Can't help on horseradish as I've never grown it, but rhubarb is easy! When the stalks are roughly the size of a celery stalk, just twist loose close to the base. Trim off the very bottom (you'll see an obvious place) and remove the leaf part where it attaches to the stem. Remember the leaves are poisonous to animals, so compost rather than feed them! If you have an excess, rhubarb freezes well. I chop into about 1/2" pieces and freeze in ziploc bags. No prep, no blanching! FYI...there's also a Harvest forum on gardenweb for "What to do with your harvest"....come on over and play! Deanna

My garden development has been a bit like a game of Tetris. Many plants have come into my possession before my beds were really ready for them, and the rhubarb is no exception. I really want to plant asparagus where the rhubarb is now, since it's up against the fence where tall things should go...of course, I already have some asparagus plants, and I guess they'll need to go *somewhere* this year, and get moved next year. I hate gardening this way, really, but I'm in the city, and I have limited space...plus part of my yard is on top of a shale bed, and I really need raised beds on that side of the yard. We do a bit of the construction each year, but it's a hard and slow process.

I'm just north of Davenport , Ia in Clinton, IA. I've been an Iowan for the better part of my 55 yrs and have grown or been around rhubarb for most of those years. My best rhubarb tips are first, make sure your rhubarb bedding areas are well drained. One thing rhubarb rhizomes and root systems hate is to be drowned. Either plant them in slightly raised, sloping or well draining soil. Mine are somewhat raised in moderate draining soil and I mulch my beds with grass clippings throughout the season. Also plant them where they can receive as much sun as possible. If you don't receive at least an inch of rain per week or so, water them. I cut the round seed pod stems off as soon as they become obvious. Mine are never allowed to go to seed. Another point, if you're planting more than one rhizome, plant them at least 1-1/2 to 2 ft. apart. They'll spread throughout the few years before you dig them up to split and re-bed them. That's the time you either expand your beds or sell/give away part of your rhizomes to someone. Now they're not really going to be the best stalks for eating or cooking in their first season after you've transplanted the rhizome from it's original bed. You can try it, but I won't guarantee the quality. Always grasp the stalk toward it's base and pull it up from the plant. Only harvest 1/3 of the stalks at a time. This will allow the plant to continue to grow and stay healthy. The rule of thumb is to only only harvest rhubarb in months without an "r" in them. Thus, June-August. I'll admit that I've cheated and harvested as late as mid September in some warmer years. Your 2nd season is when you'll normally see your first seed pod growing. It'll be a thick round stalk growing from near the middle of your plant. I either pull mine out, if I catch it soon enough or cut off as low as possible. This 2nd season is when you'll see your stalks start to thicken up and really start to grow taller. Don't let them get to big or they'll start to get woody or pulpy and less tart tasting. You'll get to know your plants and when the optimal time to harvest the stalks is. There are many varieties/species of rhubarb, so I'm not going to specify when yours is ready but even the thin stalks can pack a wallop flavor wise and tartness. I mentioned earlier about digging up your rhizomes and splitting them. My plants start getting pretty thick after about the 4th season. So at the end of the 4th seasons harvest, I'll pull all the stalks by the end of September. This will allow a few more to start appearing by mid October when I'll dig up the parent rhizomes. This gives me the opportunity to renew my bedding area. Adding any additional topsoil and manure mixtures that are needed to raise the beds. I cut my parent rhizomes in half, at least, leaving some immature stalks on both halves and trimming all the roots to only about 4" at the most. Try to remove as much of the root system that you can when digging your rhizomes. I use a spade or garden fork when digging mine rather than a shovel so I'm not cutting the roots when digging. Now that you've split the rhizomes and have decided whether you're expanding your beds or giving some away, you're ready to re-bed. This is why I've left some immature stalks on the rhizomes. You're going to open your hole only as wide around as your roots and deep enough that the the bottom of the stalks at at their previous depth. Remember to leave them spaced apart. Once they're back in the ground, mulch them and keep them watered as you normally would through the growing season. One the first frost hits, I pull the stalks that have been left on the plants. Now that they've been reestablished in their home beds, next seasons crop should be good as before. Wrap the rhizomes that you're giving away in newspapers and advise the new owner how to plant them. Get them in the ground as soon as possible, they'll do best if they "winter" in their new beds.

oh word? i didnt know that...im glad you told me that...id just assumed all jaleps corked thats some pretty corking...im not gunna lie...i was at a nursery the other day that had some jalepenos sitting outside with quite a few peppers on them....picked a red corked one off that looked just like those and popped it in my mouth....wasnt aware jaleps could get that hot