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Post by phyl on Jan 4, 2017 4:38:47 GMT
ok ruth, here we go.my Wisconsin farm boy says to leave the rhubarb alone. it will come home dragging it's tail behind him. we get below zero temps here in Wisconsin and very cold winters.. we never cover ours. we do not do manure or anything else to it. I am wondering if the manure might be to warm for it. early spring we seprated ours and gave 4 bunches to linda. the bushes came back full force. now when it is thin and straggly it is no good. you want nice thick red stalks.
now if you have what they call green rhubarb plants I am not sure about that.
I wonder if by covering it you are helping with what they call winter kill. rhubarb is besti n the early spring like may -june here. not sure In wy.
don grew up on a farm. his mom was always making rhubarb stuff. nope we don't farm. we have had rhubarb survie blizzards.
you can always google rhubarb and see what they say about taking care of the plant.. phyl
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Post by phyl on Jan 4, 2017 4:54:02 GMT
I'M BACK,THIS IS ON GOOGLE: RHUBARB NEEDS COLD TO TRIGGER SPRING GROWTH-RHUBARB TOLERATES VERY COLD (-20) VERY WELL. COLLECT THE LAST FEW STALKS AFTER THE FIRST HARD FROST AND THROW THEM ON THE COMPOST PILE. THEN SPREAD A LAYER (2-3 INCHES) OF COMPOST(OR LEAVES, HAY) TO PREVENT WINTER WINDS FROM DRYING OUT YOUR ROOTS.
I SHOWED THIS TO DON.HE DOESN'T DO NOTHING.REMEMBER IT THE PLANT GROWS WELL IT STILL HAS THE BIG LEAVES TO PROTECT THE ROOTS.THE ROOTS GROW UNDERGROUND SO THAT HELPS.
THE ONLY THING DON DOES IS CUT IT UP AND MAKE RHUBARB JAM .I MAKE SOME CAKES AND BARS.
OK THERE IS YOUR LESSON FOR TONIGHT.PHYL
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Post by gramma15 on Jan 4, 2017 20:39:31 GMT
Phyl, thank you for the rhubarb lesson I see most people doing nothing to their's just like Don and it grows great. Here it does sometimes gets down to -40 and even colder not counting the wind chill but I'd have to say that most winters it probably doesn't get below -20. But it is very dry here.I think I only managed to cover it one year. This year, because I thought the late stalks might be good to eat, I cut them off and put the leaves on top of the plants...I thought it would be a good cover and it would compost. We'll see what happens this spring. The other plant I mentioned always looks dead and it does come to life every year but barely. I don't know what kind of rhubarb it is but it never got red stalks alto in the last couple years they've had more pink tint. And they're always thin not like the rhubarb I've always seen and see in the stores. I bought it online from one of those seed companies...Gurney or something like that I think.I think I might have to buy some new plants or see about getting some from the neighbor who seems to have a lot of plants and probably wouldn't mind at all donating some to me.
It's very cold here again today. It was clear up to 4 earlier but is now down to about zero and it's only1:30. It will get colder. Monday though it's to get up to 51 so that will be a nice break.
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Post by cj59 on Jan 4, 2017 21:18:16 GMT
Hello Crafters - Hope you are all doing well today.
It started out foggy here this morning but now the sun is out and it's windy. The wind is bringing in the cold air we're supposed to get for the next 4 days. I went out this morning and got my groceries and ran errands, since they are talking about a little bit of snow tomorrow night into Friday morning. A little bit of snow in this area causes panic and people go crazy I'm so glad I don't have to go to work anymore and worry about driving with them.
Ginny - Too late, I went to JoAnn Fabric this morning and bought another skein of that yarn, just to be safe
Ruth and Phyl - All your talk about rhubarb brings back a nice memory to me of my mother. She made rhurbarb pie every season, she really liked it. I have to admit I've never tried it. I think I would probably like it mixed with strawberries. I need to push myself to try it this year when it comes in season.
I bought a different type of apple at the store today - an Opal. It's a yellow apple and it tasted good. I also like the Pacific Rose and McIntosh that come out this time of year.
Meg - Hope you got to listen to your book and do some crocheting.
Take care everyone and stay warm!
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Post by gramma15 on Jan 4, 2017 22:57:40 GMT
CJ,I think I've seen the Opal apples in the store but I didn't buy any because they're yellow and yellow apples seem like they would all be kind of mealy and sweet like golden delicious. I don't like those. I love mc intosh but they don't sell them here anymore
My mother used to occaisionally make a rhubarb pie and I loved it. She didn't use strawberries. My dh likes rhubarb pies with strawberries so that's what i make now.
Good that you got out and did your shopping while the weather is still good. People tend to not know how to drive in snow even here where it snows every year.
Even though I'm an avid reader and used to read a book a day until about a year ago, I've never read any by John Grisham. A dear friend of mine read's his all the time. I might have to read some. Do they go in any order like Patterson's Alex Cross books or are they random?
