After harvesting Rhubarb, put the leaves into a bucket and cover with water and allow to stand somewhere for 3 -4 weeks, drain the liquid and strain, and some liquid hand soap (few drops per litre) and then put into a sprayer, you now have a good natural insecticide...Steve...😃
Yes Due to the High Content of OXYALLIC ACID. Highly Poisonous to Eat Out of Season, Gather Rhubarb MAY to AUGUST Only. Store it , Freeze it, But every Stalk from September onwards is HIGHLY Poisonous. Hence the water from the Leaves will Kill Everything Around. Originally from Syberia. It will Kill everything around to Survive the next Season. South Facing Sunny Position Rhubarb will Live 50 + Years. The Same Place in Mum's Garden For Over 50 + Yrs. Yes in DAPPLED SUN / Shade From an Apple Tree. 50 / 50 sun & shade in the Sunny Season in West Yorkshire, UK. Drop a Few Shovels of Compost or Manure on it occasionally & Water it in the Hot Summer & it will Be Great & DeliverBig Long Fat Juicy Sticks All Season MAY to August.
I have a patch of family heirloom rhubarb. Not sure the variety. It came from my great grandmother’s rhubarb patch in Canada 53 years ago! My mother put the roots in one of my clean diapers so the border patrol wouldn’t look and take it. My dad planted it on the family estate and it grew! I now have my own patch of that rhubarb on my property. My parents are passed and the family estate has been sold, but the rhubarb lives on!
I moved to my new farmhouse last September and noticed the Rhubarb right away. It's all over my property and I didn't have to worry about planting it. I've made lots of Strawberry Rhubarb desserts already. Delish.
Rhubarb isn't really a 'thing' here in Japan; it's non-existent in the supermarkets so if you want it the only way is to grow your own. Every time I found a rhubarb seedling in the local garden centre (for some reason, always in the Herb section?) I would take it home, plant it and ... watch it die in the heat of summer. Two years ago, I tried putting my latest victim in a raised bed, with plenty of straw mulch and some left-over strawberry plants as companions, and covered with a canopy of hemp cloth to filter the scorching summer sun. This year, while my stems were nowhere near as luxuriant as the ones in the video, they were good enough to provide enough filling for three crumbles! Result!! Looking forward to an even better harvest next year.
@@KKIcons take courage, I have a friend who did manage to grow rhubarb in west Texas, where there was no water (when she turned on the drip hoses to water her garden in the morning, the well was pumping up sand in a short time) and the temps soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit almost every day in summer!
I had the same problem as you here in southern france the first few leaves were fried in the hot spring son , so like you I put up a sun shade and literaly this week it’s ready for our first harvest ,
Mmmm, rhubarb crumble and custard. A yummy classic. I have a friend who lives in West Yorkshire's mysterious and creepy 'Rhubarb Triangle'. Oh yes. The rhubarb's out there, people. Lock your doors and windows. Remember 'The Day of the Triffids' and be afraid...😲
I have been growing rhubarb for over 40 yrs. The key is to get good roots to plant and use lots of manure or compost. I got my (huge) chunks of root from my father in law who used to grow it commercially. Those scrawny roots you buy at the nurseries around here (Nova Scotia) are slow and pathetic. I planted my roots in 100% sheep manure 41 yrs ago and they show no sign of ever slowing down. I do very little maintenance except to remove the seed tops, divide the overgrown roots every 4-5 yrs, (and give them away) and occasionally spread a little seaweed around them. Dead leaves are left where they fall. Thanks for your video.
When I was a kid we were often given a stalk of rhubarb and a small handful of sugar - dip the rhubarb and the sugar take a bite. You certainly needed the sugar let's face it. :) And I've just inherited a garden with enough room to plant outside, so my rhubarb from containers has been put into a garden bed. The difference is incredible. They are growing much, much bigger.
In Newfoundland, everyone had a rhubarb patch in their backyard. I even found one under the patio steps in my apartment in New Brunswick. They’re almost like weeds! I would pick a stalk and eat it while biking to work.
Oh the wonders of rhubarb. I get teased for growing so much of it! The one benefit to rhubarb is that it is a wonderful rhizome barrier. I plant mine around the edge of one of my plots and it works wonders for suppressing crab grass. Another thing is, is that the leaves are great at ridding your yard of ants. Just on leaf on top of the hill then the ants disappear.
I'm going to test wrapping a rhubarb leaf around my apple tree the ants are farming aphids on... I'll let you know. Knowing my luck they will come out wearing tiny hazmat suits 😂
I remember my grandmothers patch in New York. It was huge. Mom and dad would come home with bags of it. Then we would have pie periodically throughout the year. It’s one of my favorites for making crisps. I forgot about this plant until last year when my neighbor gave me some.
My father kept a patch of rhubarb around the house I grew up in. This plant is the reason I love sweet and tart things. My mother would help us harvest it and turn it into strawberry rhubarb jams and pies. I just recently started my own patch of rhubarb.
