La Puce wrote:
On 9 Mar, 14:32, mewthree wrote:
never said anything about a pot. the crown came in a small bag of what
looks like compost so i dug a hole in the garden and put in the compost
and put the crown in that.

When you said 'compost' I thought ... But it's great. Don't forget to
feed it and good luck. Made me hungry ;o)

what is best to feed it with, since i didn't prepare the ground with manure?

On 9 Mar, 20:17, mewthree wrote:
what is best to feed it with, since i didn't prepare the ground with manure?

I mulch with comfrey leaves and manure which I do from April onwards.
They need to be kept moist. You can use leaf mould to. Repeat in the
summer when it's really hot (but make sure it's not dry before
mulching).

"mewthree" wrote in message
. uk...
La Puce wrote:
On 9 Mar, 14:32, mewthree wrote:
never said anything about a pot. the crown came in a small bag of what
looks like compost so i dug a hole in the garden and put in the compost
and put the crown in that.

When you said 'compost' I thought ... But it's great. Don't forget to
feed it and good luck. Made me hungry ;o)

what is best to feed it with, since i didn't prepare the ground with
manure?

Just put some well rotted manure on the top.

Alan

"mewthree" wrote in message

what is best to feed it with, since i didn't prepare the ground with
manure?

I just add manure around the base (drip line) of the plant as it grows. I
believe it's impossible to overmanure a rhubarb is it's kept well watered.
Mine seem to like cow poop and they also seem to respond quickly to pelleted
chook poop for a quickk McDonalds type fix.

"Anne Jackson" wrote in message
The message from mewthree contains these

what is best to feed it with, since i didn't prepare the ground with
manure?

I've never had to feed rhubarb in my life, and I've been gardening (woman
and child) for over 60 years!

Good grief! I'm pea green with envy! You must have good soil. My stuff
(soil is nto what you could have called it) was so sick when I started here
that it's a constant round of soil improvement. I might be able to stop
doing that in about 5 years time as I now have worms which I didn't when I
started.

I never harvest rhubarb after the end of May, and what growth it makes
after that will, eventually, rot down...this feeds the plant.

This seems to be a very different thing than is done here in Aus. Your May,
would be equivalent to our October here, yet I've just stewed a batch for
tomorrows breakfast cereal a full 4+ months after you would have stopped
harvesting. Why isn't it usual to crop for a longer time in the UK?

Short term, for this year only, since you didn't do any initial
preparation,
I'd throw some general purpose fertiliser at it... it all depends what
your
soil was like to start with, really.

Wanna swap? I'll give you my Australian dirt first ever cleared of trees
and put to rough pasture in the 1960s for your soil which I'd like to think
has been under cultivation for at least the last thousand years. I pine for
good soil and a gentle temperate climate and that long Autumn productive
light you mob have over there.

"Anne Jackson" wrote in message
The message from "FarmI" ask@itshall be given contains these words:
"Anne Jackson" wrote in message
The message from mewthree contains these

what is best to feed it with, since i didn't prepare the ground
with manure?

I've never had to feed rhubarb in my life, and I've been gardening
woman and child) for over 60 years!

Good grief! I'm pea green with envy! You must have good soil. My stuff
(soil is not what you could have called it) was so sick when I started
here
that it's a constant round of soil improvement. I might be able to stop
doing that in about 5 years time as I now have worms which I didn't when
I
started.

We lost all out earthworms a few years ago, when New Zealand flatworms
appeared over here.

I've read about NZ flatworms being a problem in the UK, but since I wouldn't
know one if it bit me on the nose, I'd be interested in what they do/don't
do in a garden. All the articles I've read (which were in UK mags) seemed
to assume that readers would know what the problem is.

That was when I bought my wormery, and we're about
back to notmal now...haven't seen a flatworm in last past couple of years.

How do they look different to a "normal" earthworm? Flat????

I still leave black polythene bags with garden rubbish dotted about the
place though, just in case! G Well, that's _my_ excuse!

To drop the flatworms into???????

I never harvest rhubarb after the end of May, and what growth it makes
after that will, eventually, rot down...this feeds the plant.

This seems to be a very different thing than is done here in Aus. Your
May would be equivalent to our October here, yet I've just stewed a batch
for tomorrows breakfast cereal a full 4+ months after you would have
stopped
harvesting. Why isn't it usual to crop for a longer time in the UK?

I had never stopped to think about it, but I suppose that by June other
fruit would be available, and the rhubarb would be getting tough and
stringy?

I'd have to say that I've not noticed any difference between the early
spring rhubarb and later autumn (now) rhubarb. Mind you, we don't have the
early forced rhubarb that you can get in the UK. Here it's always been
garden (or open field) grown.

Thinking about it, I tend to pick it when it's growing strongly so perhaps
it's either always tough and stringy and it's just what we grew up with or
it's always edible and acceptable (manky stalks excluded of course).
Interesting one.


