The barbarism continues

Browsing through the books for sale at the library the other day I came across a weighty treasure. The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening...mine for a dollar. I opened it today for some more information about my favourite leafy green, rhubarb, and learned a lot. It seemed only right for me to share.
If you look at the pic posted along with this entry you'll see that my rhubarb is in full flower. I figured this was an integral part of the plants' life, but it turns out the flowers take energy away from the stalks.
According to my new bible, I should have cut the flowering stalks before they bloomed. As soon as they appeared, in fact. Because, as the encyclopedia says,"...though they are striking and ornamental, they exhaust the plant and tend to lessen the quality of the edible stalks."
A couple of other helpful hints that will help you get more out of this already fecund and hearty plant: don't harvest your rhubarb until its second season of growth. This will force the roots to put out more leaf and less stalk. And remember, the leaves are poisonous, the stalks however, are delicious. Also, when you are harvesting, pull the stalks out from their base, don't cut them. Leaving a piece of stalk still in the plant can contribute to rot.
I also learned that my rhubarb is not green and astringent because of the chilly weather in the Yukon. Rhubarb actually does better in colder climates, and the right varieties will come out with a brighter pink with colder weather. It turns out I have Victoria Rhubarb in my garden; a variety which always puts out tart, green stalks.
That's all for now. Tonight I am going to whip up a batch of Victoria Rhubarb compote, with some Okanagan cherries for colour. Check out the previous entry for the recipe.