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Rhubarb this is the first year we have grown, and I’m told you can’t not eat green rhubarb in the first year… any advice would be appreciated

Alan Worsley
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You can't eat the leaves (unless you have a deathwish.)

Not eating the stalks in the first year is more about trying to establish a heathy plant than any food safety issue. By not stressing the plant with harvesting when it's barely established itself, you improve your harvests and plant heath in future years. An established bed can go 40+ years, so it's not a terrible investment of time, overall.

Most anyone with an established patch will normally be happy to give some away, or possibly sell it not too dearly if you're total strangers and you don't know someone you could just get some from for this year. Worst case, try a farmer's market.

Ecnerwal
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  • Thanks for you advice I will leave the first harvest and wait till the following season, and I think you should not harvest the whole crown, is that correct…thanks – Alan Worsley Dec 02 '22 at 02:43
  • You never harvest it all unless you are trying to kill the plant, correct. You want it to live and produce more rhubarb. You might visit the gardening site: https://gardening.stackexchange.com/search?q=rhubarb – Ecnerwal Dec 02 '22 at 03:00