Kitchen Garden Forum

An old chestnut? However, it ain't going away . . . listening to the Radio this afternoon, a guy (Mark Diacono) was getting quite excited about what we dont eat in this country, that is eaten in other places where it is hot and dry.

He was talking about our sowing seeds, seedlings etc., the reliance on water and effort looking after them. Perennials he says is the answer, classics, asparagus, artichokes, rhubarb, they grow, die and come back the next year, on their own, minimum input from the gardener.

Apparently there are loads of veg and fruit we miss out on? Strawberries, they grow wild in a mat, weeds dont get a chance, hosters put up a tip that looks like chicory, this makes the leaves, the tip is good eating.

I'm no great shakes at this gardening stuff as you know, but I like the sound of the philosophy, obviously needs developing? . . . Flash in the pan, or has the guy got a point . . .

Buy the way, got myself a very healthy looking rhubarb plant at the weekend:



. . . thats a 7" pot behind, what it came in! New nursery I visited, recommended by a friend, simple, only green houses and polytunnels, nothing fancy to part you from your money, just good value, healthy plants. Bought flowers for 4-5 tubs? and the rhubarb, total £15, the RB was £4! Its planted with well roted manuer at the base, look forward to our own RB next year . . .

What I'm getting round to . . . I heard some one say, might have been GQT? . . . "try rhubarb as a vegetable, its very nice". All very well but how would one cook it . . . with ginger, sugar, herbs, plain . . . ?

Things to get your 'teeth' into? . . .

CJS

Added to a lamb dish such as stew or curry, much as apricots can be.
Cuts the fattiness.

Hello CJS
Try rhubarb with a little orange zest or ginger.
You will have to let your plant grow on this year and get established. Next year only pick a few stalks over several weeks then in the following year (2013!) you should get a good crop of rhubarb.

I can sow runner beans now and after about 3 months of careful watering and feeding start getting a crop that will keep us going (with help from the freezer) until next year. This is from the space that say two rhubarb plants would occupy. I think his ideas of eating perennials as a maincrop is a non-starter.

John

Vegetable perennials such as rhubarb, asparagus, etc are all very well for being low maintenance but I suspect you'd find it pretty difficult to live on them alone and one's life as a vegetable gardener would be pretty boring, even if it was less hard work.

I do think we have to consider the impact of climate change on the regular crops we grow but probably more in terms of how we preserve moisture in the soil or seek ouT different varieties of favourite vegetables that adapt to warmer climatic conditions.

Incidentally we cook our rhubarb with oranges & stem ginger. Occasionally I whip it into a raspberry jelly made up with 50% milk to give it a creamy texture.

Lightly stewed rhubarb (no sugar) is a wonderful sauce to go with oily fish, such as mackerel.