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Post by choney2 on Jan 4, 2017 23:53:51 GMT
Good evening! CJ- well there are far worse things you can do in this world than go out to Joanns and buy more yarn! This way you are sure to have enough if you decide to make the shawl longer. I hope it turns out great! Funny you mention the Maryland area in the snow. My sister and I grew up in North Jersey- an area that gets its share of snow She attended college in Washington DC- and noted that even a dusting of snow is a cataclysmic event of epic proportions! She said drivers in the beltway area have no idea how to drive in the snow. So your comments about your area and a small snowfall make me smile. Glad you got out while your roads are good and it's not too cold.
Cannot say that I have ever had an opal Apple. Recently, I have been buying honey crisp apples at BJ's. I love them!
Ruth, My Dh is also a farmers son......and I can also add that my parents grew rhubarb in North Jersey (Northern New Jersey to those outside the Garden state)- and while Bob did read something somewhere about manure on rhubarb- my parents did NOTHING. The stuff just grew.. We are a bit north in NYState- colder winters and more snow- and we do nothing. The stuff just grows. Yes, you do harvest some stalks in mid spring- and let the plants rebuild during the summer. If I were you , I would go ask for a shovel full from that friend who has an abundance- as then you know that variety does well in your area.
Funny rhubarb story. A few years ago, the grocery store had nice strawberries....early....so I thought Dh would appreciate a strawberry rhubarb pie. Our rhubarb was not yet ready to pick- so I checked out if they sold it in the store. It was selling for $8.99 a pound!!!! Of course, I refused to buy it- especially knowing it grows like a weed in my yard.
Meg will have to correct me, but I think most John Grisham novels are free standing books. Unless he has done a series....I have not read many of his books.
Phyl- do you have any good recipes for rhubarb bars to share? I am always looking for a new way to use the stuff!
Getting colder here... Chance of snow Friday morning.
Have a great evening! Ginny
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Post by gailruu on Jan 5, 2017 2:45:43 GMT
A Crafter's list! I am a quilter and have a room full of fabrics where I should be right now instead of on my computer. My Viking #1 died about a month or so ago and I just got a Pfaff Quilt Expression with a built in walking foot and a thread cutter! I am presently working on an Australian Farm quilt with piecing, paper piecing, applique and a border of pinwheels. I also found a quilt I was working on years ago and put aside. It is a Bear's Paw pattern. My goal is to get at least one block done a day. I also am a Master Gardener and have a big garden and lots of fruit trees and berry plants. I spin yarn on occasion and taught myself tatting. I am a Life member although right now I am fighting a few extra pounds which need to be gone in the next few weeks so I can weigh in for the month without paying!
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Post by gramma15 on Jan 5, 2017 3:32:56 GMT
Welcome to the thread Gail. I'm Ruth and I do knitting, crocheting and a little sewing. I would like to quilt but at this point in my life all those patterns you all talk about seem overwhelming but I do think I'll "do my own thing" quilting with all the fabric I have.
I just saw a horribly sad thing in relation to quilting. I was watching an episode of the program called American Pickers. In this episode the two primary people on the program were at someone's home to look at what they had and went to a garage where there were old cars and on one of the cars was a BEAUTIFUL quilt being used to protect the car!!!! I know someone went to a lot of work to make that quilt. It was a quilt with intricate looking stars on it. I don't know what it's called but I know that quilt took time and patience to make and was probably actually worth a ton of money. If I'd been the pickers I would have been asking how much the man wanted for that quilt.
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Post by gramma15 on Jan 5, 2017 3:41:44 GMT
ok, now I'm excited. I was looking up star quilts to see if I could see what that one is called that I saw in that dirty garage on tv and I saw pictures of star quilts that I know I could make even with the limited amount of info I learned at that one seriies of classes that I went to. And of course there's always youtube. I need more time in my life. Actually I need to make better use of my time to do all these crafty things.
Gail I would love to garden too but it's just too dry here and the soil is terrible.It would take more work than I'm able to do to have a successful garden so I'll just have to be content with growing my tomato plants in my big pots outside when summer comes and trying to get this rhubarb to grow.
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Post by choney2 on Jan 5, 2017 18:30:53 GMT
A short hello from me...
Welcome Gail! I am Ginny, and I quilt,crochet and sew- plus ofher miscillaneous crafts. Your quilting level exceeds mine, but I am learning.....have made 2 full sized quilts, a bunch of rag quilts, and just taught myself stippling. My machine is a singer confidence quilter- which is good for me for now. A decent basic machine.
Ruth, check out Craftsy- they sell quilt kits, instructions included and LOTS of star patterns that are rated easy/beginner. I have a friend who is a master quilter who gets materials from them all the time.
Praying for a snow delay tomorrow morning....or better yet a snow day.
BBL Ginny
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Post by gramma15 on Jan 5, 2017 18:57:10 GMT
Good morning Ginny and all. Yes a snow day would be good. I don't know if the schools here declared a cold day or not but it was -17 at 8am without considering wind chill. I didn't see anything about cancellations.There is not wind though so that's a good thing.
