Harvesting rhubarb in September

[Upwood]

Is it an old wives tale that you shouldn't harvest rhubarb after August because it is poisonous? I have consulted all my books and none of them mention this fact. The only reason I have come across for not continuing to harvest is that the plant needs time to regain its strength for next year. I also read that frost can cause the oxalic acid in the leaves to migrate down into the stems. But we havent had any frost yet. So if anyone can point me in the direction of any good evidence that it IS poisonous, I'd be very grateful. If not, I'm going to eat it ...

[hamsterqueen]

not heard that it is poisonus, but the plant needs time to recover and build up strength for next year, I usually stop pulling sticks after mid July

[rustylady]

It's not poisonous, but gets tougher and more acidic throughout the year. You also need to leave enough stems to nourish the crown for next year. I personally wouldn't pull rhubarb at this time of the year.

[Flummery]

You'll probably find you need its own weight in sugar to counteract the acidity this far on in the year. Not poisonous but not at its most palatable.

[Keith2202]

I pulled some just over a week ago. Very nice it was too!

[Upwood]

Thanks for your advice. We unfroze some of the rhubarb harvested last weekend and it was just as delicious as the early summer crop - not acidic or bitter at all. We'll save the rest for Christmas.

[Snadger]

I wouldn't fancy eating my rhubarb at this time of year. The main reason the LEAVES are deemed poisonous is because of the oxalic acid they contain.

I was lead to believe that at this time of year the leaves start dying back and the oxalic acid travels from the leaves back down the stems to the root?
Maybe that's why we were told as kids that you could 'get a bad belly' from eating rhubarb!