Your 2026 Garden

[jxp]

I love my rhubarb jam! I make it so that it's not as sweet as most recipes. If I had to buy the rhubarb, it would cost me about $20.

I just bought a rhubarb root last week while I was at tractor supply. We'd gotten a very unusual 8" of snow so I was inspired.

It's already dug into a 3 gallon pot sunken into one of the raised beds. Meanwhile I'm trying to keep it snuggly cool while I decide where to plant it away from the heat of our summer.

I'm actually just going to be grateful if I get one harvest from it. If it lasts longer than that, it'll be a true miracle.

 

[akroberts1085]

Can anyone tell me how difficult it is to grow rhubarb from seed? I really don't like spending money on plants and if I can get it to grow I'd be over the moon. Okay so I just looked it up and a different variety than the one that I have won't grow well here. So does anyone want a packet of rhubarb seeds?

 

[Sally PB]

I just bought a rhubarb root last week while I was at tractor supply. We'd gotten a very unusual 8" of snow so I was inspired.

It's already dug into a 3 gallon pot sunken into one of the raised beds. Meanwhile I'm trying to keep it snuggly cool while I decide where to plant it away from the heat of our summer.

I'm actually just going to be grateful if I get one harvest from it. If it lasts longer than that, it'll be a true miracle.

Rhubarb is perennial, so you should get more than one harvest. However... you should wait 2-3 years for it to get established. (Think of asparagus; same thing.) Here is a website with a lot of good information.

I bought 3 roots from a garden supply center last spring. They were dry and shrunken, what-was-left-over stuff. One of them made it. My $60 rhubarb plant.

When you plant it, pick a spot with about 2-3 feet all around, and mulch it well. I have 3 plants that are about 4-5 feet apart, and I can't walk between them. These things can get huge.

 

[pollipazzi]

Brother made a couple out of galvanized roofing panels and lumber from rot resistant locust he had growing. Each bed used 3 panels, one of which he cut in half to end up with 8 x 4 beds. If yours don't already come with center supports to keep the long panels from bowing, I suggest adding them before putting in the soil.

they come with supports! the bigger ones are supposed to be delivered in the next hour or so.

 

[pollipazzi]

That is a lot of organization right there - something that's never been my strong suit.

oh, i am a mess! lol! not organized at all. i have a husband who measures and levels.

 

[Debbie292d]

I use the plastic garden clips from amazon. They're reusable and useful for any number of projects out there from holding together bird netting to attaching climbing plants onto supports to hanging sticky traps or small decorations. You get a few hundred for very little money.

Like these?

Thank you! I wasn't aware of those before. I've added them to my cart. They would work wonderfully for the houseplants that I often tie yarn around to support their branches, especially my Angel Wing Begonia, which is the biggest challenge.

I don't see how those would work as clamps though.

In our area, we have a lot of wind, and when it’s cold, the wind chill increases. We clamp plexiglass panels to the sides of the grow-out pens that face the wind. This way, on sunny days, even the little ones can come outside when it’s 0°F.

So you made my life easier, thank you! Were you using something else?