I live in Southern California. While I CAN grow it as an annual, I'm often envious of those who can easily grow it as a perennial because we do not get frost here. What I end up doing to ensure rhubarb gets the chilly temperatures it needs, I dig up the crown, albeit with the stalks and leaves still looking good, and place it in the refrigerator in the end of January after spraying some of the soil off with water. After 6-8 weeks, I take it out and place it back in the soil. Not the most conventional way of growing it but it works! I did have to break that rule of not harvesting in that first year because when I got the potted plant, it was very root bound so some of the roots had to be pruned and then the leaves. I'm glad it bounced back.
That is surprising. I also don't get frost in SA, lowest temp in summer about 5 degC at night and 10 degC in the day, only few days. Never had to dig my plane out to put in the fridge and it's still growing after 4 years.
Ben, thank you for your instructions! My grandfather, a farmer, brought me up on rhubarb. He taught me about the manure, moisture, and good flavor. He also told me to always break off the leaf end and tuck it under the other leaves to make a good mulch. His patch grew for over 40+ years. We've had ours for almost as long, and having cattle helps keep the raised bed full of wonderful rotted manure. Keep up the great work!!
Ben's enthusiasm is so obviously genuine that it never fails to get me excited about the subject. I'm pondering where to plant some rhubarb, when a few minutes ago I was worrying about a sick pet. Ben cant fix my pet but he can distract me from pointless worry. Tomorrow I will distract myself, finding the right spot to plant rhubarb.
Thank You for sharing. My husband and I ate rhubarb for the first time last year. Yummy. Bought our first rhubarb plant this year. Hoping to get decades of yummy rhubarb from it.
We had a patch when I was a kid. It was on the east side of the pole barn where it was only morning sun and a bit protected during the Michigan winters (under a bed of straw). We had it for ages... and I always ate it fresh from the garden. I never cared for it sweetened.
Rhubarb Plants & Apple Trees seem to Like Eachother. As they Do When Cooked, Baked Eaten. My Rhubarb Grows 20 ft to the North of my Apple Tree. in 20% Shade in the UK.
Thank you for another great video. Last year I traded some of my cucumbers for some rhubarb. I then cooked the rhubarb with oranges and ginger and added sugar to taste this was delicious. I cooked it in the oven with a currant and mixed spice cobbler and served with custard. It was very nice
I Simmer it & Drink the Juice. Rhubarb Crumble is Great & Easy to make. Sweeten Rhubarb by adding Eating Apples. NOT SUGAR, Honey is Better for you. Add to suit your taste.
My rhubarb plants came with my property. I've been here just over 23 years. I don't know how long the plants were here before me, but they get massive and they keep expanding. Every year I dig up a bunch of crowns & give them to friends who want their own rhubarb plants. Even so I still end up with way too much rhubarb. 🤣
@@GrowVeg I'm glad you included tips on how to use it in other ways than as a pudding. I'd always wondered if it could be suited to other uses, but traditionally of course we've only had it for dessert. It's one of a few foods that I couldn't stand as a child (nuts being another) which I have come to love in adulthood, and we've been enjoying ours for two years at the current house. In fact, despite knowing that you are supposed to refrain from picking in the first year, it's growth was so strong that we did take a bit and got away with it, having yet more powerful growth the next year. It's such a great veg to grow, being so productive and foolproof to look after.
And, yes, rhubarb does grow on for a long time - mine was in another location in the yard when we moved in 40 years ago. I moved it and it has thrived ever since. I too am interested in those drink recipes! Thanks for posting those.
Thank you Ben! Have a a plant in need of manure!! Wish I had this video when I planted mine! Look forward to the wonderful abundant plant I will view next season!
@@lavenderbutterfly1433 we've had some great fruit harvests last year. Made lots of crumbles and jam which were given out as gifts. This year the stems are quite thin and not as red as before. Tastes great though. Will put some rotted down manure for a winter cover and see if it helps next years growth.
As a beginner gardener, I was suspect of splitting the rhubarb on our property a few years ago. We were delighted that the very next summer we had two thriving plants with lots of strong stalks. We mix rhubarb in with our apple crisp and of course make lots of cake and muffins. The kids would grab a stalk and a sandwich bag of sugar, dipping the stalk into the sugar before taking a bite.
@@ufochris Iowa State University says early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked. Use a sharp, clean spade or a very sharp, clean knife to divide the crown into two or three sections as long as each section has at least two buds and a large section of the root system.
Rhubarb is one of those nice plants that you just stick in the ground and it grows. In the spring I chop up some smaller leaves and stems and put them in the planting holes for brocolli and cabbage when I set them out (something my grandpa always did.) It's supposed to prevent club root. Now if we could just find something to control the worms!
Your rhubarb looks the same as the old fashioned rhubarb that has been growing in our local allotment. In our rural village it has been growing for 30 yrs and was abandoned every yr they go to seed so I collected some 2yrs ago my rhubarb is thriving !!!!! We can go in to the allotment and get any rhubarb we want I make jam for my neighbours !!!!I love your videos Ben. 😇😇😇
Thanks for the vid Ben, it answered all my questions. Just started prepping the soil for eight decent plants. Just got to find some well rotted horse poo !!. Have subscribed. Cheers.
