A racetrack friend, once, told me that one way trackers cooled a hot or inflamed joint was to wrap the horses leg with rhubarb leaves, as a 'poultice'. When I tried this for inflammation caused by arthritis, I washed and dried the leaves, wrapped them around my knees, put icepacks on either side of each leg, and wrapped them in place with tea towels. Compared to ice, alone, I'd say there was a 75% better reduction of inflammation. So, when ppl ask 'why' I grow such big rhubarb plants, I tell them it's 'health insurance'.
I use the leaves whole as a mulch around the plant. They keep the soil from drying out and provides nutrients as they break down. Have done this for years and my rhubarb always looks and grows great.
Have some established plants, not the greatest sun but they grow big and seemingly healthy, but the stalks don't really turn red, we got nothing last season how come
I'm waiting for part of a crown that my daughter took as I moved abroad. Its a family treasure. I estimate the crown has been active for nearly a hundred years. My father brought some from his parents home, I'm 61, he was born in 1921, so it could easily be that old. It still produces great Rhubard.
I inherited a wonderful rhubarb plant when we bought our house. It grows alone at the side of the lawn in a sunny spot. It grows incredibly fast and easily produces 4 complete harvests each season. We don't let it get thicker than 1.5 inches, or it gets woody. We water it daily. We started dumping grass clippings right next to it when we moved into the house, and it absolutely took off. We joked for years that abusing it was the secret. Last year, we removed the compost and it did poorly for the first time in 12 years. This year, the grass pile is back. It's loving it. It's a week or two away from the first harvest and it's mid-April. We'll get three or four more harvests and pies all winter.
Haaaaa. No wonder the divorce rate is so high...... lol... sadly..... not funny... by the way.... my "rhubob" is positively prehistoric. So big it belongs in Jurassic Park. AND we've been married 29 years. I'm 50. ❤❤❤😜😜😜
I live in Florida USA, where rhubarb doesn't grow because of the heat. I have, however, mastered the art of growing rhubarb from seed as an annual during our fall, winter and spring seasons. My plants aren't as big and beautiful as your, but I get enough to make a few pies and crumbles, and stock the freezer for later. I grow them in 20-30 gallon containers with drip irrigation. This fall I plant to follow your advise and feed them more frequently to see it I can up their productivity.
I am so glad you are able to find a way around the heat issues you face. Sometimes our growing conditions can set us back, but the fact you didn't let this stop you and found a workaround is amazing Sue. Please keep me updated if it does help increase your yields. Tony
Thanks for post , Sue . I'm in southern Louisiana and visited Penn. this summer. My sister has a beautiful rhubarb plant and I love strawberry/ rhubarb pie. But never saw it down here . I'll give it a try this fall !!!!
@@Hindsighht surprisingly citrus is also a winter crop. The trees bloom in the spring, January through March, and the fruits take 7 to 8 months. I start eating oranges and grapefruit in November and December.
I'm in Santa Barbara, Ca and I'm trying to grow rhubarb. We had it in Alaska when I was a kid and it practically grew wild. I know my water bill is going to be crazy. At least I have a rain barrel for when it actually does rain. It doesn't get very hot here, but it also doesn't get very cold.
@@simplifygardening Mine just broke soil last week for this season and it reminded me that I needed to get back with you. Once I got the crowns up in a low mound great results! I used the same fertilizer as you and now that the crowns are well drained the plants seriously love daily water.
Being so large, rhubarb leaves make great slug traps before you compost them. Just lay a few on the ground and there will be dozens of the little blighters underneath the leaves the next morning!
This is by far the BEST video on the internet about growing Rhubarb! Thank you so much for the tips, my rhubarb is doing fantastic this year due to the extra water and fertz.
This is the Master Class on rhubarb!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge! My rhubarb has been terrible but now I know what I've been doing wrong. Thank you again!
Rhubarb is definitely big bang for your buck. Having said that, I haven't been able to harvest a plant I've had for about 10 or more years. I never fed it but I will going forward. Great video.
Wowsers Tony those were Enormous!!! They do look like they are very thirsty plants and definitely not dainty or delicate! I can't believe how big they were. They looked almost as tall as you! That Crumble looked so tasty at the end!
I first saw Rhubarb (Rheum) growing at Butchart Gardens in Canada. Nobody there could tell me much about it, but I later found out what it actually was and started some from seed. My plants have grown in my garden, but only 12 inch leaves; however, you have shown me very useful information, so I will put that into my practice this year. Thanks Tony
As a toddler, maybe 3 or 4 years old, I'd go over to the neighbor's house and the lady would give me a tiny bowl of sugar and a stalk of rhubarb. I'd happily sit and eat my treat. Mom knew if I wasn't on our property, I was more than likely sitting at the neighbor's house enjoying rhubarb dipped in sugar. Found out later in life, that the neighbor would call Mom to let her know I was at her place. lol
Tony, You are a genius, Sir!! i have started following your tips earlier this year and I am definitely reaping the benefits on my Allotment. Keep the videos coming!!
I have great rhubarb , been throwing food scraps into the space and my rhubarb grows tall and wonderful for 30 years, everyone comes by to get some . great video and right to the point
Holy crap! I have never seen rhubarb that big before. I’ve not had much luck growing it in the past but I’ve been reading up on growing it. I’ve got a bought plant and 2 little ones I grew from seed that were hanging in there. Thank you for this video. It’s been really educational.
Your rhubarb is huge! I just watched your garlic video as well. Great tips and beautiful garlic. I planted it for the first time this year myself. So happy it worked and that I proved to myself I can do it!
