The Family Kitchen Gardener (1856)/Rhubarb
RHUBARB.
Rhèum rhapóniicum—Rubarbe, Fr.—Rubarber, Ger.
The Rhubarb of commerce is the root of the plant, which is principally grown in Asia, where it is dried and prepared for exportation to a very great extent. It is chiefly purchased by the Turks, who monopolize the trade as much as possible, and from it derive a large profit. It has been for centuries held in the highest estimation for its medicinal properties. It is a mild cathartic, and commonly considered one of the safest and most innocent substances of the class, though I have found that very large doses act as a very severe emetic; with its purgative virtues, it has a mild astringent one, and is found to strengthen the tone of the stomach. In addition to these qualities of the root, the stalk is allowed by all medical men to make one of the most cooling, wholesome, and delicious tarts that can be sent to the table; and though it does, at first, appear to some to have a peculiar flavor, yet they who use it very soon prefer it to any other fruit. Its rank flavor, however, entirely depends upon the age of the stalks; when young, they are entirely free from it. The varieties of Rhubarb for cooking forms an object of much interest and even great profit to the market gardener, and to every householder who has a garden it cannot be too highly recommended as a very salubrious vegetable for the family, either stewed or in tarts and pies. For dysentery in children it is an infallible remedy, stewed, seasoned with sugar, and eaten in any quantity with bread. The stalk is fit for use when the leaf begins to expand. Take the outside skin off the stalk, cut it into pieces about an inch long, put them into a saucepan and cover them with plenty of brown sugar and a few table-spoonsful of cold water; cover it, and let it stew slowly till perfectly soft; after having cooled, it is ready for use. Few vegetables have made a more rapid progress in their cultivation, within the past fifteen years, than this article, and we yet expect to see it cultivated by the hundred acres and brought to our market in wagon loads. The following sorts are all deserving of particular attention.
Tobolsk.—A very early, small, red variety, of excellent flavor for an early crop or forcing. It grows in very rich ground to about eighteen inches or two feet long.
Washington.—A green variety, very much spotted on the footstalks, grows two feet long, and is a second early sort. Giant. A very large green variety, with round stalks, that will grow four feet long, and nearly the thickness of a man’s wrist. It is cultivated in England to an immense extent, as a late variety, to supply the market the whole Summer.
Mammoth.—This sort was raised by me from the seed of the former. It grows from three to four feet long, with stalks of great thickness, of a flat shape. It has taken the prize as the best Rhubarb, at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s meetings, the past three years. It is of excellent flavor.
Myatt’s Victoria.—This is a red variety, of great excellence and richly flavored, grows very strong, equal to the Giant, and much earlier than that variety; is richly deserving of extensive culture.
Large Early Red.—A seedling, by me, from the Victoria. It is even larger than its parent, comes full eight days earlier, and will prove the best Early Rhubarb we have yet had brought to our notice. The stalks are three feet long, and are quite fit for use before the leaf begins to expand. It is richly flavored. It may be observed that the red stalked sorts are generally earlier than those with green stems.
Rheum palmatum, or Palmated-leaved Rhubarb, is the variety that is cultivated in China and Tartary for its roots, and in some countries another species, the Undulatum, is grown for the same purpose. There is no doubt that all the other varieties possess the same medicinal properties when they attain sufficient age, which is allowed to be seven years.
Culture.—Rhubarb is propagated either by seeds or by division of the roots. Where a great quantity is wanted, the former process will have to be resorted to. Though the plants raised in this manner will not be of a uniform character, yet from seeds of the best kinds all will be worth cultivation. The seed should be sown as early as can be done in Spring. On light, dry soil, draw drills about an inch deep and one foot apart, in which sow the seeds thinly, and cover evenly. They will be up in about four weeks, and if the weather proves dry, give them occasional waterings. Hoe them freely to keep under the weeds. Sow a very few Radish seeds with them, and you will thereby see clearly where to use the hoe, and the Radishes will be pulled before the Rhubarb plants have made much progress. When they are an inch high, thin them out to four inches apart, and allow them to grow till October; at which time a piece of deep, rich ground should be selected, and dug eighteen inches deep, manuring it well with very rotten dung, and breaking and working it perfectly with the spade. When it has settled for about two weeks, set out the plants two feet apart in the row, and four feet between the rows. Plant their crowns two inches below the surface, and cover them four or five inches thick with leaves, or litter from the stable, to prevent the frost from throwing them out of the ground during Winter. No farther after-culture is required beyond keeping the ground clear of weeds. In the first year a crop of Lettuce, Beans, or Early Cabbage can be taken from between the rows, as the plants will not attain their full size for two years. In the early part of Winter, every year, cover the ground with a few inches of manure, digging it in with a fork, in Spring, among the roots. Rhubarb, thus treated, will continue many years in great perfection, and produce a very ample return. Where there are only a few roots wanted, they may be procured by the division of one or two good roots, leaving an eye to each, and planting them at once in ground prepared as above, where they are to remain About eight or ten plants will suffice for a small family, though twenty will not be too many. By this method it will be ready for use in the first year after planting, whereas, from seed, it is three years before it is ready for the table. In removing the stalks for use, first scrape away a little of the earth, then bend down the stalk you wish to remove, and slip it off from the crown without breaking or cutting it. The stalks should not be used after the leaves are full grown, as they are then too hard and stringy; use the stalks only of such leaves as are about half, or nearly fully expanded. Where there is a large supply, it can be made into a preserve of any kind. Both an excellent jam and jelly can be made from either the green or red varieties, though the color of that made from the latter is more beautiful, being a fine dark pink.