There was a huge old crown in my veg patch when I moved here 12 years ago. I split it up and replanted the bits as understorey in my orchard area where they've thrived ever since. We sometimes get down to minus 10C here but it rarely snows but it seems to grow (albeit slowly) through winter
I grow up in Germany and we had a big garden. we hat rhubarb for making delicious cakes and I used the weeds for playing when I was a child. it needs not much to do to because rhubarb is a easy plants. sorry for my English 😊
My uncle has a wonderful rhubarb patch that was there when he bought his house over 55 years ago it is still going strong. So rhubarb can last a long time.
I have been growing Rhubarb for years now without even 'forcing' once, and every year i get some cracking stalks so much so i'm overloaded with them, and so i have to either chop them up to freeze, or give them to neighbours. I suppose were you have yours under the tree will come in handy for some leaf mulch, settling around the Rhubarb when the leaves fall off the branches. Cheers, Barry (Wirral)
As a new gardener (only had our allotment 6 months and it was more luck than judgment over the summer) these videos are so helpful. I really want to plant a rhubard, glad I watched this first, will use some of the compost we have been making 😁
Thanks so much for this! I had no idea how rubarb was grown- only that I like to eat it. 😂 This winter there was a single rubarb start at my local nursery, so I snapped it up and I’m going to nurse it along. (I’ve had to nurse it already, all the stems died back, but it’s putting out more.)
Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe rhubarb does best in northern latitudes. New England, for example. I garden in hot Maryland & suspect I live at the southern edge of successful rhubarb growing. Higher elevations of Virginia or West Virginia might be ok, but my rhubarb struggles in our heat and heavy clay soil. Climate change isn’t helping any! Another important point for planting: you must get the crown at the proper soil height, or it won’t make it. I tried several times planting a stick-like root from a catalog, where I had no idea how deep to plant. Eventually, I got some plants from a friend & got some established.
Let's get on it then! Still ANOTHER plant to add to the garden 😱 BUT I can use the strawberries as well that I grow to make some GREAT crumble huh? 👍👊 You ever thought of doing a recipe vlog?
That would be a lovely combination. I do the occasional recipe relating to storing produce, but I'm not really a chef! Loved these ideas for using up green tomatoes though: ua-cam.com/video/gGV_CiYLmV0/v-deo.html
as a child we had some rhubarb plants on the family farm. 20 years later the farm is basically gone, but i went back to the old rhubarb patch and found a few surviving plants. Spent the last few years cultivating them, patiently letting it grow fully before splitting it up again and again each year. Given that I haven't killed it yet, this plant is truly one you can't mess up
My mother in law, who was Scandinavian, told me that a Rhubarb plant needs to be split with a shovel once every 3 years. This is something she did for years and she always had beautiful plants.
Fabulous vid! I do want to grow my own rhubarb but it might be a 'next garden' thing so I have enough room to make a nice plot. I really hope I get a bigger garden next time we move! :D Thanks for all your insights :)
Thanks Ben, It’s so nice that your channel exists. It helped me out in many ways and times. No question! I’m trying to grow horseradish. I like to have a strong tasting one. Any advice?
I've seen horseradish grow very successfully in containers. I'm not sure there's a secret to getting it extra hot - I imagine the root is going to be pretty spicy no matter how you grow it, like wasabi is, for example.
cette année, j'ai laissé une des miennes monter en graines, je les ai récoltées. j'en ai semé de suite qui ont germé après quelques semaines. J'en ai conservé une partie que je vais semer au printemps. Donc ça fonctionne bien, même dans le sud de la Belgique!
GRANDPA GREW RHUBARB...AND WOULD MAKE RHUBARB SAUCE...TONS OF SUGAR ADDED TO CUT UP RHUBARB, ADD WATER AND BOILED DOWN TO A WONDERFUL TASTING SAUCE...I WARM MINE UP AS ITS REALLY GOOD THAT WAY😂❤
This is one thing I have grown and I freeze any excess. Just a thought, but could you share your recipes. I just make crumble and tarts, never thought about drinks before it. I love eating it in winter, it just reminds me of summer. Thanks for your video. Brilliant as always. With your help I might grow more than just rhubarb next year.
Some ideas for drinks…. Cook up some chopped rhubarb with a little water in a pot with a lid. Once the rhubarb is very tender, purée with an immersion blender and sweeten to taste. Mix with fizzy water and you’ve got a delightful rhubarb soda. Or mix with strawberries and other fruit to make a smoothy. For a tasty alcoholic beverage, try making rhubarb margaritas with rhubarb purée, tequila, and orange liquor. I add a bit of rosemary and smoky chipotle powder to really jazz it up. Cheers!
Add bonemeal to hole before planting and they will take right off. I saved some old plants that were taken over by trees and shade. I dug them up and moved to full sun with bonemeal and they were as big as I remembered when I was a kid. They were in bad shape with soft root systems and almost goners.
Good video, as always! The rhubarb I planted in the fall of 2020 never came up this year, so I plan to try a spring planting next (my winters are very severe, perhaps too much for a fall planting). I'm thinking of trying Glaskin's Perpetual so I can get a longer harvest. I look forward to trying some rhubarb beverage recipes!
If you are going to force your rhubarb, it helps to dig the crown up and leave it on the surface over winter, exposed to frost. That's certainly what the commercial forcing companies do. My father dug up his rhubarb every winter, even the ones he wasn't going to force. He would split any large crowns into 2 or more at the same time.