Thanks for the info on craftsy. I've seen that they sell knitting and crocheting items but I didn't know about the quilting. I'll have to explore that site more.
Got good news this morning. Great grandbaby #3 is on it's way. Now that they've started arriving it looks like there are going to be a lot of them. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that there is also going to be a #4 this year too but apparently it's not on the way yet.Looks like more knitting and crocheting will be in order although I still haven't finished the blankets for #1 and #2 great grands that arrived in Sept and Oct. There are so many baby thinngs that I would like to make. I just have to stop doing the things that are wasting my time and get to the things I really want to accomplish. There are some really nice toys you can crochet for small babies...nice soft rattles for instance that are easy to hold.Maybe I'll make some baby quilts.The grandaughter that had the baby in Oct has a friend that sent her a really great baby quilt.
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Post by cj59 on Jan 5, 2017 20:42:58 GMT
Hello Crafters - Hope you are all doing well today. Gail - Welcome to our thread I'm CJ and I quilt (but mostly make quilt tops since I'm still learning to machine quilt), crochet, embroider and do a little knitting sometimes. I have a more entry level machine - the Brother CS6000i. I didn't want to buy a really good machine until I was more experienced. Your quilt sounds interesting. I love to look at gardens, I just don't like to work in them And spinning yarn sounds interesting too. I hope you'll come back and post and let us know about your projects. Ruth - The Opal apple wasn't bad and I'm not a fan of yellow apples either. I'm sorry you can't get the McIntosh apples I picked up two Stayman apples at the Amish market today and look forward to eating them. I like the Honeycrisp too. Congratulations on the new grandbaby that's on the way, I bet you're excited and looking forward to making some things for the baby (and maybe babies) Here's a tutorial by Jenny Doan (Missouri Star Quilt Company) for a big star quilt block that would be very easy, I want to make one of these sometime and just do one large star in a small quilt: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkm3nCferp4Ginny - We're supposed to get some snow showers, but nothing else and I'm glad about that. Last year we had a snowfall that took my 5 days to shovel out from! I'm praying we don't get that again this year. Hope you got your snow day today Meg and Phyl - Hope you are both well. I went to an Amish Market today, where they have some really great food! I had planned for this so I limited what I bought. I got a piece of Shoofly Pie (this is a molasses based pie with a dry topping), two of their delicious soft warm pretzels, some ground round, canadian bacon, wide country egg noodles (dry), and the two apples. I go here about 4 times a year, so I make sure to be able fit the foods into my meal plan. My cousin went with me, so it was nice to spend time with her. She's my mother's first cousin and actually the only family on my mother's side that I still have contact with. Take care everyone!
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Post by gramma15 on Jan 5, 2017 22:07:53 GMT
CJ, I don't think I've ever even heard of Stayman apples. I've had shoo fly pie. I've seen that they have an Amish restaurant and I would imagine a store off the exit next after the one you take to get to my ds' house in Ind. When I go to visit them again I'm going to have to see if they would go there. Probably not since she's following a gluten free, dairy free and sugar free diet. I should have had them take me there before. Oh well I don't need to go to a place where I'd be determined to eat all I can anyway.
And thank you for the tutorial. I'm going to go check that out right now
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Post by gramma15 on Jan 5, 2017 22:34:29 GMT
CJ, what a great tutorial. I can see myself making one big block and putting the edging around to make it baby blanket size. Best thing is I can experiment and my grands won't even know if there's a mistake (altho I do want to learn the correct way). I won't attempt to make that whole thing she made. Makes me wish I had kept it up after I took that first series of classes way back in 2003 or 4.As I always tell my dd though, you can't do anything about the past.It's gone.
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Post by choney2 on Jan 5, 2017 23:28:00 GMT
Ruth, congrats on grand baby #3!!!! When is this little one expected to be born? Gee, I cannot think of a better reason to craft than a grandchild! My mom had wanted to knit some dolls and stuffed toys for my granddaughter- but alas she thought of it too late- as in she was really no longer able to craft much at all then. Anyway- enjoy! Get busy on all those homemade projects filled with love.... And check out Craftsy. My quilting buddy is really an expert quilter and she has purchased lots of kits from them.
CJ- what did you think of your stayman apples? I always thought they were an all around good Apple- good for eating and cooking. Now shoo fly pie was my "birthday cake" this year! I love it- and do not make it much. I forget how many points I figured out for shoo fly pie was- and yes I did once figure it out. Enjoy your piece.....I too love Amish markets! In April we are most likely heading to Lancaster for a few days, and will take in the market there in Bird In Hand. So glad to hear that you spent time with your mom's first cousin! It's a blessing for everyone when you maintain your family ties...
Love Jenny Doan's tutorials! (I taught myself how to stipple from her daughter's YouTube on stippling). I will have to go check out that later on and see what the big star quilt block is like.
A quiet evening for me....which I sorely needed! Hoping for enough snow tonight after midnight for a nice delay. A day off would be even better. G
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