Grow your own weed … and make a delicious pie

Don’t think you can grow your own rhubarb?

Keep repeating to yourself, “It’s a weed. I can grow a weed.”

That’s the word from Tori Lee Jackson, Extension educator for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Lisbon Falls. Jackson said it’s not hard to grow this weed — a member of the buckwheat family — if you follow some simple rules: Put it in well-drained soil and give it as much sun as possible.

According to Molly Katzen, renown Moosewood author, “The English ‘rhubarb’ is a derivative of the Latin phrase ‘rha barbarum,’ which refers to a region near the Volga River (in Russia) where the barbarians lived.”

Rhubarb has an interesting history within food circles. It wasn’t “discovered” as edible in this country until about 200 years ago, and then spent about 100 years with a spotty reputation because some people were eating the leaves, which are poisonous. Once word finally got around on the right way to enjoy this vegetable — only eat the stalks — it became universally popular, with the Northeast really taking to it.

If you’re thinking of growing your own, Jackson recommends getting small plants from your area greenhouse or, if you have access to someone’s rhubard plant, divide the plant early in the spring, while it’s still dormant, and replant. She doesn’t recommend trying to grow it from seed.

And when you have finally grown some sour stalks of your own — or have bought some from your local store or market — Jackson has a recipe for her favorite pie, which just might become your favorite pie. She credits her mom, Debbi Jackson of Monmouth, for this simple delight.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Use your favorite crust recipe or purchase a pre-made crust

4 cups sliced, local strawberries

2 cups diced rhubarb

1-1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss strawberries and rhubarb with sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt and let sit for 20 minutes. Pour fruit mixture into crust. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust, sealing edges with water. Cut a few ventilation hole in the top. Place pie pan on cookie sheet to catch any juice that boils out. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes.

Grow your own weed … and make a delicious pie

Don’t think you can grow your own rhubarb?

Keep repeating to yourself, “It’s a weed. I can grow a weed.”

That’s the word from Tori Lee Jackson, Extension educator for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Lisbon Falls. Jackson said it’s not hard to grow this weed — a member of the buckwheat family — if you follow some simple rules: Put it in well-drained soil and give it as much sun as possible.

According to Molly Katzen, renown Moosewood author, “The English ‘rhubarb’ is a derivative of the Latin phrase ‘rha barbarum,’ which refers to a region near the Volga River (in Russia) where the barbarians lived.”

Rhubarb has an interesting history within food circles. It wasn’t “discovered” as edible in this country until about 200 years ago, and then spent about 100 years with a spotty reputation because some people were eating the leaves, which are poisonous. Once word finally got around on the right way to enjoy this vegetable — only eat the stalks — it became universally popular, with the Northeast really taking to it.

If you’re thinking of growing your own, Jackson recommends getting small plants from your area greenhouse or, if you have access to someone’s rhubard plant, divide the plant early in the spring, while it’s still dormant, and replant. She doesn’t recommend trying to grow it from seed.

And when you have finally grown some sour stalks of your own — or have bought some from your local store or market — Jackson has a recipe for her favorite pie, which just might become your favorite pie. She credits her mom, Debbi Jackson of Monmouth, for this simple delight.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Use your favorite crust recipe or purchase a pre-made crust

4 cups sliced, local strawberries

2 cups diced rhubarb

1-1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss strawberries and rhubarb with sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt and let sit for 20 minutes. Pour fruit mixture into crust. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust, sealing edges with water. Cut a few ventilation hole in the top. Place pie pan on cookie sheet to catch any juice that boils out. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes.