Upstate NY, zone 6. I have a rhubarb plant which is too big for the spot
where I planted it last year. This was obvious at the time I planted it, but
what's new? Anyway, I'd like to move it, and maybe divide it & give some to
a friend. It's just now showing some growth, maybe 3-4" high. Good time to
move it? What about dividing it? I haven't lived with the plant for enough
years to really tell how it grows. Single crown? Split it like a hosta? Are
they pretty rugged plants?

In article ,
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:

Upstate NY, zone 6. I have a rhubarb plant which is too big for the spot
where I planted it last year. This was obvious at the time I planted it, but
what's new? Anyway, I'd like to move it, and maybe divide it & give some to
a friend. It's just now showing some growth, maybe 3-4" high. Good time to
move it? What about dividing it? I haven't lived with the plant for enough
years to really tell how it grows. Single crown? Split it like a hosta? Are
they pretty rugged plants?

Split like a hosta and if possible a bushel of compost per plant. Take
off seed clusters if you see them.

Bill who assumes you know the leaves are toxic (High in oxalic acid).

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&c...&sa=X&oi=spell
&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=stewed+Rhubarb&spell =1

We enjoy Rhubarb, sugar, vanilla as a stew with ice cream or just by its
self .

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

"Bill" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:

Upstate NY, zone 6. I have a rhubarb plant which is too big for the spot
where I planted it last year. This was obvious at the time I planted it,
but
what's new? Anyway, I'd like to move it, and maybe divide it & give some
to
a friend. It's just now showing some growth, maybe 3-4" high. Good time
to
move it? What about dividing it? I haven't lived with the plant for
enough
years to really tell how it grows. Single crown? Split it like a hosta?
Are
they pretty rugged plants?

Split like a hosta and if possible a bushel of compost per plant. Take
off seed clusters if you see them.

Good. Easy.

"Many rhubarb problems can be traced to...." (He should be along soon to
tell me about my rhubarb tree)



Bill who assumes you know the leaves are toxic (High in oxalic acid).


Damn...I just ate one...

THUD


We enjoy Rhubarb, sugar, vanilla as a stew with ice cream or just by its
self .


Recipe: Rhubarb ‘Big Crumb’ Coffeecake

Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling



Butter for greasing pan



FOR THE RHUBARB FILLING:



1/2 pound rhubarb, trimmed

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger



FOR THE CRUMBS:

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup melted butter

1 3/4 cups cake flour



FOR THE CAKE:

1/3 cup sour cream

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup cake flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 8 pieces.



1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan. For
filling, slice rhubarb 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and
ginger. Set aside.



2. To make crumbs, in a large bowl, whisk together sugars, spices, salt and
butter until smooth. Stir in flour with a spatula. It will look like a solid
dough.



3. To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg
yolk and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together
flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful
of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened.
Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in
two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down
the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about 1/2 cup batter and set
aside.



4. Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon rhubarb over batter.
Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even.



5. Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch
to 3/4 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are
around that size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted
into center comes out clean of batter (it might be moist from rhubarb), 45
to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.



Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in
:

Upstate NY, zone 6. I have a rhubarb plant which is too big
for the spot where I planted it last year. This was obvious
at the time I planted it, but what's new? Anyway, I'd like
to move it, and maybe divide it & give some to a friend.
It's just now showing some growth, maybe 3-4" high. Good
time to move it? What about dividing it? I haven't lived
with the plant for enough years to really tell how it
grows. Single crown? Split it like a hosta? Are they pretty
rugged plants?

mine are only about 2" high, but they were in a big snowbank
until day before yesterday...
split is just like a hosta, mix manure & compost in the new
area & plant. rhubarb loves manure. then give it at least a
year to get established before you start picking it.

if you keep it watered & mulched, it doesn't get woody &
yucky as fast, either.

lee 30' row of rhubarb
--
Last night while sitting in my chair
I pinged a host that wasn't there
It wasn't there again today
The host resolved to NSA.