I live in central France and have planted a whole heap of crops including rhubarb. Was really glad to see this video, it will help us a great deal as it is the first time we have grown anything other than tomatoes back in the UK. I have planted up 12 tubs of potatoes following your methods , 6 tubs of Charlottes and 6 tubs of a main crop called Michelle. The Charlottes got blight and we have had to cut the foliage off about 3 weeks ahead of the 90 days. I planted 4 seeds to a tub and they were about the size of a medium egg. We did a big potato reveal of one of the tubs yesterday and got 3 lbs of mostly useable spuds. There were quite a few that were still only the size of Maltesers which I imagine would have grown to a nice size for earlies. I intend to start a You Tube channel of my own, following our life here both with crops and livestock - chickens in the near future. I will be sure to give you a shout out and hope you will give it a watch. It will be called Ex pats and Ex bats.
Lovely to see you in the garden Tony and everything looks fantastic. Rhubarb crumble mmmm love it with hot birds eye custard. Thank you for sharing ✌️🇨🇦🐝 safe
Hi Tony, great video, great rhubarb! I've planted a couple of crowns this year, will leave them to establish and not harvest until next year. These are in a good, sunny, sheltered position so I'm hoping for great things next year. I have one other plant, about 40 years old, planted against a north facing wall, never gets any sun and the ground is pretty dry because of the house foundations. But every year up it comes, gives us 3 or 4 crumbles and gets very big, though nowhere near as big as yours. I give it a chicken pellet feed at the start of the season, then a seaweed foliar feed every couple of weeks 'til the end of June, then leave it to die back. Mulch with compost in the autumn, then start the cycle again in the spring. Just mentioning this so that it just goes to show, if anyone doesn't have a sunny spot, you can plant a crown anywhere and as long as you tend to the plant, it will grow. Keep up the good work.
I've never seen rhubarb that big before! When I first started a garden at my house in 1993, I had a load of black dirt hauled in that was topsoil from farmland that washed into the bottom next to a river when it flooded. After spreading it out, I planted about a dozen crowns of rhubarb that I dug up from my dad's place. For several years, they produced very well. Then, I let a walnut tree grow nearby, and when it started shading the garden, the rhubarb production dropped off. So, I moved some of the rhubarb to a sunnier spot, but the soil wasn't as fertile as the topsoil from the bottom land. I've been putting horse manure around the plants in Spring, so that helps. but it still hasn't thrived to the point that it sends up the seed stalks. I still get enough to make pies, crisp and sauce, though. I appreciate your video.
We have 5 100 ft. rows of rhubarb. We sell 400 to 500 pounds every year. People come from miles to get it. Now our grandkids pick and sell it for us (even the 3 year old helps). It's been great for them to learn sales and interacting with customers. We mulch it very heavily with leaves in the fall, up to 18" deep. That helps keep the moisture in and the weeds out. All we have to do is to uncover some of the plants in the spring. The patch has been mulched for about 40 years now so I imagine it is very loamy. With all the leaves we've never had to fertilize and rarely water. We live in Michigan. Your advice is spot on!
We have tried repeatedly to grow rhubarb in North Carolina. The termites have eaten the roots every time. Thanks for the good advice, will need to try again.
I had no idea rhubarb could grow that large. Really impressive. I'm going to start feeding regularly after years of taking this wonderful plant for granted (and had perfectly adequate harvests). New subscriber!
When I was a child, we chopped up rhubarb stalks, wrapped some sugar in a paper twist to dip in. Took it to the matinee - no money for sweets. Loved that sweet and sour taste😂
My rhubarb was a hand me down from a friend, and was just a root in a bucket. Gave it 2 year and let it do its thing and now it's huge and happy as ever. I have green rhubarb and it tastes just the same
As a kid we had huge rhubarb like that in our yard, my parents bought a house an old man had owned, and it had a nice big garden. We used to cut and eat it raw when we were playing outside. The problem for me came when we hit a rough patch, had little money and my mother started making rhubarb soup and rhubarb pie all the time. During that period, I learned to hate rhubarb and have never been able to eat it since. Sad, since I live in MI and rhubarb grows very well here.
It's amazing to me how many people relate to food about traumatic events in their life. I hope you make peace with your memory and celebrate the plant for keeping you sustained.
That's some awesome rhubarb. My plants struggle I think with hot summers and not cool enough winters. I've planted them in part shade to protect them from the summer 40degree burning sun. I still manage to get enough to make the odd dessert, but they never look like yours,, I probably don't feed them enough. Great video, lots of information in easy to understand segments 👍
Great information, the best rhubarb video i have seen, my crop is poor and now i can see why. Its coming out today and will be potted up then planted on to a decent position. Thanks Tony
Monster stalks! Love rhubarb, one of my favourites on my plot. I’ve got Victoria and Stockbridge Arrow. Plus I got given a lot of free crowns, not sure what variety those are though
I will be dividing some rhubarb that i have in a rather old, wild patch this fall. My preparations began in the spring by digging up an area in a sumlit soot not far from my rehabilitated well which has a hydrant on it. I have been working over this new spot to upgrade the soil, and remove couch grass. You have inspired me. I live in Canada and appreciate your channel.
One of my Uncles had a garden that was over a bowl in carboniforus limestone. His Rhubarb was an incredible size. Your video,s give me food for thought. Interesting and enjoyable if people follow what you teach a harvest as well.
I've received rhubarb stems this big from a friend in the past. I couldn't believe how big! There was so much so I sat down and de-leafed outside. Chopped it up, cooked it with a bit of sugar and froze it in portions to last me throughout the year.
