Rhubarb is an easy to grow vegetable that’s right at home in the perennial food garden.
It only needs to be planted once, and it will produce for decades. It grows well with foods that last forever, like asparagus, garlic, horseradish, and strawberries.
The vibrant stalks, ranging in color from pink to red to light green, emerge in early spring. These are ready for the first round of harvests in May.
Naturally tart, rhubarb stalks can be prepped into a myriad of delicious sweet and savory recipes.
Rhubarb is a versatile spring vegetable that’s easy to grow and produces hearty red stalks perfect for desserts and jams. But while the stalks are edible, the large green leaves are toxic to humans due to their high oxalic acid content. So what do you do with the leaves after harvesting the tasty stalks? Luckily, there are many non-edible uses for rhubarb leaves around your home and garden.
Shine Pots and Pans
The oxalic acid in rhubarb leaves is a powerful natural cleaning agent. Boil the leaves in water for 30 minutes, then strain out the leaves. The resulting liquid can be used to clean pots and pans remove stains from various surfaces, and scrub away rust. Always wear gloves when handling oxalic acid and rinse surfaces afterwards.
Repel Insect Pests
The toxins in rhubarb leaves can be extracted to create an organic insecticide spray. Simply boil the leaves, allow to cool, and transfer the liquid to a spray bottle The oxalic acid is toxic to soft-bodied insects like aphids but generally safe for plants Spray on roses, fruit trees and other ornamentals, avoiding edible crops.
Make Garden Stepping Stones
Rhubarb’s large, veiny leaves are perfect for making unique leaf castings. Press a leaf into cement, let dry, then remove the leaf. This leaves an imprint that can be used as a garden stepping stone or wall art. Concrete made with wire mesh reinforcement is most durable.
Dye Fabrics and Yarns
The leaves can be boiled to extract a green fabric dye. More leaves and longer cooking times produce darker green hues. The oxalic acid acts as a natural dye fixative so no vinegar or other mordant is needed. Rhubarb leaf dye works well on natural fibers like wool.
Compost Them
Composting is a safe way to dispose of rhubarb leaves. The oxalic acid breaks down quickly without harming beneficial compost organisms. Chopped leaves can be added right to the compost pile or bin. The finished compost will not contain any toxins and can be used anywhere in the garden.
Rhubarb leaves have many uses beyond the compost bin. Their natural toxins can be harnessed as cleaning solutions, pesticides and dyes. With some creativity, the large leaves can even become DIY garden projects. Just be sure to wear gloves when handling the leaves and never ingest them. Focus on enjoying the edible stalks and make good use of the toxic greens.
Weed Barrier and Mulch
Some weeds won’t go away no matter how many times you pull them up.
It is much easier to keep the garden beds free of weeds when you use a weed barrier like cardboard or newspaper and then cover it with mulch.
Rhubarb’s large and heart-shaped leaves lend themselves well as a weed barrier too.
Rhubarb leaves can be spread over garden paths, around plants’ bases, and between rows. They usually grow about a foot long and a foot wide, but sometimes they’re much longer.
To get rid of weeds quickly, keep adding new rhubarb leaves on top of older ones every time you pick the stalks.
The leaves will break down rather quickly, so keep at it as the season wears on. As rhubarb leaves decompose, they have the added benefit of enriching the soil.
Rhubarb and Oxalic Acid
As the story goes, the first publicized cases of rhubarb leaf poisoning occurred during the First World War. To help the war effort and get people to eat more food, the British government told people to eat rhubarb leaves. The recommendation was promptly withdrawn after reports of sickness and death.
Beyond that, not much is known about the effect of eating rhubarb leaves. Poisonings are rare and only one case of death in 1919 has ever been reported in scientific literature.
Muddying the waters even more is that many herbs, fruits, and vegetables also contain oxalic acid. As does coffee, tea, chocolate, and beer.
It’s surprising that spinach, Swiss chard, and beet greens have more oxalic acid per gram than rhubarb leaves. And we eat them just fine.
One possible explanation for this discrepancy is that rhubarb leaves also contain anthraquinone glycosides. These phenolic compounds have been reported to be toxic in animal experiments and could very well be the true culprit behind rhubarb leaf poisonings.
The amount of oxalic acid that would kill you would have to be about 10 pounds of rhubarb leaves. Although consuming much less than that could still cause nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain.
You might want to eat one of those big, heart-shaped leaves, but remember that rhubarb leaves are very sour, just like the stalks.
Super Effective All Natural Pest Control Using RHUBARB Leaves!
FAQ
What can you make from rhubarb leaves?
Can you eat the leaves of rhubarb?
Why can’t you compost rhubarb leaves?
How to use rhubarb leaves?
The acidic nature of rhubarb leaves can help remove stubborn burnt residue on pots and pans. Steps: Boil Leaves in Pot: Place a few leaves in the pot with water and boil. Scrub: After boiling for a few minutes, use the mixture to scrub the pot. 5. Natural Dye Rhubarb leaves can be used to create a natural dye for fabrics or crafts. Steps:
Can one use green rhubarb?
Green rhubarb is a vegetable similar to celery. You can eat its stems. Its leaves are toxic, so you should not eat them.
What can you do with rhubarb?
Try rhubarb sauce over pancakes or swirled into some homemade yogurt. Some folks even make homemade barbecue sauces and drinks, both alcoholic and otherwise, with rhubarb. Check out the healthy rhubarb recipes below for some incredible ideas for using this wonderful seasonal veggie.
How do you repurpose rhubarb leaves?
Here are 5 ways to repurpose Rhubarb leaves. 1. Use the leaves as mulch, adding nutrients to the ground while reducing the amount of weeds. 2. Removing stains from your pots and pans. Boil the leaf in the dirty pot and watch the stains release! 3. Use as a natural pesticide. Excellent as a deterrent to leaf-eating insects. DM me for a recipe! 4.
Can you eat rhubarb leaves?
Don’t Eat Rhubarb Leaves! It’s been well and truly hammered into to our heads by now that, while the colorful stalks are perfectly safe for consumption, you should never, ever eat the leaves. This is because the large leafy greens contain oxalic acid.
Can rhubarb leaves be used as fertilizer?
Nevertheless, the supposedly useless rhubarb leaves can still become useful to you in the garden. Rhubarb leaves are not suitable for consumption, but a decoction of the leaves can give your plants additional strength. So you can use rhubarb leaves as a natural fertilizer or as a safe spray that is also suitable for your organic garden.