Artificial Culture.—To force Rhubarb, it is only necessary to procure some large pots, boxes, or half-barrels, and invert them over the roots. Then cover the whole entirely, ground and all, with leaves and hot stable-manure. This will cause an agreeable heat to arise; the plants will grow freely under their warm, dark covering; the stalks will be finely blanched, very tender, and delicately flavored. This operation should be performed before the ground gets frozen, by placing the boxes, &c., over the plants intended to be forced, and covering the ground with eight or ten inches of leaves or litter. Then, about the middle of January, mix with the leaves as many more, with warm dung, as will entirely cover the articles under which the plants are preserved. If properly managed, the stalks will be fit for use in from four to six weeks, and the plants will continue to produce till the roots in the open air take their place. They, too, are greatly benefited by placing a barrel over them as soon as they begin to grow in the Spring; the stems grow more tender and much longer by this process. There should be a few holes in the barrel, or a part of the bottom taken out to admit a little air, though it is not absolutely essential. Many persons may dislike all this trouble, and others have not the material at command; to such, we say, cover the roots with six or eight inches of any dry material, which will forward them two weeks before those that are uncovered. Others may have the convenience of a green-house under the stage, or some other warm building—even a warm closet, or a furnace in the cellar. In such situations the plants can be forwarded by planting them in November into large pots or boxes, with good earth, and placing them at any required time into any of these situations, giving water freely when they begin to grow. A crop will be obtained in a space of time varying according to the heat that is at command. After the plants have done producing stalks for culinary use, they may be turned out into a half shady, rich piece of ground, in May, when, after a season's growth, they can again be used for the same purpose. Hotbeds, frames or pits, will also do for forcing this article; but in such a case, the glass must be darkened to cause them to grow and blanch. The atmosphere must also be freely saturated with water, to make the stalks swell to their full height and size. There are two advantages in blanching Rhubarb: first, the desirable qualities of appearance and flavor; and secondly, a saving in the quantity of sweetening material to render them agreeable to the taste. The stalks, when blanched, are more tender than when grown under the influence of strong light and in open situations.
Culture in cold or hot latitudes.—There is no obstacle to the cultivation of this interesting plant. It will stand unprotected as far north as the St. Lawrence, and yield annually a large crop. North of that limit all that is necessary for its preservation is to throw over it, during Winter, a quantity of dry leaves, to keep off intense frost, and, as Spring opens, to clear away the litter and cultivate the ground, as previously directed. If there is three months of good sun, it is all the plant requires to mature it. Wherever Oats will grow, the Rhubarb will thrive; only give it depth of soil for its roots, and manure to stimulate its luxuriance. In southern latitudes it must be planted in moist situations, and under the shade of buildings, to ward off the scorching rays of the sun at mid-day, and in dry periods it must be watered freely. The whole of this continent, from the Gulf of Mexico to Hudson's Bay, may enjoy the luxury of this vegetable.
Its cultivation may be pursued to any extent for its root for medicinal purposes. In such a case, the species Undulatum and Palmatum should be planted two by four feet apart. They should not be robbed of their leaves at any period of their growth. After the roots have been seven years under culture, they are then ready to be lifted. After being washed thoroughly and deprived of their small fibres, cut the strong roots into pieces about two inches long, and these pieces lengthwise. Thread them on cords and hang them up to dry. These cords should be turned upside down every day for a week, to prevent the juice settling in any one part of the root. They should not be laid on boards to dry, for the board will absorb a portion of the juice, depriving the roots of so much of their strength. We doubt not but it may thus be dried as perfectly in this country as in any of those where it is cultivated for export.