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One Hundred Dollars a Month

I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

Mavis Garden Blog – Rhubarb, Poppies and Artichokes

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rhubarb plants

Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day in Western Washington!! I spent 3 hours… THREE HOURS outside in the garden. All by myself. No dog, no kids, just me and my garden. It was awesome.

rhubard

Check out my rhubarb plants! I planted the two larger ones last spring as crowns {see how to plant rhubarb} and the three plants towards the back of the garden bed were transplanted from another area in the garden last fall.

I wasn’t sure if the transplanted rhubarb was going to make it, but they did. Now I’ll just have to figure out what on earth I’m going to do with all the rhubarb this summer.

young poppy plants

And the poppies are back as well.  Three years ago I scattered Flanders,  Lauren’s Grape and Oriental poppy seeds and every year since then they come back in full force. When I planted the poppy seeds though I thought the seed pods that drop every year would produce more poppy plants, but so far, no such luck. I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong, or if poppies are just incredibly difficult  to start from seed and I got lucky the first year. artichoke plant dead

And then she killed the perennial artichokes. Last fall I also transplanted my artichokes. I thought for sure they would make it but so far there is no sign of life {green} anywhere near where I transplanted them. Which totally stinks of course because I didn’t plant any  artichokes from seed this year {and why would I? I had 20+ plants growing in the ground. Or so I thought}.

lucy the puggle dog

It’s amazing how much work you can get done in the garden when the kids and pets stay inside the house.

Poor Princess Lucy.

Maybe I’ll let her help me in the garden today. 😉

Do you have rhubarb or artichokes in your garden? Any sign of life yet?

Mavis wants to know.

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How to Grow Rhubarb {Start to Finish}

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how to grow rhubarb

I was at my local farm and garden store yesterday and spotted RHUBARB CROWNS!! You know what this means right? It’s almost time to get busy gardening people! Wahooooo.

If you have never grown rhubarb before, it’s super easy. In fact it’s so easy it’s one of my favorite things to grow. And it looks cool too, which is like a little added bonus if you ask me.

Here are some helpful tips on how to grow rhubarb:

Brief description: Rhubarb is a cool season, perennial crop and typically grows between May – September.  Once planted, rhubarb plants may remain productive for up to 10 -15 years.

rhubarb crownsWhere to Plant : Plant rhubarb in well drained soil that has been enriched with high organic matter {I use chicken fertilizer}. You should give each plant at least 1 yard of space {in all directions} to grow.

rhubarbPlanting Rhubarb Crowns: Cover the crowns with 2 inches of soil. If you plant rhubarb crowns too deep, it could delay production. Press the soil firmly around the roots and give it a drink. 

how to grow rhubarb

How to Harvest: Rhubarb stalks should not be harvested the first year. For best results, only harvest a few stalks the second year and by the third year you can harvest as much as you need.

rhubarbTo harvest rhubarb, cut the stalk at the soil line. You can cut all  stalks at one time, or harvest them as you need them. Once the rhubarb plant starts producing slender stalks, that is your cue that nutrient reserves for the plant are low and you need to stop harvesting.

how-to-harvest-rhubarb-mavis

My Favorite Rhubarb Recipes:

Rhubarb Cinnamon Jam

Vegetarian-Indian-Spiced-Lentils-with-Spinach-and-Rhubarb-recipeSlow Cooker Vegetarian Indian-Spiced Lentils with Spinach and Rhubarb

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

 

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Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie

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Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie

Last week when the HH brought home a giant box of rhubarb I didn’t have the time to process it all so I have a bunch to my neighbor Hulda. Luckily her mom was in town and guess what? She made 2 pies.

Hulda shared and I was able to get a slice of both of them. And you know what? Both desserts were delicious, but this strawberry rhubarb crumble pie was my favorite.

Hulda said this recipe comes from Taste of Home and let me tell you Bob, it was so good you’re going to have a hard time sharing. 😉

~Mavis

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Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie

Author Mavis Butterfield

Ingredients

  • 3 cups chopped rhubarb , cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 pint fresh strawberries , halved
  • 1 unbaked pie shell
  • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup oats {quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats}
  • 1/2 cup cold butter , cubed

Instructions

  1. Pre heat oven to 375 degrees
  2. In a large bowl, beat the egg, sugar, flour and vanilla together until well blended. Fold in the rhubarb and strawberries and pour into your pie shell.
  3. In a small bowl mix together the flour, brown sugar and oats and butter until the ingredients clump together a bit. Sprinkle the topping mix evenly over the filling.
  4. Bake for 30- 35 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the strawberry rhubarb filling is bubbling.

Recipe Notes

Cool for at least 1 hour before serving.

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Rhubarb Walnut Muffins

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Rhubarb Walnut Muffins

Last week the HH brought a boatload of rhubarb home and one of the things I did with it was make a batch of rhubarb muffins. This recipe makes approximately 12 muffins, but if I were you, I’d make a double batch so you can tuck the extras in your freezer for snacking or a quick breakfast on the go.

Perfect for breakfast on the go, to pop in the kids lunch or to feed weekend guests. This recipe is a keeper!

~Mavis

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Rhubarb Walnut Muffins

Author Mavis Butterfield

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup applesauce
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups rhubarb , diced
  • 1/2 cup walnuts , chopped
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup walnuts , chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.
  2. Line muffin tins with muffin/cupcake liners.
  3. Combine dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Stir in the wet ingredients, just until blended. Fold in the rhubarb and walnuts. Drop in to muffin cups {I like to use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop} so the muffin cups are 2/3 full. Combine topping ingredients together in a small bowl and sprinkle over muffins. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes.

See More Rhubarb Recipes

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Mavis Butterfield Etsy