green. Grown from seed the color is variable. If you want red, start extra seeds and select the reddest seedlings. Germinated at 80%.

Old Homestead

This variety has been grown on my family’s farm in Fisher Branch, Manitoba since my great grandparents first settled there. The greenish stems are good for pies and very hardy and long lived! Perennial. Zone 2   Package Qty: 25-50 seeds - Price: $3.00

Strawberry (Pre 1930)

An old extremely rare variety that I obtained from the noted food historian William Woys Weaver. It was part of his grandfather’s collection in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A very nice rhubarb with reddish stalks. In general, seed grown rhubarb is quite variable, but a good number of seedlings should have red stalks like the parent. Rhubarb is very easy to grow from seed and is usually ready to harvest lightly the following year. Perennial. Zone 2 "Not Available for 2014" Package Qty: 25-50 seeds Price: $3.00

VictoriaExcellent cooking quality in this early, abundant producer.

Victoria is well-adapted to most regions and is widely grown commercially. The large, tender, rosy-red stalks gradually turn to pink and then solid green towards the tip. Sweeter and milder than other varieties. Grows best in Zones 2-8. Avg. 31,300 seeds/lb. Packet: 100 seeds.

Now, here are the varieties from the 1865 - The Field and Garden Vegetables of America! 
We used to be more serious about our rhubarb!

 Rhubarb was a very useful and effective cathartic, as the period literature called it, and much valued.  Basically a good laxative, rhubarb is well tolerated by people, including children, so it was used in many concoctions.

Here are some recipes from A Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts, and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades, Including Medicine, Pharmacy, and Domestic Economy: Designed as a Comprehensive Supplement to the Pharmacopoeias, and General Book of Reference for the Manufacturer, Tradesman, Amateur, and Heads of Families. 1856

Rhubarb is the earliest "fruit" and it was looked forward to by people craving fresh produce after a long winter.  I called it a fruit because in the United States it was classified as such, letting it be imported with less tariff than vegetables.

Me, I like it baked in the oven until "stewed" when I plop sweetened biscuit dough on top.  I use mostly stevia for the sweetener, but add some brown sugar to give the sweet taste some deeper "notes".  Orange zest added before stewing is really good!  And a pinch of real cinnamon, I think...my hands usually do it without me thinking...but that is it I believe.  Happy Spring!