Rhubarb leaves, chop or not?

[Claire72]

I have around 40 rhubarb leaves (just sold a pile of rhubarb to veg shop for £20) which are about to go to the compost bin, but do they need to be chopped up first? Quite busy, and the thought of spending half an hour chopping up rhubarb leaves does not excite me!
Just cut the hedge too, so should I add those too? (won't they take forever to break down?)

[wellie]

Bu@@er! You'll be too busy to make your own Rhubarb Leaf Anti-Pest Spray then too....

You see that's the difference between various people that I know.
If you want something done - ask a busy person.

[Two_Sheds]

you don't need to chop them up, they're really tender. You just chop up woody/fibrous stuff.

[Claire72]

you don't need to chop them up, they're really tender. You just chop up woody/fibrous stuff.

Thank goodness, straight in the compost bin then

[zazen999]

i would put mine in a bucket of water and use the resulting liquid to keep brassicas pest free - you can't waste good rhubarb just putting it on a compost heap.

If you don't want to do that, just lay them at the bottom of the brassicas - it all helps. Or dig into your brassica bed - or chop up and drop in the hole when you are putting your brassicas out.

Basically; it's like gold dust in my house and i like my brassicas pest free.

[Starchild]

If you grow blueberries, rhubarb leaves acidify the soil well for them too, same if you have hydrangeas and want them purple/blue.

[Claire72]

i would put mine in a bucket of water and use the resulting liquid to keep brassicas pest free - you can't waste good rhubarb just putting it on a compost heap.

If you don't want to do that, just lay them at the bottom of the brassicas - it all helps. Or dig into your brassica bed - or chop up and drop in the hole when you are putting your brassicas out.

Basically; it's like gold dust in my house and i like my brassicas pest free.

I didn't know that, isn't it poisonous? doesn't the spray make the brassicas poisonous?
Sorry to be thick, brassicas are the broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower family aren't they?

[spud57]

i would put mine in a bucket of water and use the resulting liquid to keep brassicas pest free - you can't waste good rhubarb just putting it on a compost heap.

If you don't want to do that, just lay them at the bottom of the brassicas - it all helps. Or dig into your brassica bed - or chop up and drop in the hole when you are putting your brassicas out.

Basically; it's like gold dust in my house and i like my brassicas pest free.

That sounds brilliant - never heard of it! How do you make & use the brassica spray please?

[snuffer]

Spray From Rhubarb Leaves

To make an insecticide from rhubarb leaves I coursely chop them, put them in a big pan, add water and heat it up. Leave to simmer for a while then let it cool and strain off the resulting liquid. One word of warning, it does whiff a bit when it's on the hob so open the kitchen window.

I use it on anything that has green or black fly on. On the veg patch and in the flower borders.

As for hedge trimmings being to course for the compost heap, just lay them out on the lawn and go over them with the lawn mower. That shreds and chops them up ready for adding to the heap. We have quite a good length of hedge around our garden. When all those clippings get added to the compost the heat generated is phenominal. Really gets things cooking.

[Claire72]

hedge cuttings spread all over the lawn in anticipation of OH mowing them tomorrow!

[areia]

as long as you know how to sharpen the blade, i blunted my one doing that

[leicestershirelass]

Just checking the internet to see if the insecticide could be made without boiling and found this site that includes other uses for rhubarb ..........

Other Uses for rhubarb

[yoanbob]

oooh, hair dye, well I never!

[ClayGarden]

i bet you could use beetroot as hair dye too

[lynda66]

hmmmmmmm beetroot hair dye, i may give that a try