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Post by chrysanthemum on May 8, 2022 17:06:19 GMT -6
I really didn’t know where to put this thread. I didn’t see a place specifically for perennial vegetables because that was my first thought. I didn’t want to put it in leafy greens because the leaves are not good to eat, so I decided on fruits since I think that while it is scientifically a vegetable, it is for some reason having to do with import duties or tariffs or something legally a fruit according to U.S. law.
Anyway, on to gardening.
Do any of you Oklahoma gardeners grow rhubarb?
My mother has large rhubarb plants that she harvests from each spring, and she always stores a good amount in her freezer. We had several rhubarb plants that we were growing in our tiny suburban lot in Virginia before we moved, but we had to leave them behind, of course. My younger daughter was very fond of her plant (which she had named Rubikins), so a couple of years ago I bought her some rhubarb seeds. We were going to try to grow it as a winter annual here.
Our first time trying we direct sowed the seeds outside and never got any germination. This past fall I started the seeds inside and had more success, and I got a couple plants to transplant out. They were killed during our New Year’s temperature swing from 80 degrees to 24 degrees. One of those resprouted from roots, however, earlier this spring. It is still growing as is one that I started later in the spring and transplanted into a different spot.
Here’s my dilemma. I’m not sure whether I should treat the plant as an annual and harvest all the stalks this spring and let the plant die, or if the plant actually has a shot at become a short-lived perennial in my zone. So far the plants are doing well, even through the crazy heat wave we’re having. Both are in places that get some afternoon shade, and I’m trying to be generous with water for them. Even though Oklahoma is farther north, it seems that your summer temperatures rival ours, so I wondered if anyone up there had experience with rhubarb.
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Rhubarb
May 8, 2022 19:28:13 GMT -6
Post by macmex on May 8, 2022 19:28:13 GMT -6
I believe our climates are comparable when extremes are taken into account. I tried to grow rhubarb unsuccessfully about 10 years ago. Someday I need to try again. I'm sure "afternoon shade" would be key, as the afternoon sun is so much hotter than morning sun. I believe Ron's grandma raised it near hear, so I believe it can be done.
Don't know what to tell you about treating as an annual or leaving it to try for perennial production.
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Rhubarb
May 9, 2022 12:05:01 GMT -6
Post by heavyhitterokra on May 9, 2022 12:05:01 GMT -6
I agree with George; our climates are probably only comparable in the extremes. We kind of catch the best or the worst of both Kansas and Texas weather patterns, depending on which way the wind is blowing.
My grandma Fannie grew rhubarb just a few miles from here all of my childhood. Unfortunately, I never paid attention to how she did it. I don't know if she grew them from seed or if she kept a planting from one year to the next? I do know that as a kid, I sure ate a lot of rhubarb pie. It did very well for her here in Northeast Oklahoma. I've never grown it myself though, so I'm not familiar with its needs. I know this is like comparing pigs and oranges, but I have grown Swiss Chard here before. The chard grew readily from seed and was easy to maintain.
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Post by macmex on May 9, 2022 13:50:55 GMT -6
And I've grown Swiss chard in two countries and about five different states but it hasn't survived for me at my present location. But we're taking special measures this year and hoping to grow a lot of it.
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Post by chrysanthemum on May 9, 2022 20:47:01 GMT -6
From the weather data I’ve looked it, your summers can be as hot or hotter than ours during the day, but we heat up earlier in the year and stay hot later. I don’t think we rival your cold, though. I guess it has to do in part with the length of daylight hours in the summer and winter. We’re a little more even year round whereas you change more dramatically with longer summer hours but shorter winter hours, more time for it to heat up and cool down, respectively.
I grew Swiss Chard last year, and it did really well for me. Last summer was exceptionally cool and rainy, though, so it might not have been a fair test for it. I didn’t plant it again this year because I still have some bags of it in the freezer, and it just wasn’t that popular with my kids. They liked it okay if I cooked it in a cheese sauce, but I really wanted a green that I could just sautée or boil. I was trying to grow kale this spring, but that has not worked out successfully. It makes me kind of regret not planting the chard. I’m trying another round of kale inside, though, and I have some Asian greens outside to try when they’re farther along.
I’ve been thinking about the rhubarb and have decided to give it a go as a perennial. If it fails, I’m only out just a little bit of produce because the plants are so small that they wouldn’t yield much if I cut them back now. If I don’t harvest and the roots get stronger and live through the summer and winter, I’ll have better plants next spring and have gained some valuable knowledge.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 6, 2022 20:29:46 GMT -6
I spent a little extra time in the garden this morning taking a few photographs after I watered. It has been a hard season of heat and drought, so I have to say that I am particularly proud of my rhubarb plants for surviving. Here’s a photo of the bigger one (it’s under green shade cloth, hence the slightly unusual color of the photo).