Hi Tony, Great documentary. I'm blown away,... never before have I seen Rhubarb this big, and I grew up with it back in Germany. Now for 42 years in Australia, just lately I'm having some success growing my own Rhubarb, having my first harvest,, Yummo! PS. Will do the Rhubarb tea. This is why I Looked for Rhubarb on TheTube. Many thanks, Alexander
Great video with so much information. I`ve always taken my Rhubarb for granted but you`ve really opened my eyes, thank you. It`s my favourite fruit and apart from eating it the only other thing I do is I make pesticide from the Rhubarb leaves. New Subscriber here mate. I'm off now to watch your Nematode video
Great video, I think we can take rhubarb for granted, and only when stressed a reminder what a hungry feeder. I had to relocate a bunch of rhubarb last year and getting it reestablished has been a challenge. This video provides a bit of inspiration.
I was enjoying a lovely rhubarb crumble as I watched this. Your rhubarb is huge, I’ll never equal that here in Canada! Having watched this I will water more and add even more fertilizer! Klaus
I live to far south to grow any. As a matter of fact I've only seen it growing once, and they were so much smaller then yours. I can hardly believe my eyes seeing your leaves. I was so taken by your thumbnail that I had to watch the video. They look fantastic, great job. Good luck and keep healthy.
I live in Texas and rhubarb can't survive our summers. However, they can be grown as a annual. So I tried. I picked my first rhubarb today! I think I'll have fruit for another 2 months. Do excited. Thanks for all of this great info. Next year I'll be a professional at this wonderful treat. Peggy
Guess what? I put a shade covered frame around the rhubarb and it is still growing happily with temps in the high 90s! Just maybe I can have a couple more pies😃
Tony thank you so much, you just kept going and going with sooo much info!! I'm a gardener with my own new home and finally ready to get the garden and patios set up. I hope mine builds up and grows strong like yours!
I would agree with some of the others that growing rhubarb in the southern US is hard because of the heat. It really dislikes summer. Also, to get rid of slugs in a very low tech way, just set out small cups full of (cheap) beer in your beds. The slugs are attracted to the beer and drown in the cup. At least they die happy!!!
Fantastic tips. My rhubarb plant is over 50 years old. We have never known the name of the variety. But it grows in a similar manner to yours. Huge leaves thick tender stalks and a bountiful crop. But it has not been fertilized in the last 20 years. I guess I will look into that. I split off some of the roots this year to share with others. They go down at least 18 inches into the sandy soil. I broke a shovel, a fork and a mattick trying to get some out. One of the things benefits of rhubarb is that they deer rarely eat it. This allows it to grow outside the limited area with deer fencing.
Upside down rhubarb cheesecake with rich short crust. Mmmm made one last week. I grow my rhubarb in a large kids swimming pool. I add nitrogen to the soil with horse alfalfa pellets.
Thank you for this video, slugs are a huge problem where I live. Currently we're trying copper tape around the perimeter of the beds, and egg shells and coffee grounds in the soil, but considering how bad they've been I'll have to watch you're video on nematodes too. ^.^ Thank you for the help.
My ability’s to not have a garden, trouble me. I’m now a handicapped person(BKA), & live in a facility for persons 62-years old or older. So last year, I had to look around for rhubarb, but couldn’t find it anywhere! When I finally did, @ a small country grocery store, it cost me $3.89 a pound. I bought all of the 16 pounds. To me it was worth it’s weight in gold. I was so very happy to have found some to prepare for my freezer, for later use…☺️💕
Great advice for me as I bought mine from Blairgowrie and I never touched it for the first year and gave it plenty of everything and it turned out super so with your advice I am looking forward to see how it turns out so cheers and stay safe 👍🏴💪
I have had trouble growing rhubarb when everyone I know says that it's impossible to kill. I went through over 5 varieties and every one of them died. I decided to try again and bought a variety from Canada that was supposed to be great tasting and really hardy. It was doing great, then our harsh summer hit (really hot, humid, with little rain) and it looked like it died :(. So much for being really hardy I thought. But the next spring it was back looking great again. Summer hit, and it died back. It does this every year. Apparently I have a variety that just goes dormant when the summer gets too hot - I've never seen a rhubarb do this before. I planted some thyme around the base as a living mulch two years ago. The rhubarb seems to enjoy the company as it takes a little longer for it to go dormant in the heat and it has expanded for the first time in the 10 years I've had it! The thyme seems to enjoy the match as well. It's the best looking thyme I've had in years.
Wow a very in-depth summary about this amazing unique plant,so through I feel quite confident in my new endeavors with this perennial and all of the amazing information...thanking you so much for your time and energy and knowledge...stay blessed
WOW AMAXING video. ..Lol I only managed to get 3 plants to maturity. ..things ATE the seedlings. .but I'm on my way and now want to harvest my first few stalks
Thanks for that rhubarb king ! I love rhubarb and always wanted to grow my own. Move into new house with a big garden soon so now I know what to do. Now what about growing the custard ???😀
Never saw rhubarb that big in northern Indiana. Also realized i starve and don't water enough . We have about 6 inches of black sand dirt then after that the ground is a ginger colored sand probley from bottom of Lake Michigan from glacier days .thanks for the information I got lots of work and mulch and manure work ahead. Wish I had some clay to mix in my sand for watering seems like it just wicks away and makes a city for insects .25 years ago with same family rhubarb we would get rhubarb in freezer. It would grow 3 times bigger with the clay sand in the county we lived at that time. It was easy and stress free to get a crop year after year. Never got a good crop in that time where we live now. Thanks for pointers miss the rhubarb pies during the winter.
