The Rhubarb Patch

Oh the things you can do with the lowly rhubarb plant! One of the earliest plants in spring to poke it's head up, this sour stem with huge leaves can be used in many tasty and creative ways. When I was a kid I remember having stewed rhubarb on toast and, of course rhubarb pie. However, with a little help from Pinterest, you will find that this old root plant that comes up year after year (whether you like it or not) can be the main ingredient in many recipes - and - garden décor!

Garden Décor 

Harvest a bundle of rhubarb, but don't pile the leaves on your compost heap yet! With a little cement, those sturdy leaves can be used to make a sweet stepping stone for your garden. 

A stepping stone that I made a few years ago. As you can see, even though it is June, my plants are still slowly emerging!

All you need is a rhubarb leaf and a bag of cement that costs about six bucks from the hardware store. Don't let mixing cement intimidate you. My friend Nancy (above) mixed it up like a pro for the first time! You just dump the premixed cement from the bag into a container and add water according to directions. We used a wheel barrow since we mixed up the whole bag and only a little over 2 L of water was added (you can see Cathy holding the 2 L jug). It doesn't seem like that little bit of water will hold the rocky substance together but it does. When you can pick up a handful of it and it sticks together like a snowball, then go ahead and spread it on a leaf that you have placed upside down (veins sticking up). We spread our leaves on a piece of plastic with cardboard underneath. The mixture will be rocky and lumpy but spread it over the leaf about an inch to 2 inches thick. While it sets, the part on the leaf will be smoother and the rocky bits will show mostly on the part that will be on the ground.

Here are our stones after the leaves have been pulled off and the plastic removed.... all ready to put in the garden. It is often recommended to place a one inch layer of cement over the leaf, add some wire mesh or chicken wire, and then another layer of cement. This strengthens the stepping stone, especially if you are going to walk on it. However, these guys are just for decoration so we didn't bother, and they have been fine in my garden surviving several winters out doors.

Quikrete Ready Mix, 30KG is what we used.

For more instructions check the site below. (our size bag made 6 stones as opposed to 3 in the instructions below)
Rhubarb Leaf Stepping Stones - Instructables

Now ….. on to the food!

                          

Here are some of my favorite rhubarb recipes:

• Rhubarb Simple Syrup  Rhubarb Simple Syrup from - The Kitchen
• Spicy Rhubarb Chutney (great on cheese and crackers!) Oregon Cottage  
• Rhubarb Buttermilk Cake Rhubarb Buttermilk Cake

So pick the rhubarb while ye may!