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Post by macmex on Jul 7, 2022 12:02:59 GMT -6
That is so very encouraging! I might try rhubarb again next year! Our Swiss chard is doing very well for us, which is a first since moving to Oklahoma.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 7, 2022 13:45:37 GMT -6
Chrysanthemum, that's quite an accomplishment as harsh as the season has been this year.
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Post by john on Jul 11, 2022 3:53:56 GMT -6
I would definitely give it a try to see if it comes back. Rhubarb grows fine here in our cooler Northeast climate, but even here Rhubarb is just a spring and early summer crop. Dying back in July. As long as your plant has done well enough to put some energy back into the roots before it goes dormant it may likely come back next spring for you. Perhaps a deep layer of mulch would help to protect the plant from drastic winter temperature swings but also help moderate temperature and hold in moisture in your long hot growing season.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 11, 2022 9:18:12 GMT -6
Thanks, John. When you’re suggesting the deep layer of mulch, is that for now while it’s growing, or for burying up the crown after it dies back? I have put compost around both plants several times, and there are also chopped leaves and wood chips in the bed around it. I’m keeping the crown clear (or trying to, but my diggers earlier this summer kept throwing dirt in there). That’s why it doesn’t look so very mulched because it’s been mixed in.
Overall, I’m very excited that in this awful year of heat and drought that my rhubarb has actually made it to July. It is still putting out shoots at the bottom, so I’m thinking that’s a good sign.
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Post by john on Jul 18, 2022 10:32:26 GMT -6
The deep mulch will be good to have year around. I don't think it will hurt to add some more while they are dormant. The mulch is so good at keeping soil temps down and also keeping the moisture in the soil. Congratulations on growing a successful crop of rhubarb!
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 18, 2022 12:29:24 GMT -6
Thank you, John. The rhubarb is still growing. If it makes it to August in record-breaking heat in Texas, I might have to throw it a party or something.
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Post by john on Aug 1, 2022 5:36:34 GMT -6
It sounds like you have a really special rhubarb growing! Mine are all done here already. Gurneys catalog had a rhubarb in there catalog that was supposed to be good in the heat. It seems like you have come about a heat resistant variety all on your own. www.gurneys.com/product/kanga-rhu
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Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 1, 2022 10:43:41 GMT -6
I’m growing the Victoria Rhubarb as it was one of the few for which I could find seeds and was recommended. I wonder if my rhubarb just had to acclimate to heat so early in its life that it is better accustomed to it. I continue to be amazed that it has held on this long. Here are photos of the two plants I took this morning. This is the one that I started from seed this spring. It’s smaller than the other but still going. (It’s under red shade cloth.) This is the one that I started from seed at the end of last summer or in the fall. It died on January 1st when the temperature went from 80 degrees to 24 degrees in one day, but it started growing again this spring much to my delight. I can tell that it is multiplying down there. It’s under green shade cloth. That’s why the two photos look so different.
I’ve read that seed-grown rhubarb won’t produce very much red as compared to that selected from crowns. That’s definitely true of mine, but I’ll willingly go without red for a successful plant down here. I’m pretty amazed with what mine has done. I’m thinking of starting more seeds inside this year. That Kanga-rhu looked beautiful (but pricey).
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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 10, 2022 5:45:37 GMT -6
I need to give an update on my rhubarb. The plant I started from seed this spring made it through the entire summer, but it started to die back at the end of August. Here’s a photo from September 1st. I put the broken dish around it to mark the spot for the crown so that it doesn’t get disturbed when we work in the garden while it’s dormant. That one leaf is all gone now, too, but I sure hope there’s enough stored energy in the crown to let it come back in the spring. My other rhubarb plant was transplanted into the garden last fall where it grew well until it was killed to the ground by a dramatic freeze on January 1st. It came back from roots later in the spring, and all summer it has continued to put out new growth, much to my surprise. I did have a little accident with it the other day in that I was pulling off a senescent leaf, and I accidentally pulled up a chunk of the plant. Nevertheless, what remains still has green leaves, even to the point of having some new growth. I’ll try to get a picture to add here. I have four more tiny seedlings that I started inside a while back and transplanted recently. They’re small but alive, so I’m hoping that they’ll grow well this fall when temperatures cool. Edited to add: Here’s a picture I took this morning of the other rhubarb that’s still growing in the garden.
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