Rhubarb

I ordered rhubarb from Holland Bulb Farms back in February. The package finally arrived yesterday. I knew it was going to freeze last night, so I didn't plant as soon as I could. Plus, I have come down with a decent cold that has wiped out my energy. Today was a very nice day with temperatures in the low 60s F. So, I opened the package up today and planted. Just planting these few made me so tired I took an hour nap.

I ordered 6 plants -- 2 sets of 3. Each had 4 roots in them, although one of the roots was very small and the other root was actually still somewhat attached (just by a thread) to another root. So I planted 8 roots. These roots are different from what I have seen in the past. The crown was less well defined. In one case at least I just made a best guess about which end should be up.

Rhubarb pies have been a family tradition as long as I can remember. My mother used to always have a rhubarb pie ready for me when I came home to visit. I request rhubarb pie for my birthday instead of cake. The rhubarb we had earlier died out a couple of years ago and we have been surviving on the stems I cut and froze but finally used the last of it on my last birthday. The new rhubarb won't be ready to harvest for a year, and then only sparingly. So I will have to supplement with rhubarb from the store. (I actually found some in a store last year.) But, it's good to know we are getting back in business.

Spindly Seedling Growth

I've been away from the house on vacation for about 10 days. I watered the tomato seedlings well before I left and kept the grow light on. Upon my return, they had grown. But I think they are a little spindly.


I also have some yellowish leaves.


I think most of this will be taken care of when they are transplanted. I got some general advice from an online source. I may turn on the fan in the room where they are located. Other than that, I don't think I will worry.

Onion and Garlic Report

I assessed the status of my garlic and onions. Despite my early attempt to keep them covered, i left them exposed most of the harsh winter in their beds. The garlic I bought from Seed Savers Exchange, Chet's Italian Red, did very well. The only weak garlic plants were the two I planted from garlic I found in the refrigerator.


The Long Red Florence onions did not do as well. I only had a few survive.


The Yellow of Parma onions on the other hand did really well and survived nicely. I don't think I lost any that had sprouted.


I decided to supplement the Long Red Florence bed with some new onions. A friend had encouraged me to plant onion seedlings that were supposed to be available at Webster Brothers. I drove there and only found sets. I wanted red onions if I could get them, but they only had white and yellow. So I got just shy of 100 sets and planted them this afternoon. I may have to make another trip, probably to Kernersville Seed and Feed to get some more because the ones I got were only about half what I needed. Feed and Seed usually has red onions, so that should work.

Tomato Sprouts

The tomato seeds have been in the peat pots and under the lamp light for about 10 days now. The germination rate has been best for the Hungarian Heart seeds (91%). All but two have sprouted and they have grown cleanly, meaning the sprouts haven't had any obvious problems.


The Italian Heirlooms have done a bit less well. There are sprouts, to be sure, but the germination rate has been less (67%).


The germination rate for the John Baer seeds has been 80% so far, but some of these seedlings have the interesting problem of the primary leaves not being able to shed the seed casing. You can see what has happened a bit better in the photo on the right. Both have carried the casing with them. I figure it is just best to let the seedling work it out. My guess is that the John Baer seeds would benefit from being planted a bit deeper so that when the initial stem arches up, the casing remains trapped in the soil. Of course, the other difference, obvious to me, is that the soil they are in is a different type than the soil that the other two sets were planted in.

Chicken Manure

My friend Doug works for Fed Ex. They are closing down the operation he works for in Greensboro and it looks like he is moving to Memphis. His chicken coop has also been recently liquidated by varmints of one kind or another. So, he offered me all the chicken manure we could scrape up from his coup. I got a load that filled my trailer.


There is a lot of straw in the mixture, but sufficient droppings to definitely make it worth getting. I've never had chicken manure before.


I brought it home and ran it through the chipper/shredder. It made big clouds of something as it processed through. I wore a mask to keep the stuff out of my lungs. The shredder pulverized the poop pellets and somewhat chopped up the straw. There were other things in the pile, so everything got pretty well mixed to boot.


I ended up with a bin of processed material. Because it was under Doug's coop and kept away from the rain, none of this has really had a chance to compost. I expect it to take six months or more.


The only other thing of note is that I noticed buds on the pears today. It has been a bit warm lately. Things will be blooming shortly. I wish I had bees in the yard, but I don't. I think I need to do a little pruning in the next week. The pears seem OK, it's trees that haven't shown any signs of buds that I need to get to.