@@GrowVeg Well they are in, Victoria and Stockbridge Arrow, if they do not grow after the volume of soil and flint I dug out and replaced with rotted manure and compost and loosely seized soil, I’ll cry.
Unsure of the Victoria variety since mine were gifted by divisions with a 'Free' sigh, but rhubarb can be acidic. Pouring boiling water over the prepared and cut rhubarb chunks, steeping for a couple of minutes, followed by discarding the water, will permit reducing recipe sugar amounts by about half.
Impressive. How big does the root system get? I’m mainly wondering how deep the planting area has to be, which for me is on top of and between large rocks.
After harvesting Rhubarb, put the leaves into a bucket and cover with water and allow to stand somewhere for 3 -4 weeks, drain the liquid and strain, and some liquid hand soap (few drops per litre) and then put into a sprayer, you now have a good natural insecticide...Steve...😃
Thanks for the info
This is brilliant Steve - thank you!
Yes Due to the High Content of OXYALLIC ACID.
Highly Poisonous to Eat Out of Season,
Gather Rhubarb MAY to AUGUST Only. Store it , Freeze it, But every Stalk from September onwards is HIGHLY Poisonous.
Hence the water from the Leaves will Kill Everything Around.
Originally from Syberia.
It will Kill everything around to Survive the next Season.
South Facing Sunny Position Rhubarb will Live 50 + Years.
The Same Place in Mum's Garden For Over 50 + Yrs.
Yes in DAPPLED SUN / Shade From an Apple Tree. 50 / 50 sun & shade in the Sunny Season in West Yorkshire, UK.
Drop a Few Shovels of Compost or Manure on it occasionally & Water it in the Hot Summer & it will Be Great & DeliverBig Long Fat Juicy Sticks All Season MAY to August.
Awesome. Thanks!
Cool st
I have a patch of family heirloom rhubarb. Not sure the variety. It came from my great grandmother’s rhubarb patch in Canada 53 years ago! My mother put the roots in one of my clean diapers so the border patrol wouldn’t look and take it. My dad planted it on the family estate and it grew! I now have my own patch of that rhubarb on my property. My parents are passed and the family estate has been sold, but the rhubarb lives on!
How wonderful to hear it's still living on - that quite some rhubarb!
Love this story! What a great piece of family history, hope it continues to grow for you x
Would it be ok to put bark around them?
wife is crazy about this gardener guy! I like to watch him, too! He gives such great demos of "how to" for whatever plant. He is worth watching!!!
Thanks so much Dale. Happy gardening!
The poison in the leaves will be bad for your compost heap.
I moved to my new farmhouse last September and noticed the Rhubarb right away. It's all over my property and I didn't have to worry about planting it. I've made lots of Strawberry Rhubarb desserts already. Delish.
Wonderful!
Rhubarb isn't really a 'thing' here in Japan; it's non-existent in the supermarkets so if you want it the only way is to grow your own. Every time I found a rhubarb seedling in the local garden centre (for some reason, always in the Herb section?) I would take it home, plant it and ... watch it die in the heat of summer.
Two years ago, I tried putting my latest victim in a raised bed, with plenty of straw mulch and some left-over strawberry plants as companions, and covered with a canopy of hemp cloth to filter the scorching summer sun. This year, while my stems were nowhere near as luxuriant as the ones in the video, they were good enough to provide enough filling for three crumbles! Result!!
Looking forward to an even better harvest next year.
Nice one - you got there in the end!
Wow, this isnt going to be easy in TX either, where every strawberry for me has been an annual for the last 10 years.
@@KKIcons take courage, I have a friend who did manage to grow rhubarb in west Texas, where there was no water (when she turned on the drip hoses to water her garden in the morning, the well was pumping up sand in a short time) and the temps soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit almost every day in summer!
I had the same problem as you here in southern france the first few leaves were fried in the hot spring son , so like you I put up a sun shade and literaly this week it’s ready for our first harvest ,
Look up "Wicking Buckets" from "Leon the Gardener" and you may be able to grow it.
Mmmm, rhubarb crumble and custard. A yummy classic. I have a friend who lives in West Yorkshire's mysterious and creepy 'Rhubarb Triangle'. Oh yes.
The rhubarb's out there, people. Lock your doors and windows. Remember 'The Day of the Triffids' and be afraid...😲
Apparently you can even hear them growing in those giant rhubarb-forcing sheds.
I have been growing rhubarb for over 40 yrs. The key is to get good roots to plant and use lots of manure or compost. I got my (huge) chunks of root from my father in law who used to grow it commercially. Those scrawny roots you buy at the nurseries around here (Nova Scotia) are slow and pathetic. I planted my roots in 100% sheep manure 41 yrs ago and they show no sign of ever slowing down. I do very little maintenance except to remove the seed tops, divide the overgrown roots every 4-5 yrs, (and give them away) and occasionally spread a little seaweed around them. Dead leaves are left where they fall. Thanks for your video.
I bet that seaweed will be doing wonders for your rhubarb - what a great resource to have. Cheers for watching Mike.
Our rhubarb plants are around 70 years old. Amazing. They were here when my parents moved here 66 years ago, here in New Hampshire.
That's exceptionally old!
@@GrowVeg - Going to harvest some in a day or two and make some blueberry rhubarb pie. One of my dad's favorites. He just turned 94.