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
Upstate NY, zone 6. I have a rhubarb plant which is too big for the spot
where I planted it last year. This was obvious at the time I planted it,
but what's new? Anyway, I'd like to move it, and maybe divide it & give
some to a friend. It's just now showing some growth, maybe 3-4" high. Good
time to move it? What about dividing it? I haven't lived with the plant
for enough years to really tell how it grows. Single crown? Split it like
a hosta? Are they pretty rugged plants?

I see your moving the rhubarb question was answered. Do you know NOT to cut
the stalks when harvesting but grab them down at ground level and twist them
off. I have no idea why but it's better for the plant, or so I was taught.
My grandparents had 100 total acres of blackberries, raspberries and rhubarb
they grew for market. The rhubarb harvesters were never allowed to cut/trim
the stalks until after they'd been twisted off. I have no idea if this is
true or just some old tale they insisted on when harvesting.

Val

"Val" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
Upstate NY, zone 6. I have a rhubarb plant which is too big for the spot
where I planted it last year. This was obvious at the time I planted it,
but what's new? Anyway, I'd like to move it, and maybe divide it & give
some to a friend. It's just now showing some growth, maybe 3-4" high.
Good time to move it? What about dividing it? I haven't lived with the
plant for enough years to really tell how it grows. Single crown? Split
it like a hosta? Are they pretty rugged plants?

I see your moving the rhubarb question was answered. Do you know NOT to
cut the stalks when harvesting but grab them down at ground level and
twist them off. I have no idea why but it's better for the plant, or so I
was taught. My grandparents had 100 total acres of blackberries,
raspberries and rhubarb they grew for market. The rhubarb harvesters were
never allowed to cut/trim the stalks until after they'd been twisted off.
I have no idea if this is true or just some old tale they insisted on when
harvesting.

Val



I cut them last season and nothing awful happened.

In article , "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

"Val" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
Upstate NY, zone 6. I have a rhubarb plant which is too big for the spot
where I planted it last year. This was obvious at the time I planted it,
but what's new? Anyway, I'd like to move it, and maybe divide it & give
some to a friend. It's just now showing some growth, maybe 3-4" high.
Good time to move it? What about dividing it? I haven't lived with the
plant for enough years to really tell how it grows. Single crown? Split
it like a hosta? Are they pretty rugged plants?

I see your moving the rhubarb question was answered. Do you know NOT to
cut the stalks when harvesting but grab them down at ground level and
twist them off. I have no idea why but it's better for the plant, or so I
was taught. My grandparents had 100 total acres of blackberries,
raspberries and rhubarb they grew for market. The rhubarb harvesters were
never allowed to cut/trim the stalks until after they'd been twisted off.
I have no idea if this is true or just some old tale they insisted on when
harvesting.

Val



I cut them last season and nothing awful happened.

Me too. I think of rhubarb as a tasty weed. Seems nothin' kills it.

-paghat the ratgirl
--
visit my temperate gardening website:
http://www.paghat.com
visit my film reviews website:
http://www.weirdwildrealm.com

In article ,
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:

"Val" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
Upstate NY, zone 6. I have a rhubarb plant which is too big for the spot
where I planted it last year. This was obvious at the time I planted it,
but what's new? Anyway, I'd like to move it, and maybe divide it & give
some to a friend. It's just now showing some growth, maybe 3-4" high.
Good time to move it? What about dividing it? I haven't lived with the
plant for enough years to really tell how it grows. Single crown? Split
it like a hosta? Are they pretty rugged plants?

I see your moving the rhubarb question was answered. Do you know NOT to
cut the stalks when harvesting but grab them down at ground level and
twist them off. I have no idea why but it's better for the plant, or so I
was taught. My grandparents had 100 total acres of blackberries,
raspberries and rhubarb they grew for market. The rhubarb harvesters were
never allowed to cut/trim the stalks until after they'd been twisted off.
I have no idea if this is true or just some old tale they insisted on when
harvesting.

