May 31, 2011

Rhubarbing

I can grow a lot of things, but rhubarb isn't one of them.  I had a beautiful patch when we moved  here, and when tearing down the old house, we destroyed it.  I've planted it twice since then, and it has died both times. 
My wonderful neighbors have kept me supplied with the stalks and still bring over plants for me to try again. :)  I received a grocery bag full of strawberry rhubarb on Sunday and yesterday I started "rhubarbing".  At least that's what my daughter calls it.  I made rhubarb cake, rhubarb jelly, rhubarb juice.  Next up I'll make rhubarb syrup (delicious on top of homemade yogurt), and rhubarb sauce.

The rhubarb juice is great mixed with ginger ale, and I've found that rhubarb jelly is now my favorite.  Here's the simple recipe for the jelly:
6 cups rhubarb juice
1 pkg. pectin
1/2 tsp. butter
7 cups of sugar
Just follow the directions in the pectin package.  It's delicious.  Sweet and tart.
Picture from Wikipedia
I'm going to try planting and growing rhubarb again.  I mean, who can't grow rhubarb???With such wonderful neighbors, I guess I really don't have to worry about it.

8 comments:

Mama Pea said...

You'll get it to grow, just keep trying. It likes lots of organic fertilizer . . . and I've always been told not to take any more from it after mid-summer so the strength can go to the plant. It also likes to be mulched with its own leaves.

Anonymous said...

I found your blog through The Deliberate Agrarian and have recently become a follower. I'm enjoying your posts very much.

I just planted my first rhubarb plant this morning and I hope that it will do well. A lady down the street has been supplying me with rhubarb for the past few years, and I thought it was time to try it for myself!

I like your idea to make rhubarb juice! That sounds so refreshing :-) I hope you'll finally have success with your next rhubarb planting attempt!

Brenda

Domestically Inclined said...

Thanks for stopping by! I just picked up some rhubarb at the Farmers Market, and can't wait to can some!

Gentleliving7 said...

I have never tried it but it sounds great. Does it grow in the Deep South?
I plan to go peach picking with a friend this week so I guess I will be "peaching" :)
Many blessings to you!
CammyH
Hopefulheart77

odiie said...

Mama Pea-I think I'll plant it on the east side of the house with some cow manure for fertilizer. Hoping it makes it through.

Brenda-Keep me posted on how your rhubarb does. Where did you plant it?

Domestically-Are you canning sauce or juice?

Cammy-I don't think rhubarb grows well down south. It likes cooler weather. I'd love to be peaching-I just love peaches. Hope things are going well. Feeling a little more normal? Love,Rhonda

Gentleliving7 said...

Rhonda,
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I am happy that you are interested in what is going on with me.
The pictures of the field in this post are not where the house was but if you look over the left tent, off in the distance you will see a little bit of a blue tarp. That is where the house was. The house was leveled to the ground by the tornado with the exception of one room that was left standing but heavily damaged. We tarped that room and hope to repair/rebuild it soon and use it for "home base". It was the room with the new chimney and the old wood burning heater. So, we will be able to use some of the wood for firewood if we can actually repair the room. My daddy also has a large fireplace so he is set for firewood.
This has been so overwhelming that it is difficult to plan. All the fences are down on the top ten acres at least. I havent been to the back. I just havent been able to bring myself to do it yet. I know that the bridge over the creek is destroyed because my oldest daughter walked back there and took pictures. There are more large trees down back there and the tornado tied many of the trees together in a tangled mass with each other. I saw the pictures and it is unbelievable. The tornado would snap off a tree and strip all the bark off it....leaving it a splintered stub. Or it would just uproot trees with rootballs three times taller than me at least.
As for the rest of the house, we picked it up off the ground and piece by piece and we burned it. The parts that we couldnt burn either for safety reasons or just because it was unburnable, we either took to recycling or put it by the road and the county picked it up.
My plan is to continue with the cleanup, which will take years and to save money to rebuild. We will build in stages. We did not have insurance so we are on our own...well not really...God is in control of this too and He will take care of it the way He chooses.
We have so many trees down that it is impossible to count them. Acres and Acres of beautiful old trees...just gone. The devastation is just overwhelming. I will continue to post pictures as I take time. I have many of them.
God is gracious to us and for that we are profoundly grateful. I hope this was not more information than you were expecting. :) I am just so happy that you are interested.

Love and blessings to you, Cammy H /hopefulheart77

Anonymous said...

Dear Odiie:

In response to your question, I planted the rhubarb in the only space I had left! The rhubarb gets full sun and it's in well-composted, light soil, with good drainage. It is between what's left of my strawberries and a rose bush. Companion-planting-wise, I hope they all get along ;-)

Mama Pea: Thanks for the tips about not picking after mid-summer and the info about mulching--I didn't know that!

Carol said...

Hi Odiie, Love the name of your farm!
I have had similar trouble with rhubarb, never completely dying but not thriving as it should. I'm side-dressing with manure and keeping it watered once a week or so, but I'm not where I should be and we LOVE rhubarb!