Wow
When I was a kid we were often given a stalk of rhubarb and a small handful of sugar - dip the rhubarb and the sugar take a bite. You certainly needed the sugar let's face it. :) And I've just inherited a garden with enough room to plant outside, so my rhubarb from containers has been put into a garden bed. The difference is incredible. They are growing much, much bigger.
That's really great to hear Bob. Plenty of stalks to enjoy I hope.
Yes we also eat it with sugar at Poland 🇵🇱 😅
Just done the same and hoping it takes off like yours!
Rhubarb and mint jelly is easy to make and is lovely to have with meat. The colour of the jelly itself, is a joy to behold!
Sounds lovey.
In Newfoundland, everyone had a rhubarb patch in their backyard. I even found one under the patio steps in my apartment in New Brunswick. They’re almost like weeds! I would pick a stalk and eat it while biking to work.
Ben , your videos are so fun , you are thoughtful and thorough , you make me smile and laugh .
So pleased to hear that. :-)
Oh the wonders of rhubarb. I get teased for growing so much of it! The one benefit to rhubarb is that it is a wonderful rhizome barrier. I plant mine around the edge of one of my plots and it works wonders for suppressing crab grass. Another thing is, is that the leaves are great at ridding your yard of ants. Just on leaf on top of the hill then the ants disappear.
I never knew that Kris - what a fantastic tip, thank you.
What a great tip for ants!
Yes Because the Rhubarb Leaf is Very TOXIC / Poisonous.
( OXALIC ACID. ) September to May Here in the UK.
Whaaaaaat? Seriously?! I’m definitely going to try this……
I'm going to test wrapping a rhubarb leaf around my apple tree the ants are farming aphids on... I'll let you know. Knowing my luck they will come out wearing tiny hazmat suits 😂
I remember my grandmothers patch in New York. It was huge. Mom and dad would come home with bags of it. Then we would have pie periodically throughout the year. It’s one of my favorites for making crisps.
I forgot about this plant until last year when my neighbor gave me some.
You have a superb neighbor!
@beebob1279 I'd love to hear how you make the crisps, always keen to find new uses for rhubarb.
My father kept a patch of rhubarb around the house I grew up in. This plant is the reason I love sweet and tart things. My mother would help us harvest it and turn it into strawberry rhubarb jams and pies. I just recently started my own patch of rhubarb.
I hope your rhubarb patch grows well and yields lots of lovely stems to remake those childhood treats. :-)
I live in Southern California. While I CAN grow it as an annual, I'm often envious of those who can easily grow it as a perennial because we do not get frost here. What I end up doing to ensure rhubarb gets the chilly temperatures it needs, I dig up the crown, albeit with the stalks and leaves still looking good, and place it in the refrigerator in the end of January after spraying some of the soil off with water. After 6-8 weeks, I take it out and place it back in the soil.
Not the most conventional way of growing it but it works! I did have to break that rule of not harvesting in that first year because when I got the potted plant, it was very root bound so some of the roots had to be pruned and then the leaves. I'm glad it bounced back.
Well done Anthony, your persistence and hard work obviously pays off. :-)
That is surprising. I also don't get frost in SA, lowest temp in summer about 5 degC at night and 10 degC in the day, only few days. Never had to dig my plane out to put in the fridge and it's still growing after 4 years.
You could probably just pack ice cubes around the base for two weeks, instead of digging it up. Orchids like ice cubes too.
I didn’t know how to take care of my rhubarb so this was a great video for me!
Ben, thank you for your instructions! My grandfather, a farmer, brought me up on rhubarb. He taught me about the manure, moisture, and good flavor. He also told me to always break off the leaf end and tuck it under the other leaves to make a good mulch. His patch grew for over 40+ years. We've had ours for almost as long, and having cattle helps keep the raised bed full of wonderful rotted manure. Keep up the great work!!
Thanks Terri. Your grandfather sounds like a sensible and learned man.
Very lucky!!!
Ben's enthusiasm is so obviously genuine that it never fails to get me excited about the subject. I'm pondering where to plant some rhubarb, when a few minutes ago I was worrying about a sick pet. Ben cant fix my pet but he can distract me from pointless worry.
Tomorrow I will distract myself, finding the right spot to plant rhubarb.
Hope your pet feels better soon!
Finally a video I needed. Planted it and had no idea how to tell when to pick it or what to do with it. Thanks for all the tips.
You're very welcome - so pleased the video was handy. :-)
I enjoy these videos, but the puppy cameos are the best!
Thank You for sharing. My husband and I ate rhubarb for the first time last year. Yummy. Bought our first rhubarb plant this year. Hoping to get decades of yummy rhubarb from it.
Wonderful! I'm sure you'll be cropping for many years to come.
We had a patch when I was a kid. It was on the east side of the pole barn where it was only morning sun and a bit protected during the Michigan winters (under a bed of straw). We had it for ages... and I always ate it fresh from the garden. I never cared for it sweetened.
I always remembered rhubarb tasting gross but now I'm hooked on it! Thanks for the info
That's great to hear Alex!
