Rhubarb stems - poisonous in August?

My wife had always been told by her parents and other older gardeners that rhubarb stems must never be eaten from the end of July onwards, as from that time the poison in the leaves seeps into the stems.

Is there any truth in this, or is it OK to continue eating the stems in August and beyond?
(We know of course that the leaves and roots are poisonous and should never be eaten.)

Any guidance on this would be appreciated. Thanks.

Barry

 

I say try it, and get back to us in a week or so to let us know how you get on, if we dont hear from you we'll know not to eat rhubarb after august! :D:D







just kidding, i dont know so dont eat it on my behalf!

 

As ever, Google is your friend in these situations. If you google "rhubarb leaves poision", you'll find a host of fascinating info about rhubarb.

It seems the amount of oxalic acid in the stems intensifies towards the end of the growing season. But that's from a very low level and in a quick search, I couldn't find any mention that it reaches harmful concentrations.

Probably old time gardeners were just acknowledging that early rhubarb was tender and had the best flavour whereas it tended to get tougher and stronger towards the end of the season.

I had some rhubarb last week - it was beautiful!

 

Might be to do with letting the crowns build up some energy too

 

Horrible tasting stuff anyway. Best to dig it up and burn it
Stony

All right, I'll get my coat.:D

 

Thanks to everybody for the replies. How interesting that no-one (so far) has a definitive answer, but there were some interesting comments. I don't think my wife would be very happy if I followed Stony's suggestion and just dug it all up!

And yes, I did try Google before I posted the question. I found the info in Google to be not very helpful, as all the web sites I looked at seemed to talk about was the poison in the leaves which I was well aware of already.

For now, we will continue to follow the "old wives' tale" and leave it alone now until next year. UNLESS any expert in the forum can persuade us otherwise.

Thanks again for the interest and help.
Barry

 

http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/rhubarb-poison.html
"Oxalates are contained in all parts of rhubarb plants, especially in the green leaves. There is some evidence that anthraquinone glycosides are also present and may be partly responsible. It is not clear as to the exact source of poisoning from rhubarb, possibly a result of both compounds. The stalks contain low levels of oxalates, so this does not cause problems."

I am still selling rhubarb at a market stall, no complaints yet. I ate some on saturday.

 

I am pretty sure that you are right, it needs to rest ready for next year. It's probably like weeds, you keep pulling the leaves off to weaken the plant.

 

The rhubarb I ate on Saturday tasted no different to any rhubarb that I ate in any month of the year. The stems I picked were fresh looking, not wilting in any way. I have a lot of plants which do not look appetising and I don't pick them. There is poison in coffee, its just the dose is so low as not to be a risk, same with parsley, and rhubarb stems.

 

Stony you had better get your coat,lovely stuff,agree with whats been said stopping pulling the stalks in August is to let the plant build up its reserves it will not do you any harm for you to continue eating it if you so wish.

 

Stony! Rhubarb and ginger jam on toast, Rhubarb tart hot from the oven with icecream, Rhubarb crumble with custard yummmmmmmmyyyyyyy :p:D