Must be eating Rhurburb for breakfast/dinner and tea ... And drinking the rhurburb juice it's nice with sugar added. A great video with loads of great tips
Breaking my own rule of not being on YT for a week, but, I could not resist watching this between appointments!! Absolutely wonderful tips!! Proof of what you say is clearly evident when looking at your massive rhubarb!! One can't go wrong if they follow these tips, that's for sure!! Wow, those really are huge stalks!! I learned sooo much from this!! I've saved this vid for future reference, it's so jam-packed!! Grateful for the great info!! Fantastic video, Tony!! Cheers!!💖
@@simplifygardening Comments from me are always a reflection of what I see! You're like an encyclopedia of knowledge, but much more fun than a reference book, and now it's easily accessed by saving the video!! I found great value in it, as I'm sure many people will! Cheers!💖
Great video and detailed advice. I have a bigger challenge now by trying to grow Rhubarb in Thailand from seed. Just trying to grow some potatoes in very hot weather.
All I can say is WOW! Rhubarb sauce was a favorite treat growing up. Couple of scoops of ice cream with some sauce ladled over it was like a little piece of heaven!😊 TYFS Tony
A racetrack friend, once, told me that one way trackers cooled a hot or inflamed joint was to wrap the horses leg with rhubarb leaves, as a 'poultice'. When I tried this for inflammation caused by arthritis, I washed and dried the leaves, wrapped them around my knees, put icepacks on either side of each leg, and wrapped them in place with tea towels. Compared to ice, alone, I'd say there was a 75% better reduction of inflammation. So, when ppl ask 'why' I grow such big rhubarb plants, I tell them it's 'health insurance'.
I use the leaves whole as a mulch around the plant. They keep the soil from drying out and provides nutrients as they break down. Have done this for years and my rhubarb always looks and grows great.
That's a great tip. I'll give that a go👍🏻
In very hot summer weeks I suspend a tarp above my rhubarb and give them lots of compost tea every day. It keeps them alive until the heat disapates.
Have some established plants, not the greatest sun but they grow big and seemingly healthy, but the stalks don't really turn red, we got nothing last season how come
@@dinkydoo66I’m
I did that for my Brussels sprouts and their roots rotted. Mind you that was an exceptionally wet year.
I'm waiting for part of a crown that my daughter took as I moved abroad. Its a family treasure. I estimate the crown has been active for nearly a hundred years. My father brought some from his parents home, I'm 61, he was born in 1921, so it could easily be that old. It still produces great Rhubard.
I inherited a wonderful rhubarb plant when we bought our house. It grows alone at the side of the lawn in a sunny spot. It grows incredibly fast and easily produces 4 complete harvests each season. We don't let it get thicker than 1.5 inches, or it gets woody. We water it daily. We started dumping grass clippings right next to it when we moved into the house, and it absolutely took off. We joked for years that abusing it was the secret. Last year, we removed the compost and it did poorly for the first time in 12 years. This year, the grass pile is back. It's loving it. It's a week or two away from the first harvest and it's mid-April. We'll get three or four more harvests and pies all winter.
At the end of the fall I dump the potting soil from my flower pots next to it.
It is next to a fence and a shed. It was like 5 ft by 5 ft
this year.
Thanks for the grass clippings tip Hollycat😉
Rhubarb custard pie is my family tradition and crumble a close second. Yumm
Strawberry rubarb anything.
Rhubarb custard sounds amazing!
Julie, the Rhubarb custard pie sounds wonderful. I wish I had a recipe!
Your rhubarb gets more loving attention than most marriages! 😂 No wonder it keeps going strong year after year......
Should resign. Despicable behaviour. Do as I say not as I do! Mentality terrible.
Haaaaa. No wonder the divorce rate is so high...... lol... sadly..... not funny... by the way.... my "rhubob" is positively prehistoric. So big it belongs in Jurassic Park. AND we've been married 29 years. I'm 50. ❤❤❤😜😜😜
😅😂🤣👍
I live in Florida USA, where rhubarb doesn't grow because of the heat. I have, however, mastered the art of growing rhubarb from seed as an annual during our fall, winter and spring seasons. My plants aren't as big and beautiful as your, but I get enough to make a few pies and crumbles, and stock the freezer for later. I grow them in 20-30 gallon containers with drip irrigation. This fall I plant to follow your advise and feed them more frequently to see it I can up their productivity.
I am so glad you are able to find a way around the heat issues you face. Sometimes our growing conditions can set us back, but the fact you didn't let this stop you and found a workaround is amazing Sue. Please keep me updated if it does help increase your yields. Tony
Thanks for post , Sue . I'm in southern Louisiana and visited Penn. this summer. My sister has a beautiful rhubarb plant and I love strawberry/ rhubarb pie. But never saw it down here . I'll give it a try this fall !!!!
So jealous that you can grow rhubarb in the winter and Oranges in summer. Here in the UK rhubarb is about as exciting as my garden gets.
@@Hindsighht surprisingly citrus is also a winter crop. The trees bloom in the spring, January through March, and the fruits take 7 to 8 months. I start eating oranges and grapefruit in November and December.
I'm in Santa Barbara, Ca and I'm trying to grow rhubarb. We had it in Alaska when I was a kid and it practically grew wild. I know my water bill is going to be crazy. At least I have a rain barrel for when it actually does rain. It doesn't get very hot here, but it also doesn't get very cold.
