Rhubarb

Raining today, so didn't need to water. Planted the seeds on Sunday and today is Wednesday and though it's early, I checked to confirm: no seedlings yet. Some of the seeds I planted are a little older, and some like the japanese indigo are supposed to be best from the previous year (and mine are from the season before that) so I planted densely with crossed fingers.

I did get the rhubarb into the ground. I've been wanting to grow rhubarb ever since reading about it in Jenny Dean's book on natural dyeing "Wild Color." Not only is rhubarb tasty in pie, the roots and leaves can be used as a dye (yellows, greens, oranges) and the oxalic acid which make the leaves toxic serves as a mordant for dyeing with other plants (i.e. it helps other dyes stick to the wool). Aaron got a rhubarb plant last year while he was doing the master gardeners program, but had to leave it with the Spreckels house, so I was excited to see rhubarb plants at the local hardware store. I now have two very sad looking little rhubarb plants in sunny corners of the garden with optimistically lots of room around them. Grow little guys...