I have planted rhubarb under apple tree couple years ago and it’s growing really well ,thank you for sharing video ❤️
That's wonderful to hear - hopefully my new rhubarb will be equally successful. :-)
Rhubarb Plants & Apple Trees seem to Like Eachother. As they Do When Cooked, Baked Eaten.
My Rhubarb Grows 20 ft to the North of my Apple Tree. in 20% Shade in the UK.
As a kid we used to pick it an put salt in our hand and dip it.loved it.
Great video. Thank you from Wisconsin, for sharing your knowledge!
Thanks for watching! :-)
Thank you for another great video. Last year I traded some of my cucumbers for some rhubarb. I then cooked the rhubarb with oranges and ginger and added sugar to taste this was delicious. I cooked it in the oven with a currant and mixed spice cobbler and served with custard. It was very nice
Sounds like a culinary triumph Anne!
Not many people make Jam with Rhubarb, but its Fantastic !!
I Simmer it & Drink the Juice.
Rhubarb Crumble is Great & Easy to make.
Sweeten Rhubarb by adding Eating Apples.
NOT SUGAR,
Honey is Better for you. Add to suit your taste.
My rhubarb plants came with my property. I've been here just over 23 years. I don't know how long the plants were here before me, but they get massive and they keep expanding. Every year I dig up a bunch of crowns & give them to friends who want their own rhubarb plants. Even so I still end up with way too much rhubarb. 🤣
It's an extraordinarily generous plant Jeff!
@@GrowVeg I'm glad you included tips on how to use it in other ways than as a pudding. I'd always wondered if it could be suited to other uses, but traditionally of course we've only had it for dessert. It's one of a few foods that I couldn't stand as a child (nuts being another) which I have come to love in adulthood, and we've been enjoying ours for two years at the current house. In fact, despite knowing that you are supposed to refrain from picking in the first year, it's growth was so strong that we did take a bit and got away with it, having yet more powerful growth the next year. It's such a great veg to grow, being so productive and foolproof to look after.
I always feel like rhubarb is meant to be shared😊
What city do you live?
@@joanaustin7276 No city, out in the country, about 100 miles north of Seattle.
And, yes, rhubarb does grow on for a long time - mine was in another location in the yard when we moved in 40 years ago. I moved it and it has thrived ever since. I too am interested in those drink recipes! Thanks for posting those.
Where are you located?
@@leannasorcar8673 western Oregon.
Give rhubarb schnapps a search. However don't get tempted to use the rhubarb from the schnapps into a crumble 😬
Strawberry rhubarb it's the best my Granny used to make it.Comes up every year at our house.Was thinking of making a cobbler today.yum yum!
Thanks for this, I'll try and find a space in my little garden for it. I love it, and it's so expensive to buy.😊
I must grow this. Because my kids love to bake strawberry rhubarb pie.
Thank you Ben! Have a a plant in need of manure!! Wish I had this video when I planted mine! Look forward to the wonderful abundant plant I will view next season!
I planted my rhubarb in autumn 2020, it grew really well with fat stems. Looking forward to harvesting our first crop in spring 😊
How is your rhubarb doing now? What region do you live in?
@@lavenderbutterfly1433 we've had some great fruit harvests last year. Made lots of crumbles and jam which were given out as gifts. This year the stems are quite thin and not as red as before. Tastes great though. Will put some rotted down manure for a winter cover and see if it helps next years growth.
@@lavenderbutterfly1433 forgot to mention, I live in Cambridge (UK)
As a beginner gardener, I was suspect of splitting the rhubarb on our property a few years ago. We were delighted that the very next summer we had two thriving plants with lots of strong stalks. We mix rhubarb in with our apple crisp and of course make lots of cake and muffins. The kids would grab a stalk and a sandwich bag of sugar, dipping the stalk into the sugar before taking a bite.
It's a superb plant like that - very resilient and easy to split and grow on.
@@GrowVeg ,can you split it anytime or is spring or fall best?
And just cut it in half with a shovel?
Sort of like sour patch candy but healthier
@@ufochris Iowa State University says early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked. Use a sharp, clean spade or a very sharp, clean knife to divide the crown into two or three sections as long as each section has at least two buds and a large section of the root system.
Rhubarb is one of those nice plants that you just stick in the ground and it grows. In the spring I chop up some smaller leaves and stems and put them in the planting holes for brocolli and cabbage when I set them out (something my grandpa always did.) It's supposed to prevent club root. Now if we could just find something to control the worms!
Have never heard of that - will have to give that a try, thank you.
Rhubarb jam is delicious too.
Your rhubarb looks the same as the old fashioned rhubarb that has been growing in our local allotment. In our rural village it has been growing for 30 yrs and was abandoned every yr they go to seed so I collected some 2yrs ago my rhubarb is thriving !!!!! We can go in to the allotment and get any rhubarb we want I make jam for my neighbours !!!!I love your videos Ben. 😇😇😇
What a lovely resource!
What an awesome, helpful video. This is my first time growing Thubarb. Thank you!!
So pleased you've found it useful! :-)
Thank you Ben. Very useful as we’ve planted our first one about 2 months ago and wanted to make sure we knew how to look after it.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge, with this and so many other videos...im a novice, but you've really got me interested and feel more confident.
