Okiegardeningmom, Well, it might, as long as it gets some sun. You have not "failed miserably". The rhubarb has failed. I don't even necessarily think that variety matters all that much here in our climate. The truth is that Oklahoma really is too hot for rhubarb to do well reliably here. Those of us who insist upon trying to grow it here (and I'm grinning as I say that 'cause I do keep trying to grow it) just have to remember that we really are pushing the plant to grow in a summer climate for which it really is NOT well-suited. I don't even like the way rhubard tastes. I don't believe I'd ever eaten it until I was in my early 30s. My "problem" (smiling as I say that) is that I married a man who grew up in Pennsylvania and he thinks rhubarb is wonderful. So, I keep trying to grow it for him. In the years that we harvest some, he makes a rhubarb pie or cobbler or something and is delighted to have it. (No one else will eat the stuff although we all tried it.) He adores rutabagas, too, and I keep saying I'll grow some for him but I haven't yet....maybe this fall. I hate giving up precious garden space for stuff that is "foreign" to me. LOL I think I might try to grow Rhubarb from seed sown in seed-starting flats in August and set out in the garden in September. If I could get it large enough (before frost hits in the fall) to overwinter, then maybe we'd get a good harvest the following spring. It is hard to find rhubarb seed locally, but it is available online via Territorial Seed, and I am sure from other seed companies as well. Dawn

Linda, German-Russians lived in distinct & separate villages in Russia. They brought their 16th century German with them to Russia but as time went on each village developed its own dialect. You'll have a difficult time getting 2 German-Russians from different villages agreeing on what the proper German word for "aunt" is much less rhubarb. When they immigrated to America they tended to congregate by village into certain areas of the US. My village, Norka, practically moved the entire village to Portland, Oregon. Mid-western German-Russians came from different villages & their speech patterns are very different. Texas' German-Russians speak yet a different dialect. Their language is mixed with Russian, Polish, Slav, even some mid-eastern. It's a mess for genealogists & cooks alike. /tricia

Welcome to the club! I've been making beer and wine for probably 20 years now. I started with beer but find wine an easy brew. In years past I've made several grape, rhubarb, apple, and the famous elderberry. I highly recommend those think about giving it a try do so. You can start with a gallon of apple juice which might even come in a glass gallon jug! Get the kind without preservatives. A cork and bubble lock like you see in Gardengrl's are only about $2-3. A cup of corn sugar (dextrose) per gallon will up the alcohol content to a reasonable level. Wine yeast is only a few cents per packet. Buy a simple instuction manual and your bottles won't explode. Forget Grandpa's way... he plowed his fields with a horse. There are better ways now. My favorite thing about homemade wine is that I can leave the sulfates out! Shelf life is reduced and you have to bottle it dry. I like dry wine and appreciate not having a pickled stomach from the sulfates. Not that I don't enjoy a nice claret but it would be nice if France (or Italy or Germany or whoever) could ship it over the ocean without chemicals. When in the mood I sweeten my wine glass by glass with pop or juice... plain water makes an excellent mixer! Great post Gardengrl! Got me thinking about the grapes I see growing out in my field. Five gallons of apple-blueberry being "inspected" by Luna Looski as I was getting ready to bottle and cork it in regular wine bottles. A magical picture because my cats never get on the counter.... Lulu probably Photoshopped herself in the pic? A cheater wine because the apple juice was store bought and the blueberries dry. : ) lyra

This is really good!! Rhubarb Coffee Cake 2 c. all purpose flour 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 c. butter, room temp 1 1/2 c. sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 c. buttermilk 4 c. chopped fresh rhubarb Crumb topping: 1 c. flour 1/2 c. brown sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 c. cold butter Make the crumb topping: Cut cold butter into dry ingredients until you have coarse crumbs. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg) and set aside. Then cream the butter and sugar - add eggs one at a time, beating after each egg - add vanilla. Alternating the dry ingredients with the buttermilk, incorporate them into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the rhubarb. Pour into baking pan. Sprinkle topping over batter. Bake for 45-55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. NOTE: You can cut the recipe in half and it will make an 8 X 8 pan.