Wow! I've never seen rhubarb that big. After 10 years of trying to grow it with little success I will adjust with your recommendations.
Let me know how you do Tim
@@simplifygardening Mine just broke soil last week for this season and it reminded me that I needed to get back with you. Once I got the crowns up in a low mound great results! I used the same fertilizer as you and now that the crowns are well drained the plants seriously love daily water.
Why do you want the plants 🌱 to grow so huge. Do you sell and use your plants. Why so much.
Being so large, rhubarb leaves make great slug traps before you compost them. Just lay a few on the ground and there will be dozens of the little blighters underneath the leaves the next morning!
That’s a great tip Steve thanks mate
@@simplifygardening Cheers Tony. Have a great weekend buddy!
@@DigwellGreenfingers You too pal :)
Definitely going to give this a try! Thank you 😊
Amazing must try
Great video, Tony! You covered every aspect of growing wonderful rhubarb with fantastic detail. This is a perfect guide for every gardener.
Thank you Scott. Really appreciate that coming from you
He’s just like you Gardener Scott…. Loaded with valuable info 👩🌾❣️
@@simplifygardening I've come here from gardener Scott's last live chat. I'm a newbie and this is another clear, concise channel. Subbed 👍
@@deecooper1567 Thank you Dee thats an amazing compliment :)
I agree 👍 great informative video, ty Tony
This is by far the BEST video on the internet about growing Rhubarb! Thank you so much for the tips, my rhubarb is doing fantastic this year due to the extra water and fertz.
L
Gosh, the garden in the background is so beautiful! And so is that rhubarb! TY for all the tips. I ❤ rhubarb. Sadly, my family does not.
This is the Master Class on rhubarb!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge! My rhubarb has been terrible but now I know what I've been doing wrong. Thank you again!
So glad it was of value Erin
Rhubarb is definitely big bang for your buck. Having said that, I haven't been able to harvest a plant I've had for about 10 or more years. I never fed it but I will going forward. Great video.
Wowsers Tony those were Enormous!!! They do look like they are very thirsty plants and definitely not dainty or delicate! I can't believe how big they were. They looked almost as tall as you! That Crumble looked so tasty at the end!
Thanks Suzy. They certainly fill a space and would be great even just as a garden filler in an ornamental garden
I first saw Rhubarb (Rheum) growing at Butchart Gardens in Canada. Nobody there could tell me much about it, but I later found out what it actually was and started some from seed. My plants have grown in my garden, but only 12 inch leaves; however, you have shown me very useful information, so I will put that into my practice this year. Thanks Tony
Thats great chuck and i hope it helps you
They look like something from the Day of the Triffids! I'm going to plant some crowns tomorrow. The advice is helpful.
Outstanding video! Thank you. I learned a ton. I can't wait to plant mine.
As a toddler, maybe 3 or 4 years old, I'd go over to the neighbor's house and the lady would give me a tiny bowl of sugar and a stalk of rhubarb. I'd happily sit and eat my treat. Mom knew if I wasn't on our property, I was more than likely sitting at the neighbor's house enjoying rhubarb dipped in sugar. Found out later in life, that the neighbor would call Mom to let her know I was at her place. lol
Tony, You are a genius, Sir!! i have started following your tips earlier this year and I am definitely reaping the benefits on my Allotment. Keep the videos coming!!
I have great rhubarb , been throwing food scraps into the space and my rhubarb grows tall and wonderful for 30 years, everyone comes by to get some . great video and right to the point
Holy crap! I have never seen rhubarb that big before. I’ve not had much luck growing it in the past but I’ve been reading up on growing it. I’ve got a bought plant and 2 little ones I grew from seed that were hanging in there. Thank you for this video. It’s been really educational.
Your rhubarb is huge! I just watched your garlic video as well. Great tips and beautiful garlic. I planted it for the first time this year myself. So happy it worked and that I proved to myself I can do it!
Thank you so much. I can now fix my rhubarb!
You are welcome!
I live in central France and have planted a whole heap of crops including rhubarb. Was really glad to see this video, it will help us a great deal as it is the first time we have grown anything other than tomatoes back in the UK. I have planted up 12 tubs of potatoes following your methods , 6 tubs of Charlottes and 6 tubs of a main crop called Michelle. The Charlottes got blight and we have had to cut the foliage off about 3 weeks ahead of the 90 days. I planted 4 seeds to a tub and they were about the size of a medium egg. We did a big potato reveal of one of the tubs yesterday and got 3 lbs of mostly useable spuds. There were quite a few that were still only the size of Maltesers which I imagine would have grown to a nice size for earlies. I intend to start a You Tube channel of my own, following our life here both with crops and livestock - chickens in the near future. I will be sure to give you a shout out and hope you will give it a watch. It will be called Ex pats and Ex bats.
Chris I am very glad that things are growing well for you and of course I will check out your channel when you start it
Lovely to see you in the garden Tony and everything looks fantastic. Rhubarb crumble mmmm love it with hot birds eye custard. Thank you for sharing ✌️🇨🇦🐝 safe
Absolutely Ali got to have good custard too 😉
Or double fresh cream mmmmm
Now your talking 😀
Hi Tony, great video, great rhubarb! I've planted a couple of crowns this year, will leave them to establish and not harvest until next year. These are in a good, sunny, sheltered position so I'm hoping for great things next year. I have one other plant, about 40 years old, planted against a north facing wall, never gets any sun and the ground is pretty dry because of the house foundations. But every year up it comes, gives us 3 or 4 crumbles and gets very big, though nowhere near as big as yours. I give it a chicken pellet feed at the start of the season, then a seaweed foliar feed every couple of weeks 'til the end of June, then leave it to die back. Mulch with compost in the autumn, then start the cycle again in the spring. Just mentioning this so that it just goes to show, if anyone doesn't have a sunny spot, you can plant a crown anywhere and as long as you tend to the plant, it will grow. Keep up the good work.
