Rhubarb question
 

I found some rhubarb off in the corner of my property that had put up
seedstalks. I cut them off, but by the time I got to them, they were mostly
dead. Three of the plants consist of dead stalk and dead leaves, and the
other two are mostly dead and have one or two leaves that are green. I cut
off the dead growth and am watering them, but there is no sign of new
growth. Anyone here with rhubarb experience care to comment on the
likelyhood of the plants surviving and growing back?

Rhubarb question
 

"Zootal" wrote in
:

I found some rhubarb off in the corner of my property that
had put up seedstalks. I cut them off, but by the time I
got to them, they were mostly dead. Three of the plants
consist of dead stalk and dead leaves, and the other two
are mostly dead and have one or two leaves that are green.
I cut off the dead growth and am watering them, but there
is no sign of new growth. Anyone here with rhubarb
experience care to comment on the likelyhood of the plants
surviving and growing back?

they'll be fine... next year. it's perfectly normal & usual
for rhubarb to die back once it's flowered, or once it gets
hot (warm days, cool nights keep it going longer, but even so
it never lasts past July).
mark the spot where they are & start looking for new growth
in late March or so. mine was growing under the snow this
spring.

lee
--
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.

Rhubarb question
 

"enigma" wrote in message
. ..
"Zootal" wrote in
:

I found some rhubarb off in the corner of my property that
had put up seedstalks. I cut them off, but by the time I
got to them, they were mostly dead. Three of the plants
consist of dead stalk and dead leaves, and the other two
are mostly dead and have one or two leaves that are green.
I cut off the dead growth and am watering them, but there
is no sign of new growth. Anyone here with rhubarb
experience care to comment on the likelyhood of the plants
surviving and growing back?

they'll be fine... next year. it's perfectly normal & usual
for rhubarb to die back once it's flowered, or once it gets
hot (warm days, cool nights keep it going longer, but even so
it never lasts past July).
mark the spot where they are & start looking for new growth
in late March or so. mine was growing under the snow this
spring.

lee
--


Thanks, I did not know that - I thought it would grow all summer long, and
die with the frost :)

Rhubarb question
 

In article ,
"Zootal" wrote:

"enigma" wrote in message
. ..
"Zootal" wrote in
:

I found some rhubarb off in the corner of my property that
had put up seedstalks. I cut them off, but by the time I
got to them, they were mostly dead. Three of the plants
consist of dead stalk and dead leaves, and the other two
are mostly dead and have one or two leaves that are green.
I cut off the dead growth and am watering them, but there
is no sign of new growth. Anyone here with rhubarb
experience care to comment on the likelyhood of the plants
surviving and growing back?

they'll be fine... next year. it's perfectly normal & usual
for rhubarb to die back once it's flowered, or once it gets
hot (warm days, cool nights keep it going longer, but even so
it never lasts past July).
mark the spot where they are & start looking for new growth
in late March or so. mine was growing under the snow this
spring.

lee
--


Thanks, I did not know that - I thought it would grow all summer long, and
die with the frost :)

Odd, mine put up flower stalks all last year and never missed a beat.
They died back in the winter. But you've got me wondering. I've never
divided my rhubarb (at least 12 years old) and it appears that there are
at least three crowns. I did mulch and fertilize it extensively last
year. I guess I should start looking for new beds for my 'barb. Wonder
if I should hand out cigars?
--

Billy
Bush and Pelosi Behind Bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo...eature=related

Rhubarb question
 

Billy wrote in

ct.net.au:

Odd, mine put up flower stalks all last year and never
missed a beat. They died back in the winter. But you've got
me wondering. I've never divided my rhubarb (at least 12
years old) and it appears that there are at least three
crowns. I did mulch and fertilize it extensively last year.
I guess I should start looking for new beds for my 'barb.
Wonder if I should hand out cigars?

heh. my 30' row hasn't been divided in at least 10 years,
although i have cut off a couple end of row new crowns to get
my friends started on a rhubarb addiction...
when in the season the tops melt depends on a few factors
including heat & humidity, amount of light, water,
geographical location, luck...
last year my rhubarb flowered & melted before the end of
June. this year it's still growing like mad & i've only seen
one flowerstalk. it's cooler this year.
last year i ended up buying fresh rhubarb from a farm near my
summer place in NY in July because mine was all gone & i
hadn't gotten any into the freezer. i asked the farmer how he
kept his going. he used rowcovers for shade & cold water drip
irrigation. said he could usually keep it going through July
that way.
i noticed the other day that there's a woodchuck hole hiding
in the rhubarb row... probably waiting for the pumpkins.
lee
--
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.

Rhubarb question
 

In article ,
enigma wrote:

heh. my 30' row hasn't been divided in at least 10 years,
although i have cut off a couple end of row new crowns to get
my friends started on a rhubarb addiction...
when in the season the tops melt depends on a few factors
including heat & humidity, amount of light, water,
geographical location, luck...
last year my rhubarb flowered & melted before the end of
June. this year it's still growing like mad & i've only seen
one flowerstalk. it's cooler this year.