I'm delighted to read this. Happy gardening! :-)
love the enthusiasm, i already love learning new gardening techniques but this makes it even more fun :P
Thanks for the vid Ben, it answered all my questions. Just started prepping the soil for eight decent plants. Just got to find some well rotted horse poo !!. Have subscribed. Cheers.
Brill - thanks for subscribing! :-)
There was a huge old crown in my veg patch when I moved here 12 years ago. I split it up and replanted the bits as understorey in my orchard area where they've thrived ever since. We sometimes get down to minus 10C here but it rarely snows but it seems to grow (albeit slowly) through winter
My neighbor has it. We get below -15 f and they do well. Very hardy plants
I grow up in Germany and we had a big garden. we hat rhubarb for making delicious cakes and I used the weeds for playing when I was a child. it needs not much to do to because rhubarb is a easy plants. sorry for my English 😊
Your English is great! Thanks for sharing your experiences with rhubarb. :-)
Never tried to grow rhubarb but gonna try
My uncle has a wonderful rhubarb patch that was there when he bought his house over 55 years ago it is still going strong. So rhubarb can last a long time.
Wow, that's a very old patch!
Such great information, now I want to grow rhubarb. I'm placing an order ASAP.
I have been growing Rhubarb for years now without even 'forcing' once, and every year i get some cracking stalks so much so i'm overloaded with them, and so i have to either chop them up to freeze, or give them to neighbours.
I suppose were you have yours under the tree will come in handy for some leaf mulch, settling around the Rhubarb when the leaves fall off the branches.
Cheers,
Barry (Wirral)
That's very true Barry - the leaf fall should help naturally mulch it.
🌱👍 Always inspired by your videos, Ben🎉//Susanne
Thank you for suggesting planting it under the apple tree. I just planted a honeycrisp tree and its the one place I have space in my new yard.
That's great to hear - it was meant to be!
As a new gardener (only had our allotment 6 months and it was more luck than judgment over the summer) these videos are so helpful.
I really want to plant a rhubard, glad I watched this first, will use some of the compost we have been making 😁
Nice job Ally. You won't regret planting it. :-)
i have some nice rhubarb as well , and sure do love them in the garden
Thanks so much for this! I had no idea how rubarb was grown- only that I like to eat it. 😂 This winter there was a single rubarb start at my local nursery, so I snapped it up and I’m going to nurse it along. (I’ve had to nurse it already, all the stems died back, but it’s putting out more.)
It will make a superb addition to our garden I'm sure Angelica. :-)
My mother would make rhubarb sauce as a side dish and it's good served over cottage cheese.
Thank you! Very helpful.
Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe rhubarb does best in northern latitudes. New England, for example. I garden in hot Maryland & suspect I live at the southern edge of successful rhubarb growing. Higher elevations of Virginia or West Virginia might be ok, but my rhubarb struggles in our heat and heavy clay soil. Climate change isn’t helping any!
Another important point for planting: you must get the crown at the proper soil height, or it won’t make it. I tried several times planting a stick-like root from a catalog, where I had no idea how deep to plant. Eventually, I got some plants from a friend & got some established.
Yes Dan, that is correct, they prefer things on the slightly cooler side.
lovely stuff, thanks!
Delicious 😋!!! Love it!
Absolutely sold. I’ve just bought the one rhubarb plant from my local garden store today, however I’m off to buy more! 😂
Nice one mark! :-)
Rhubarb stew is the best
friendship is always my priority, great video
Love, love, love rhubarb! Great video thanks.
Let's get on it then! Still ANOTHER plant to add to the garden 😱 BUT I can use the strawberries as well that I grow to make some GREAT crumble huh? 👍👊 You ever thought of doing a recipe vlog?
That would be a lovely combination. I do the occasional recipe relating to storing produce, but I'm not really a chef! Loved these ideas for using up green tomatoes though: ua-cam.com/video/gGV_CiYLmV0/v-deo.html
@@GrowVeg THX!
as a child we had some rhubarb plants on the family farm. 20 years later the farm is basically gone, but i went back to the old rhubarb patch and found a few surviving plants. Spent the last few years cultivating them, patiently letting it grow fully before splitting it up again and again each year. Given that I haven't killed it yet, this plant is truly one you can't mess up
That is such a fantastic story. So pleased you managed to rescue those plants. :-)
Salt and rhubarb ever good love it to eat
I love rhubarb, have since I was a kid. I used stop at a neighbors house and ask for rhubarb out of the garden..😋 😋 😋
Great video Ben my rhubarb grew well this year too 👍
A little late to the party here, but I love your videos. They are always useful, informative, interesting, and enjoyable. Well done!!
Cheers Steve, that's hugely appreciated. :-)
Excellent presentation and love your enthusiasm.
It is unique and wonderful!
My mother in law, who was Scandinavian, told me that a Rhubarb plant needs to be split with a shovel once every 3 years. This is something she did for years and she always had beautiful plants.
She sounds like a very wise lady.
Just watched a few of your videos, all brilliant. I am a novice who has just acquired an allotment so need all the help I can get. 👍
Cheers Stuart! Well done on securing an allotment - lots of joy (and the occasional bad back) await. All worth it!
Thank you very much 😊 ❤
Sounds good. I need to find a space somewhere!