Thats great that it keeps giving for you. Consider splitting it if it slows down
I've never seen rhubarb that big before! When I first started a garden at my house in 1993, I had a load of black dirt hauled in that was topsoil from farmland that washed into the bottom next to a river when it flooded. After spreading it out, I planted about a dozen crowns of rhubarb that I dug up from my dad's place. For several years, they produced very well. Then, I let a walnut tree grow nearby, and when it started shading the garden, the rhubarb production dropped off. So, I moved some of the rhubarb to a sunnier spot, but the soil wasn't as fertile as the topsoil from the bottom land. I've been putting horse manure around the plants in Spring, so that helps. but it still hasn't thrived to the point that it sends up the seed stalks. I still get enough to make pies, crisp and sauce, though. I appreciate your video.
the key is feeding them in the autumn and then again in spring but get lots of water into the ground before they start emerging
We have 5 100 ft. rows of rhubarb. We sell 400 to 500 pounds every year. People come from miles to get it. Now our grandkids pick and sell it for us (even the 3 year old helps). It's been great for them to learn sales and interacting with customers.
We mulch it very heavily with leaves in the fall, up to 18" deep. That helps keep the moisture in and the weeds out. All we have to do is to uncover some of the plants in the spring. The patch has been mulched for about 40 years now so I imagine it is very loamy. With all the leaves we've never had to fertilize and rarely water.
We live in Michigan.
Your advice is spot on!
My plants are "heritage " variety because they came from my grandmother circa 1960.
With 40 Years of mulch Terry That loam will be acting like a huge sponge and storing tons of water. awesome stuff
Very nice Id love to see a pic of them when they get going this year
We have tried repeatedly to grow rhubarb in North Carolina. The termites have eaten the roots every time. Thanks for the good advice, will need to try again.
Karen try again and place cinnamon in the soil termites dont like it
Love your pronunciation: rhu-bob 👍🏻
Cheers Chris
I had no idea rhubarb could grow that large. Really impressive. I'm going to start feeding regularly after years of taking this wonderful plant for granted (and had perfectly adequate harvests). New subscriber!
Amazing looking rhubarb plants. Mine looks so sad compared 😢 My poor plants have never seen manure and I know this is what they are needing.
When I was a child, we chopped up rhubarb stalks, wrapped some sugar in a paper twist to dip in. Took it to the matinee - no money for sweets. Loved that sweet and sour taste😂
My rhubarb was a hand me down from a friend, and was just a root in a bucket. Gave it 2 year and let it do its thing and now it's huge and happy as ever. I have green rhubarb and it tastes just the same
As a kid we had huge rhubarb like that in our yard, my parents bought a house an old man had owned, and it had a nice big garden. We used to cut and eat it raw when we were playing outside. The problem for me came when we hit a rough patch, had little money and my mother started making rhubarb soup and rhubarb pie all the time. During that period, I learned to hate rhubarb and have never been able to eat it since. Sad, since I live in MI and rhubarb grows very well here.
60 40 split with apple sauce
It's amazing to me how many people relate to food about traumatic events in their life. I hope you make peace with your memory and celebrate the plant for keeping you sustained.
I am in the Thumb - I've never heard of rhubarb soup!
That's some awesome rhubarb. My plants struggle I think with hot summers and not cool enough winters.
I've planted them in part shade to protect them from the summer 40degree burning sun.
I still manage to get enough to make the odd dessert, but they never look like yours,, I probably don't feed them enough.
Great video, lots of information in easy to understand segments 👍
Hey Gerry. Lots of water especially in the earliest part of the season and tons of feed. get that right and they will stand up to any amount of heat
That Rhubarb is very impressive, lots of useful tips
Thanks Monty glad you enjoyed the video mate
I have never seen such colossal plants!
Great information, the best rhubarb video i have seen, my crop is poor and now i can see why. Its coming out today and will be potted up then planted on to a decent position. Thanks Tony
Hey Tee Cee great for you to stop by. I am glad you found some value in the video that you can put into practise to get better crops in your garden
Monster stalks! Love rhubarb, one of my favourites on my plot. I’ve got Victoria and Stockbridge Arrow. Plus I got given a lot of free crowns, not sure what variety those are though
That’s great Laura. Don’t think it really matters as long as they taste good
Who else is heading out to add compost or re plant 😊
I will be dividing some rhubarb that i have in a rather old, wild patch this fall. My preparations began in the spring by digging up an area in a sumlit soot not far from my rehabilitated well which has a hydrant on it. I have been working over this new spot to upgrade the soil, and remove couch grass. You have inspired me. I live in Canada and appreciate your channel.
Sounds great!
One of my Uncles had a garden that was over a bowl in carboniforus limestone. His Rhubarb was an incredible size.
Your video,s give me food for thought. Interesting and enjoyable if people follow what you teach a harvest as well.
Thank you for sharing the story about your uncle and im glad your enjoying the videos
I've received rhubarb stems this big from a friend in the past. I couldn't believe how big! There was so much so I sat down and de-leafed outside. Chopped it up, cooked it with a bit of sugar and froze it in portions to last me throughout the year.