Short term, for this year only, since you didn't do any initial
preparation, I'd throw some general purpose fertiliser at it...
it all depends what your soil was like to start with, really.

Wanna swap? I'll give you my Australian dirt first ever cleared of trees
and put to rough pasture in the 1960s for your soil which I'd like to
think
has been under cultivation for at least the last thousand years. I
pine for
good soil and a gentle temperate climate and that long Autumn productive
light you mob have over there.

This scheme (housing estate) was built in 1948, on what was a rough
grazing
hillside. The folk who had the house for the first 20 years didn't even
cut
the grass...we inherited some pretty awful, if virgin, soil. I've spent
years improving it, but it's still pretty stony and 'claggy-clay' in
parts.
The best parts are where the children's sand-pit used to be, and the area
where I used to keep the bins for the ashes from the fire...not
surprisingly.

Swop? No thanks! I've put too much work into this garden... ;-)

Yeah, I've probably done too much in mine too.

Anne Jackson writes
The message from "FarmI" ask@itshall be given contains these words:
"Anne Jackson" wrote in message

We lost all out earthworms a few years ago, when New Zealand flatworms
appeared over here. That was when I bought my wormery, and we're about
back to notmal now...haven't seen a flatworm in last past couple of years.

UK earthworms had no difficulty in establishing themselves in NZ despite
the presumable presence of the flatworms, so it seems logical that your
earthworm population should have settled

I never harvest rhubarb after the end of May, and what growth it makes
after that will, eventually, rot down...this feeds the plant.

This seems to be a very different thing than is done here in Aus. Your
May would be equivalent to our October here, yet I've just stewed a batch
for tomorrows breakfast cereal a full 4+ months after you would have
stopped
harvesting. Why isn't it usual to crop for a longer time in the UK?

I had never stopped to think about it, but I suppose that by June other
fruit would be available, and the rhubarb would be getting tough and stringy?

I think in the UK it's usual to crop till mid June. That gives about
three months growth to build up strength for the following year. (And,
of course, by June the strawberries are coming in, making rhubarb seem
less attractive.) Your March is our September - by then, my rhubarb is
no longer pushing out new leaves with any enthusiasm and by October it's
dying down for the winter.

I don't think rhubarb gets tough and stringy, but it is supposed to
build up higher oxalic acid levels, which is not good for the joints.


--
Kay

In message , K
writes
Anne Jackson writes
The message from "FarmI" ask@itshall be given contains these words:
"Anne Jackson" wrote in message

We lost all out earthworms a few years ago, when New Zealand flatworms
appeared over here. That was when I bought my wormery, and we're about
back to notmal now...haven't seen a flatworm in last past couple of years.

UK earthworms had no difficulty in establishing themselves in NZ
despite the presumable presence of the flatworms, so it seems logical
that your earthworm population should have settled

I never harvest rhubarb after the end of May, and what growth it makes
after that will, eventually, rot down...this feeds the plant.

This seems to be a very different thing than is done here in Aus. Your
May would be equivalent to our October here, yet I've just stewed a batch
for tomorrows breakfast cereal a full 4+ months after you would have
stopped
harvesting. Why isn't it usual to crop for a longer time in the UK?

I had never stopped to think about it, but I suppose that by June other
fruit would be available, and the rhubarb would be getting tough and stringy?

I think in the UK it's usual to crop till mid June. That gives about
three months growth to build up strength for the following year. (And,
of course, by June the strawberries are coming in, making rhubarb seem
less attractive.) Your March is our September - by then, my rhubarb is
no longer pushing out new leaves with any enthusiasm and by October
it's dying down for the winter.

I don't think rhubarb gets tough and stringy, but it is supposed to
build up higher oxalic acid levels, which is not good for the joints.


Mine does get tough and stringy, by about the end of June; the solution
for that problem, I'm told, is to peel the stalks.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Anne Jackson writes
The message from K contains these words:

We lost all out earthworms a few years ago, when New Zealand flatworms
appeared over here. That was when I bought my wormery, and we're about
back to normal now...haven't seen a flatworm in last past couple of years.

UK earthworms had no difficulty in establishing themselves in NZ despite
the presumable presence of the flatworms, so it seems logical that your
earthworm population should have settled

UK earthworms, in NZ? Didn't NZ have its own worm population?

It did and still does.. But that didn't stop us inadvertently
introducing ours as well.

--
Kay

"Anne Jackson" wrote in message
...
The message from K contains these words:

We lost all out earthworms a few years ago, when New Zealand flatworms
appeared over here. That was when I bought my wormery, and we're about
back to normal now...haven't seen a flatworm in last past couple of
years.

UK earthworms had no difficulty in establishing themselves in NZ despite
the presumable presence of the flatworms, so it seems logical that your
earthworm population should have settled

UK earthworms, in NZ? Didn't NZ have its own worm population?