Fabulous vid! I do want to grow my own rhubarb but it might be a 'next garden' thing so I have enough room to make a nice plot. I really hope I get a bigger garden next time we move! :D
Thanks for all your insights :)
You're welcome Rachael. I hope you get a bigger garden soon. :-)
Thanks Ben,
It’s so nice that your channel exists. It helped me out in many ways and times. No question! I’m trying to grow horseradish. I like to have a strong tasting one. Any advice?
I've seen horseradish grow very successfully in containers. I'm not sure there's a secret to getting it extra hot - I imagine the root is going to be pretty spicy no matter how you grow it, like wasabi is, for example.
@@GrowVeg
Thanks Ben! Wasabi is next on the list.
Thanks very much for sharing this. I might plant one now too! Love your channel ❤️❤️❤️
That's kind of you to say, thanks for watching and sharing.
Im inspired!! I tried to grow rhubarb last season, but wasnt successful..positive thoughts!!😁
Positive thoughts heading your way Melanie. :-)
cette année, j'ai laissé une des miennes monter en graines, je les ai récoltées. j'en ai semé de suite qui ont germé après quelques semaines. J'en ai conservé une partie que je vais semer au printemps. Donc ça fonctionne bien, même dans le sud de la Belgique!
C'est fantastique!
Don't forget the booful wine as well!
A fantastic addition for any garden 😀
GRANDPA GREW RHUBARB...AND WOULD MAKE RHUBARB SAUCE...TONS OF SUGAR ADDED TO CUT UP RHUBARB, ADD WATER AND BOILED DOWN TO A WONDERFUL TASTING SAUCE...I WARM MINE UP AS ITS REALLY GOOD THAT WAY😂❤
Sounds delicious!
😊😊😊😊😊😊 Thank you very much for the information. 😊😊😊😊😊😊
Hola desde chile
Me encanta tú canal
Gracias por ver!
This is one thing I have grown and I freeze any excess. Just a thought, but could you share your recipes. I just make crumble and tarts, never thought about drinks before it. I love eating it in winter, it just reminds me of summer. Thanks for your video. Brilliant as always. With your help I might grow more than just rhubarb next year.
Some ideas for drinks…. Cook up some chopped rhubarb with a little water in a pot with a lid. Once the rhubarb is very tender, purée with an immersion blender and sweeten to taste. Mix with fizzy water and you’ve got a delightful rhubarb soda. Or mix with strawberries and other fruit to make a smoothy. For a tasty alcoholic beverage, try making rhubarb margaritas with rhubarb purée, tequila, and orange liquor. I add a bit of rosemary and smoky chipotle powder to really jazz it up. Cheers!
@@shannonr9689 Oh lovely, thank you for sharing that.
Thanks for those very tempting ideas Shannon. I will also be sure to try a few of those!
You're always enthusiastic but especially so in this video 😂
Thanks Lee. :-)
Add bonemeal to hole before planting and they will take right off. I saved some old plants that were taken over by trees and shade. I dug them up and moved to full sun with bonemeal and they were as big as I remembered when I was a kid. They were in bad shape with soft root systems and almost goners.
Great tip Chris, many thanks.
Good video, as always! The rhubarb I planted in the fall of 2020 never came up this year, so I plan to try a spring planting next (my winters are very severe, perhaps too much for a fall planting). I'm thinking of trying Glaskin's Perpetual so I can get a longer harvest. I look forward to trying some rhubarb beverage recipes!
Yes, maybe wait to plant until spring. Good luck with your second planting. It'll be well worth the effort.
Nothing beats introducing someone to this miracle. I wouldn't force outdoors though. That's just asking for a beaver infestation.
If you are going to force your rhubarb, it helps to dig the crown up and leave it on the surface over winter, exposed to frost. That's certainly what the commercial forcing companies do.
My father dug up his rhubarb every winter, even the ones he wasn't going to force. He would split any large crowns into 2 or more at the same time.
Interesting, thank you so much for sharing this tip.
I love them 💗 💓
I keep reading that because the roots go down deep it’s best to dig down 2 spits and then add organic matter to the soil.
I don’t think it’s necessary to dig quite that deep. But getting lots of lovely organic matter will definitely help it to establish and thrive.
@@GrowVeg Well they are in, Victoria and Stockbridge Arrow, if they do not grow after the volume of soil and flint I dug out and replaced with rotted manure and compost and loosely seized soil, I’ll cry.
Very useful, thank you.
And once established, their root system also reaches epic proportions and are near impossible to get rid of. :)
Unsure of the Victoria variety since mine were gifted by divisions with a 'Free' sigh, but rhubarb can be acidic. Pouring boiling water over the prepared and cut rhubarb chunks, steeping for a couple of minutes, followed by discarding the water, will permit reducing recipe sugar amounts by about half.
That's a great tip, thanks for sharing Mark.
What an excellent video. 👍🏻 Only Yankees grow rhubarb here, but the best pie I’ve ever eaten, was a strawberry & rhubarb pie.
Sounds like a winning combination.
I love strawberry rhubarb pie❤️❤️❤️❤️
It also makes the best wine.
Impressive. How big does the root system get? I’m mainly wondering how deep the planting area has to be, which for me is on top of and between large rocks.
The root system can get pretty extensive. I would estimate at least 2ft (60cm) deep.