Val



I cut them last season and nothing awful happened.

Yet!
--

Billy

Impeach Pelosi, Bush & Cheney to the Hague
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"Val" wrote in message
...
I have no idea if this is true or just some old tale they insisted on
when harvesting.

Val



I cut them last season and nothing awful happened.

I just did some research about harvesting rhubarb. Apparently growers
insisted on the stalks being twisted off to insure the new growth for the
second harvest isn't damaged or cut by knives. Obviously strolling out to
the garden to harvest home grown is a little different situation than mass
commercial type harvest. Huh, interesting.

Val

"Val" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"Val" wrote in message
...
I have no idea if this is true or just some old tale they insisted on
when harvesting.

Val



I cut them last season and nothing awful happened.

I just did some research about harvesting rhubarb. Apparently growers
insisted on the stalks being twisted off to insure the new growth for the
second harvest isn't damaged or cut by knives. Obviously strolling out to
the garden to harvest home grown is a little different situation than mass
commercial type harvest. Huh, interesting.

Val


That makes sense.

"Val" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
Upstate NY, zone 6. I have a rhubarb plant which is too big for the spot
where I planted it last year. This was obvious at the time I planted it,
but what's new? Anyway, I'd like to move it, and maybe divide it & give
some to a friend. It's just now showing some growth, maybe 3-4" high. Good
time to move it? What about dividing it? I haven't lived with the plant
for enough years to really tell how it grows. Single crown? Split it like
a hosta? Are they pretty rugged plants?

I see your moving the rhubarb question was answered. Do you know NOT to cut
the stalks when harvesting but grab them down at ground level and twist them
off. I have no idea why but it's better for the plant, or so I was taught.
My grandparents had 100 total acres of blackberries, raspberries and rhubarb
they grew for market. The rhubarb harvesters were never allowed to cut/trim
the stalks until after they'd been twisted off. I have no idea if this is
true or just some old tale they insisted on when harvesting.


The quick answer is that it is just easier that way and you avoid accidentally
cutting part of the plant that you didn't want to cut (or yourself) which may
be a consideration if you want to work fast. If you are selling by weight you
get a bit more weight than if you cut it but it generally sells by the bunch.

As others have said the stuff is pretty indestructable.

David

"Wilson" wrote in message
...
sometime in the recent past Val posted this:
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
Upstate NY, zone 6. I have a rhubarb plant which is too big for the spot
where I planted it last year. This was obvious at the time I planted it,
but what's new? Anyway, I'd like to move it, and maybe divide it & give
some to a friend. It's just now showing some growth, maybe 3-4" high.
Good time to move it? What about dividing it? I haven't lived with the
plant for enough years to really tell how it grows. Single crown? Split
it like a hosta? Are they pretty rugged plants?

I see your moving the rhubarb question was answered. Do you know NOT to
cut the stalks when harvesting but grab them down at ground level and
twist them off. I have no idea why but it's better for the plant, or so I
was taught. My grandparents had 100 total acres of blackberries,
raspberries and rhubarb they grew for market. The rhubarb harvesters were
never allowed to cut/trim the stalks until after they'd been twisted off.
I have no idea if this is true or just some old tale they insisted on
when harvesting.

Val
I was taught by my grandfather and we basically give the stalk a firm tug
making sure to be in line with the way the leaf is growing. This separates
it at the ground level so you have the broad white end on the stalk with a
small bit of that brown filmy skin. You can't hurt it, but it gets rather
crowded at the base of the plant if you keep leaving bits of stalk on the
crown.

If you remove the seed stalks when discovered and keep picking it, you can
still have nice, edible fruit well into August. And it's not woody or
stringy or anything. It's just that most folks let it go to seed and then
the plant stops growing new stalks and the old stuff gets tough. IMHO

--
Wilson N45 W67


Mine sticks out into the "lane" where I need to mow, so to avoid mangling
it, I'm constantly harvesting and watching for seed pods. Looked pretty good
all the way into September.