Your entire row died back or just the flowering plants?
Last year was a cool year for me, and my little cluster
of 'barb flowered and just kept ontruckin'.
--

Billy
Bush and Pelosi Behind Bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo...eature=related

Rhubarb question
 

Billy wrote in

ct.net.au:

In article ,
enigma wrote:

heh. my 30' row hasn't been divided in at least 10 years,
although i have cut off a couple end of row new crowns to
get my friends started on a rhubarb addiction...
when in the season the tops melt depends on a few factors
including heat & humidity, amount of light, water,
geographical location, luck...
last year my rhubarb flowered & melted before the end of
June. this year it's still growing like mad & i've only
seen one flowerstalk. it's cooler this year.

Your entire row died back or just the flowering plants?
Last year was a cool year for me, and my little cluster
of 'barb flowered and just kept ontruckin'.

the whole row. it literally melts & disappears when it gets
hot. that's when i feed it a load of llama beans, because the
leaves are all gone & out of the way.
lee
--
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.

Rhubarb question
 

In article ,
enigma wrote:

Billy wrote in

ct.net.au:

In article ,
enigma wrote:

heh. my 30' row hasn't been divided in at least 10 years,
although i have cut off a couple end of row new crowns to
get my friends started on a rhubarb addiction...
when in the season the tops melt depends on a few factors
including heat & humidity, amount of light, water,
geographical location, luck...
last year my rhubarb flowered & melted before the end of
June. this year it's still growing like mad & i've only
seen one flowerstalk. it's cooler this year.

Your entire row died back or just the flowering plants?
Last year was a cool year for me, and my little cluster
of 'barb flowered and just kept ontruckin'.

the whole row. it literally melts & disappears when it gets
hot. that's when i feed it a load of llama beans, because the
leaves are all gone & out of the way.
lee

Do you make rhubarb wine, by any chance? I'm always in search of new
recipes : )

Jan

Rhubarb question
 

Jan Flora wrote in
:

Do you make rhubarb wine, by any chance? I'm always in
search of new recipes : )

no, i don't. might try some rhubarb beer though...
have you looked through the Rhubarb Compendium for wine
recipes?
http://www.rhubarbinfo.com
lee
--
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.

Rhubarb question
 

In article ,
Jan Flora wrote:

In article ,
enigma wrote:

Billy wrote in

ct.net.au:

In article ,
enigma wrote:

heh. my 30' row hasn't been divided in at least 10 years,
although i have cut off a couple end of row new crowns to
get my friends started on a rhubarb addiction...
when in the season the tops melt depends on a few factors
including heat & humidity, amount of light, water,
geographical location, luck...
last year my rhubarb flowered & melted before the end of
June. this year it's still growing like mad & i've only
seen one flowerstalk. it's cooler this year.

Your entire row died back or just the flowering plants?
Last year was a cool year for me, and my little cluster
of 'barb flowered and just kept ontruckin'.

the whole row. it literally melts & disappears when it gets
hot. that's when i feed it a load of llama beans, because the
leaves are all gone & out of the way.
lee

Do you make rhubarb wine, by any chance? I'm always in search of new
recipes : )

Jan

No, but it shouldn't be too hard.
Mush up the rhubarb.
Add water (four parts H2O to one part 'barb. Reduce water to concentrate
flavor)
Adjust pH to 4.4 to 4.6 (sour --- flat) with tartaric acid.
Add cane sugar to 21 to 28 brix as measured with a hydrometer. Otherwise,
add 6 oz sugar for each pint of water added.
Add yeast as if you were making a pizza, except the yeasts hydrating
fluid should be about 25% rhubarb mixture. After 20 to 30 minutes, add
to rhubarb mixture.
You'll want to ferment between 65F to 80F. (The cooler, the fruitier)
Press off after 3 to 7 days or around 9 brix.
Then come the nut of the problem. I presume that you want some residual
sweetness.
See article http://www.eckraus.com/wine-making-sweet.html
In a commercial winery, your drop the temperature to about 55F and let
the particulate material settle (1 to 2 weeks). Draw off clear wine and
add SO2 (potassium metabisulfite) to 30 -35 ppm. As long as the SO2 is
in this range, the wine is stable. The next step would be to sterile
filter (.45 micron membrane filter, sterile equipment and bottles) and
bottle.
The Louis Martini in Rutherford used to make a Muscat Amabile which
they didn't sterile filter but they kept it at 50F to 55F at all times.
If you have an unused refrigerator, this might work for you.
I would recommend getting a cylinder of argon gas for displacing air in
containers. Argon is inert, heavier than air, and isn't absorbed by the
wine.

This is a general recipe that should work for any flavoring material.

Good sledding.
--

Billy
Bush and Pelosi Behind Bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo...eature=related

Rhubarb question
 

Jan Flora wrote:

In article
,
enigma wrote:

Billy wrote in


ct.net.au:

In article

,
enigma wrote:

heh. my 30' row hasn't been divided in at
least 10 years, although i have cut off a
couple end of row new crowns to get my
friends started on a rhubarb addiction...
when in the season the tops melt depends on
a few factors
including heat & humidity, amount of light,
water, geographical location, luck...
last year my rhubarb flowered & melted
before the end of
June. this year it's still growing like mad
& i've only seen one flowerstalk. it's
cooler this year.

Your entire row died back or just the
flowering plants? Last year was a cool year
for me, and my little cluster of 'barb
flowered and just kept ontruckin'.

the whole row. it literally melts & disappears
when it gets hot. that's when i feed it a load
of llama beans, because the leaves are all gone
& out of the way. lee

Do you make rhubarb wine, by any chance? I'm
always in search of new recipes : )

Jan

You should be able to find it here on one of the
links on this page:

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblog7.asp