Rhubarb to the rescue: aphid spray
and saving the ozone layer
Rhubarb's talents extend beyond pies and cakes. In fact, scientists have discovered that the oxalic acid in rhubarb stems (the same stuff that makes your lips pucker) can be used to scour cooking pots.
If aphids are pest in your garden, rhubarb can help. In her book, "Slug Bread & Beheaded Thistles," author Ellen Sandbeck describes a unique use for rhubarb leaves--as an aphid spray. Here's the recipe:
1) Chop 3 to 5 rhubarb leaves and add to a quart of water. 2) Boil for 30 minutes.
3) Strain and add a dash of liquid, non-detergent, soap.
4) Fill spray bottle with liquid and use it on aphids.
Note: Because rhubarb leaves are poisonous, don't use this spray on edible plants
Rhubarb not only saves our plants from aphids, it may also save the planet. In the mid-1980's, when a hole was discovered in the ozone layer, researchers found that CFC's were one of the primary for the ozone's decline. One of the most common forms of CFC's is freon, which is used as a refrigerator coolant. Conventional methods for breaking down CFC's were costly and dangerous. But in 1995, two Yale scientists discovered that oxalic acid, found in rhubarb, helped neutralize CFC's. Rhubarb to the rescue!
The moral of the story: Even though the pie plant's flavor might be "barbarum" to some, never underestimate rhubarb
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