Hi Tony, Great documentary. I'm blown away,... never before have I seen Rhubarb this big, and I grew up with it back in Germany. Now for 42 years in Australia, just lately I'm having some success growing my own Rhubarb, having my first harvest,, Yummo! PS. Will do the Rhubarb tea. This is why I Looked for Rhubarb on TheTube. Many thanks, Alexander
Glad you found the video of use Alexander
Thank you making this video .I’ve learned a lot from you .Hopefully our plant will be more healthy from now on 👍👍🇦🇺
big smile on my face. when my father was alive he would grow rhubarb ..... he loved rhubarb pie. always did well but we were on a small farm.
Great video with so much information. I`ve always taken my Rhubarb for granted but you`ve really opened my eyes, thank you. It`s my favourite fruit and apart from eating it the only other thing I do is I make pesticide from the Rhubarb leaves. New Subscriber here mate. I'm off now to watch your Nematode video
thank you for pointing out a couple of things I had been doing wrong with my plants and now I should be able to improve my rhubarb garden
I hope it works well for you:)
Thanks for those tips , I will feed and water much more in future and hopefully grow some much larger stems.
Let me know how you do Lynda
Great video, I think we can take rhubarb for granted, and only when stressed a reminder what a hungry feeder. I had to relocate a bunch of rhubarb last year and getting it reestablished has been a challenge. This video provides a bit of inspiration.
I am sure it will get established again just fee and water it well
I just use coffee grounds and crushed eggshells to keep snails and slugs at bay.
I was enjoying a lovely rhubarb crumble as I watched this. Your rhubarb is huge, I’ll never equal that here in Canada! Having watched this I will water more and add even more fertilizer!
Klaus
Hey Klaus. What great timing to be eating it same time lol
Can't wait to start my rhubarb seeds. Thank you for the all the great information!!
This is brilliant I have just got my first crown ..... Fingers crossed all goes well. Great advice thank you 😊
Thats awesome Lisa. and its a perfect veg to grow at home. Hows your pumpkin coming did those other seeds germinate
I’ve only planted 2 due to slugs eating them haha 😂
@@smallbackgardenplot7273 Got to get a handle on the slugs
@@simplifygardening I’m on it haha
I live to far south to grow any. As a matter of fact I've only seen it growing once, and they were so much smaller then yours. I can hardly believe my eyes seeing your leaves. I was so taken by your thumbnail that I had to watch the video. They look fantastic, great job.
Good luck and keep healthy.
Thanks for stopping and glad the thumbnail grabbed your attention to come and view
Thank you I didn’t know you shouldn’t cut the stems off .
I am on my third cutting of rhubarb. I dehydrated a huge jar full for out of season use. My plants are next to a tunnel house that gets watered daily.
I live in Texas and rhubarb can't survive our summers. However, they can be grown as a annual. So I tried. I picked my first rhubarb today! I think I'll have fruit for another 2 months. Do excited. Thanks for all of this great info. Next year I'll be a professional at this wonderful treat. Peggy
Guess what? I put a shade covered frame around the rhubarb and it is still growing happily with temps in the high 90s! Just maybe I can have a couple more pies😃
Absolutely Fantastic tips, advices and direction here Tony... Sterling Work!!
Tony thank you so much, you just kept going and going with sooo much info!! I'm a gardener with my own new home and finally ready to get the garden and patios set up. I hope mine builds up and grows strong like yours!
I would agree with some of the others that growing rhubarb in the southern US is hard because of the heat. It really dislikes summer.
Also, to get rid of slugs in a very low tech way, just set out small cups full of (cheap) beer in your beds. The slugs are attracted to the beer and drown in the cup. At least they die happy!!!
Fantastic tips. My rhubarb plant is over 50 years old. We have never known the name of the variety. But it grows in a similar manner to yours. Huge leaves thick tender stalks and a bountiful crop. But it has not been fertilized in the last 20 years. I guess I will look into that.
I split off some of the roots this year to share with others. They go down at least 18 inches into the sandy soil. I broke a shovel, a fork and a mattick trying to get some out.
One of the things benefits of rhubarb is that they deer rarely eat it. This allows it to grow outside the limited area with deer fencing.
Wow such a good age for a plant
Upside down rhubarb cheesecake with rich short crust. Mmmm made one last week. I grow my rhubarb in a large kids swimming pool. I add nitrogen to the soil with horse alfalfa pellets.
Love it!!
Thank you for this video, slugs are a huge problem where I live. Currently we're trying copper tape around the perimeter of the beds, and egg shells and coffee grounds in the soil, but considering how bad they've been I'll have to watch you're video on nematodes too. ^.^ Thank you for the help.
Do you use beer traps?
@@classicrocklover5615 I don't, too many little kids around the area. ^.^
Wow!! Great job on your video. Great advice. From New Brunswick, Canada.
Hey, thanks very much. i am glad you enjoyed it and welcome to the channel :)
My ability’s to not have a garden, trouble me. I’m now a handicapped person(BKA), & live in a facility for persons 62-years old or older. So last year, I had to look around for rhubarb, but couldn’t find it anywhere! When I finally did, @ a small country grocery store, it cost me $3.89 a pound. I bought all of the 16 pounds. To me it was worth it’s weight in gold. I was so very happy to have found some to prepare for my freezer, for later use…☺️💕
Its not until you have to buy things do you realize the true value of growing your own
Those are some impressive plants! Such huge leaves.