One would presume that, in NZ, there would be something that would
predate on the flatworms? The only thing that the Soil Association
labs could find, in this country, that predated on flatworms was
one species of beetle... I'm not great at beetle identification... G

I haven't heard anything about flatworms for some years, do you think they
have all died off?

Alan

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 9 Mar 2007 23:30:26 GMT, Anne Jackson
wrote:

The message from mewthree contains these words:
La Puce wrote:
On 9 Mar, 14:32, mewthree wrote:
never said anything about a pot. the crown came in a small bag of
what
looks like compost so i dug a hole in the garden and put in the
compost
and put the crown in that.

When you said 'compost' I thought ... But it's great. Don't forget to
feed it and good luck. Made me hungry ;o)

what is best to feed it with, since i didn't prepare the ground with
manure?

I've never had to feed rhubarb in my life, and I've been gardening (woman
and child) for over 60 years!

I never harvest rhubarb after the end of May, and what growth it makes
after that will, eventually, rot down...this feeds the plant.

Every time I've moved a rhubarb patch (and I try do that every five years
or so), I find that the ground is much improved, compared to what it was
when the rhubarb was planted initially.

Short term, for this year only, since you didn't do any initial
preparation,
I'd throw some general purpose fertiliser at it... it all depends what
your
soil was like to start with, really.

What about the much recommended dead sheep and old carpet?

What about dead sheep and old carpet?

We don't have too many dead sheep here in Berkshire, but I do have some old
carpet to try to help keep the weeds down.

Alan

On 10 Mar, 09:34, Martin wrote:
... Rusty recommended planting dead animals and carpets.

)) Sweet man. The seeds he sent me were great - even though a batch
was old and he had no clue how long he had them. His honesty seeds
live on, in my garden and in the gardens of 2 neighbours!

I've never buried a dead animal prior to planting rhubarb.... nor do I
mulch with carpet. I use cardboards, lots of it around fruit bushes. I
use lots of straw as well. I divide the rhubarb to give away - I don't
have the room for keeping it all. I don't feed beside mulching with
comfrey leaves and om and I don't grow rhubarb in pots. If Rusty was
here, I think he'd have said the same ...

In message , Martin
writes
On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 09:25:23 GMT, Anne Jackson wrote:

The message from Martin contains these words:
On Fri, 9 Mar 2007 23:30:26 GMT, Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from mewthree contains these words:

what is best to feed it with, since i didn't prepare the ground
with manure?

I've never had to feed rhubarb in my life, and I've been gardening (woman
and child) for over 60 years!

I never harvest rhubarb after the end of May, and what growth it makes
after that will, eventually, rot down...this feeds the plant.

Every time I've moved a rhubarb patch (and I try do that every five years
or so), I find that the ground is much improved, compared to what it was
when the rhubarb was planted initially.

Short term, for this year only, since you didn't do any initial
preparation,
I'd throw some general purpose fertiliser at it... it all depends what your
soil was like to start with, really.

What about the much recommended dead sheep and old carpet?

I've never had recourse to either...

... Rusty recommended planting dead animals and carpets.
I thought that was for fig trees?
--
June Hughes

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 10:18:02 +0000, June Hughes

wrote:

In message , Martin
writes
On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 09:25:23 GMT, Anne Jackson
wrote:

The message from Martin contains these words:
On Fri, 9 Mar 2007 23:30:26 GMT, Anne Jackson
wrote:
The message from mewthree contains these
words:

what is best to feed it with, since i didn't prepare the ground
with manure?

I've never had to feed rhubarb in my life, and I've been gardening
(woman
and child) for over 60 years!

I never harvest rhubarb after the end of May, and what growth it
makes
after that will, eventually, rot down...this feeds the plant.

Every time I've moved a rhubarb patch (and I try do that every five
years
or so), I find that the ground is much improved, compared to what it
was
when the rhubarb was planted initially.

Short term, for this year only, since you didn't do any initial
preparation,
I'd throw some general purpose fertiliser at it... it all depends
what your
soil was like to start with, really.

What about the much recommended dead sheep and old carpet?

I've never had recourse to either...

... Rusty recommended planting dead animals and carpets.
I thought that was for fig trees?

Rhubarb AFAIR.

Well as I think I've said in another post, I don't have any dead sheep, but
I will try the carpet, if I can remember!

Alan

In message , Martin
writes
On Sun, 11 Mar 2007 09:23:31 GMT, Jennifer Sparkes
wrote:

The message
from Martin contains these words:

Huge snip

... Rusty recommended planting dead animals and carpets

June Hughes said:-

I thought that was for fig trees?

Rhubarb AFAIR.

Yes it was and IIRC an old leather briefcase was mentioned ...

(Fig trees need restricted root growth.)

and grow well in old leather brief cases? )
I thought it was an old washing machine barrel?
--
June Hughes