May 31, 2011

Rhubarbing

I can grow a lot of things, but rhubarb isn't one of them.  I had a beautiful patch when we moved  here, and when tearing down the old house, we destroyed it.  I've planted it twice since then, and it has died both times. 
My wonderful neighbors have kept me supplied with the stalks and still bring over plants for me to try again. :)  I received a grocery bag full of strawberry rhubarb on Sunday and yesterday I started "rhubarbing".  At least that's what my daughter calls it.  I made rhubarb cake, rhubarb jelly, rhubarb juice.  Next up I'll make rhubarb syrup (delicious on top of homemade yogurt), and rhubarb sauce.

The rhubarb juice is great mixed with ginger ale, and I've found that rhubarb jelly is now my favorite.  Here's the simple recipe for the jelly:
6 cups rhubarb juice
1 pkg. pectin
1/2 tsp. butter
7 cups of sugar
Just follow the directions in the pectin package.  It's delicious.  Sweet and tart.
Picture from Wikipedia
I'm going to try planting and growing rhubarb again.  I mean, who can't grow rhubarb???With such wonderful neighbors, I guess I really don't have to worry about it.

8 comments:

Mama Pea said...

You'll get it to grow, just keep trying. It likes lots of organic fertilizer . . . and I've always been told not to take any more from it after mid-summer so the strength can go to the plant. It also likes to be mulched with its own leaves.

Anonymous said...

I found your blog through The Deliberate Agrarian and have recently become a follower. I'm enjoying your posts very much.

I just planted my first rhubarb plant this morning and I hope that it will do well. A lady down the street has been supplying me with rhubarb for the past few years, and I thought it was time to try it for myself!

I like your idea to make rhubarb juice! That sounds so refreshing :-) I hope you'll finally have success with your next rhubarb planting attempt!

Brenda

Domestically Inclined said...

Thanks for stopping by! I just picked up some rhubarb at the Farmers Market, and can't wait to can some!

Gentleliving7 said...

I have never tried it but it sounds great. Does it grow in the Deep South?
I plan to go peach picking with a friend this week so I guess I will be "peaching" :)
Many blessings to you!
CammyH
Hopefulheart77

odiie said...

Mama Pea-I think I'll plant it on the east side of the house with some cow manure for fertilizer. Hoping it makes it through.

Brenda-Keep me posted on how your rhubarb does. Where did you plant it?

Domestically-Are you canning sauce or juice?

Cammy-I don't think rhubarb grows well down south. It likes cooler weather. I'd love to be peaching-I just love peaches. Hope things are going well. Feeling a little more normal? Love,Rhonda

Gentleliving7 said...

Rhonda,
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I am happy that you are interested in what is going on with me.
The pictures of the field in this post are not where the house was but if you look over the left tent, off in the distance you will see a little bit of a blue tarp. That is where the house was. The house was leveled to the ground by the tornado with the exception of one room that was left standing but heavily damaged. We tarped that room and hope to repair/rebuild it soon and use it for "home base". It was the room with the new chimney and the old wood burning heater. So, we will be able to use some of the wood for firewood if we can actually repair the room. My daddy also has a large fireplace so he is set for firewood.
This has been so overwhelming that it is difficult to plan. All the fences are down on the top ten acres at least. I havent been to the back. I just havent been able to bring myself to do it yet. I know that the bridge over the creek is destroyed because my oldest daughter walked back there and took pictures. There are more large trees down back there and the tornado tied many of the trees together in a tangled mass with each other. I saw the pictures and it is unbelievable. The tornado would snap off a tree and strip all the bark off it....leaving it a splintered stub. Or it would just uproot trees with rootballs three times taller than me at least.
As for the rest of the house, we picked it up off the ground and piece by piece and we burned it. The parts that we couldnt burn either for safety reasons or just because it was unburnable, we either took to recycling or put it by the road and the county picked it up.
My plan is to continue with the cleanup, which will take years and to save money to rebuild. We will build in stages. We did not have insurance so we are on our own...well not really...God is in control of this too and He will take care of it the way He chooses.
We have so many trees down that it is impossible to count them. Acres and Acres of beautiful old trees...just gone. The devastation is just overwhelming. I will continue to post pictures as I take time. I have many of them.
God is gracious to us and for that we are profoundly grateful. I hope this was not more information than you were expecting. :) I am just so happy that you are interested.

Love and blessings to you, Cammy H /hopefulheart77

Anonymous said...

Dear Odiie:

In response to your question, I planted the rhubarb in the only space I had left! The rhubarb gets full sun and it's in well-composted, light soil, with good drainage. It is between what's left of my strawberries and a rose bush. Companion-planting-wise, I hope they all get along ;-)

Mama Pea: Thanks for the tips about not picking after mid-summer and the info about mulching--I didn't know that!

Carol said...

Hi Odiie, Love the name of your farm!
I have had similar trouble with rhubarb, never completely dying but not thriving as it should. I'm side-dressing with manure and keeping it watered once a week or so, but I'm not where I should be and we LOVE rhubarb!