Thanks. I am hoping these will reach the world record next year. Just short this year because it was broken by a storm
What an absolute top fella! I didn’t know half of this info despite being an avid gardener! Thanks so much, you now have a new subscriber 🤜🤜
Great advice for me as I bought mine from Blairgowrie and I never touched it for the first year and gave it plenty of everything and it turned out super so with your advice I am looking forward to see how it turns out so cheers and stay safe 👍🏴💪
Keep me informed
I have had trouble growing rhubarb when everyone I know says that it's impossible to kill. I went through over 5 varieties and every one of them died. I decided to try again and bought a variety from Canada that was supposed to be great tasting and really hardy. It was doing great, then our harsh summer hit (really hot, humid, with little rain) and it looked like it died :(. So much for being really hardy I thought. But the next spring it was back looking great again. Summer hit, and it died back. It does this every year. Apparently I have a variety that just goes dormant when the summer gets too hot - I've never seen a rhubarb do this before. I planted some thyme around the base as a living mulch two years ago. The rhubarb seems to enjoy the company as it takes a little longer for it to go dormant in the heat and it has expanded for the first time in the 10 years I've had it! The thyme seems to enjoy the match as well. It's the best looking thyme I've had in years.
my rhubarb is over 40 years old, been split off over the years,made my first rhubarb pie of the season
Wow a very in-depth summary about this amazing unique plant,so through I feel quite confident in my new endeavors with this perennial and all of the amazing information...thanking you so much for your time and energy and knowledge...stay blessed
Thank isabella
Thanks for the tip about splitting the plant after flowering.
Anytime Tony. Glad it was helpful for you mate
Just rewatching some vids for inspiration new garden season
WOW AMAXING video. ..Lol I only managed to get 3 plants to maturity. ..things ATE the seedlings. .but I'm on my way and now want to harvest my first few stalks
Great video, stewed rhubarb and ice cream
Hmmmm Joseph I love that especially when its hot outside
Thanks for that rhubarb king ! I love rhubarb and always wanted to grow my own. Move into new house with a big garden soon so now I know what to do.
Now what about growing the custard ???😀
custard im afraid eludes me in the garden
I love mixture of raspberries and rhubarb.
Oh yeah love that
This is a fantastic video. Thank you for making it.
Never saw rhubarb that big in northern Indiana. Also realized i starve and don't water enough . We have about 6 inches of black sand dirt then after that the ground is a ginger colored sand probley from bottom of Lake Michigan from glacier days .thanks for the information I got lots of work and mulch and manure work ahead. Wish I had some clay to mix in my sand for watering seems like it just wicks away and makes a city for insects .25 years ago with same family rhubarb we would get rhubarb in freezer. It would grow 3 times bigger with the clay sand in the county we lived at that time. It was easy and stress free to get a crop year after year. Never got a good crop in that time where we live now. Thanks for pointers miss the rhubarb pies during the winter.
What's long thin red in some places and go's in tarts RHUBARB! 😄
Brother you’ve inspired me! I have rhubarb and get a reasonable yield but nothing like you.
You can do it!
Must be eating Rhurburb for breakfast/dinner and tea ... And drinking the rhurburb juice it's nice with sugar added.
A great video with loads of great tips
Thanks glad you found value in the video
Sharing this because everyone knows I preserve a lot of Rhubarb.
Thanks Susan. Freeze or pot?
@@simplifygardening both actually and of course baking and savory dishes.
Breaking my own rule of not being on YT for a week, but, I could not resist watching this between appointments!! Absolutely wonderful tips!! Proof of what you say is clearly evident when looking at your massive rhubarb!! One can't go wrong if they follow these tips, that's for sure!! Wow, those really are huge stalks!! I learned sooo much from this!! I've saved this vid for future reference, it's so jam-packed!! Grateful for the great info!! Fantastic video, Tony!! Cheers!!💖
Thank you so much for such a great comment Chris. I am glad you found value in the video
@@simplifygardening Comments from me are always a reflection of what I see! You're like an encyclopedia of knowledge, but much more fun than a reference book, and now it's easily accessed by saving the video!! I found great value in it, as I'm sure many people will! Cheers!💖
@@ExploringNatureTogether Your a star thanks Chris ;)
💖@@simplifygardening
@@ExploringNatureTogether Thanks Chris :)
Thank you very much Tony! Your video is enormously helpful.
what fine big Rhubarb you had there , i think we called it pie plant in the old days ,...yes thanks for the advise and video
Love Rhubarb! Thank you for this comprehensive video! Invaluable!
Thanks glad it was useful
Wow I’ve never seen such healthy rhubarb
WOW! Another great place to grow rhubarb is an old feedlot in South Dakota. Stalks like baseball bats. I'm in love with Victoria. I'm Polish.
Thats great info thanks for sharing it
Thankyou from canada
Thanks Granma Bern :)
Canada Red is a good variety here in Nova Scotia but I’ve also got champagne
Awesome thanks
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family Tony.
Now THAT is Rhubard Tony! Great video as usual.
Cheers Dan appreciate it pal
Love my 'Rhubarb' ...
A Great plant
Great video and detailed advice. I have a bigger challenge now by trying to grow Rhubarb in Thailand from seed. Just trying to grow some potatoes in very hot weather.
check out todays video this is a great way to grow them in warmer climates
Wow they're huge. Those are amazing. Love rhubarb strawberry pie or any type of rhubarb pies. All look si well taking care of.
Thanks. Yeah I try to ensure that I balance what the plant needs before feeding
All I can say is WOW! Rhubarb sauce was a favorite treat growing up. Couple
of scoops of ice cream with some sauce ladled over it was like a little piece
of heaven!😊
TYFS Tony
Glad you enjoyed the video, Mark. Yeah I loved that as a kid