[Lardman]

My count so far is 4 rosemary bushes and 3 rhubarb crowns.

Amateur 

I've lost count of the rosemary but there were at least 30 in this batch in 2011 Lardy Kills Rosemary

Rhubarb .. I gave up on bought crowns after about 6. A quick search shows I had 35 plants from seed the winter of 2013, this spring I have 2 in the garden so far (1 AWOL) and 4 in the greenhouse

[Robster]

Funny stuff rhubarb.  I bought three crowns several years ago and frankly they have struggled and I haven't cropped a single stalk.  Although they still seem to struggle on with just enough hope that I think "maybe this year".  I also had an enormous plant up the lotty which needed to be moved.  So I dug out three decent sized pieces last May put some mycorrhiza powder on it and replanted kept it watered and it romped away.  Plenty of leaf and I'm sure I'm going to be cropping it in the next few weeks. I covered it in horse manure over winter.

On the recipe front rhubarb and orange jam.  Heralds in a new growing season.

[Mrs Bee]

Rhubarb and vanilla, or rhubarb and ginger. or freeze some and wait for the raspberries and make a rhubarb and raspberry as well. Or Rhubarb and rosewater, or with elderflower.

Rhubarb and raspberry is my absolute favourite. the rhubarb makes the raspberry taste so much more intense.

[yorkiegal]

I put a rhubarb crown in a massive pot in my garden end of last October. It's done naff all. I put 4 crowns in my allotment in Feb and they're all producing stalks. They were half the price of the other one. Makes no sense to me.

[yorkiegal]

oh and a newbie question here. The instructions say not to harvest the rhubarb in it's first year. So what do I do about the stalks which grow? Do I just leave them on the plant to rot back down?

[BumbleJo]

oh and a newbie question here. The instructions say not to harvest the rhubarb in it's first year. So what do I do about the stalks which grow? Do I just leave them on the plant to rot back down?

Yes, I think so.  That's what I did last year, the first year, and they are looking really good this year.  It is frustrating not to pick when it is growing well but patience pays off.  Forced one lot this year and it's cropping well.  Will force each plant no more than every other year.

[Kristen]

oh and a newbie question here. The instructions say not to harvest the rhubarb in it's first year. So what do I do about the stalks which grow? Do I just leave them on the plant to rot back down?

Don't know about "rot back down" as the stalks will grow strongly with big leaves on them. They will eventually die (some outer ones maybe during the summer, the rest in Autumn / Winter) in which case remove them to tidy up the plant (they can go on the compost heap)

[surbie100]

My count so far is 4 rosemary bushes and 3 rhubarb crowns.

Amateur 

I've lost count of the rosemary but there were at least 30 in this batch in 2011 Lardy Kills Rosemary

Rhubarb .. I gave up on bought crowns after about 6. A quick search shows I had 35 plants from seed the winter of 2013, this spring I have 2 in the garden so far (1 AWOL) and 4 in the greenhouse

To be fair you've been at this game a lot longer than my measley 3 years. Have just sown some Glaskins Perpetual, in the hope that brown thumbs are restricted to crowns.