This morning, after weeding and tucking in stray tomato branches, I decided I’d better cut the seed heads from our best rhubarb plants. (We sell them through Seed Treasures, our little seed business.) Then I looked at all those juicy, nice big stalks and caved. Okay, I just couldn’t leave them there. So I pulled an armload and brought them to the house. As I have already canned dozens of jars of rhubarb, plus the rhubarb I canned last year and didn’t use up, I decided to make a big batch of Mom’s rhubarb conserve, an old family favorite. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term “conserve,” it usually refers to a thick preserve which contains raisins and often nuts. You can find the recipe in my book Growing and Canning Your Own Food. It’s quick and easy to make.
So, guess what I’m doing right now? Yep, there are two dozen half pints in my water bath canner, waiting to come to a full boil so I can begin timing. It only needs 15 minutes, so once it boils, I only have to wait a few minutes and do a batch of pints.
I use rhubarb conserve in place of jam and also use it in tarts, filled cookies, on top of cheesecake, and many more wing-it recipes. It’s sweet, tangy, and different. If you haven’t tried it before, give it a whirl.
While I’m canning and weeding alternately, Will is out cutting our first hay. He was all set to go previously, then it started to rain. Again. But the forecast is for several sunny days, so we said a prayer and off he went.
— Jackie
You are reminding me I need to get another batch of rhubarb going!
This may sound like a dumb question but
Which plants can become hay? Any “grassy” plants?
Which plants can’t be hay?
I know that straw has had the seed heads removed for feed purposes.
Newbie here and just trying to understand pastures.
There are no dumb questions. Any edible-to-livestock plants can become hay. Usually it’s a mix of native or planted grass, such as timothy, orchard grass, depending on the local area. It can also be a seeded legume such as alfalfa, alsike, medium red or mammoth red clover. Often, hay is a mixture of grass and a legume. A lot depends on the climate. For instance, in the south, Sudan grass is planted but it doesn’t do well way up north where we are. Alfalfa is a tough crop for us to grow as usually, after a year or two, it dies out due to the severity of the winter cold or lack of snow cover.
The only plants that can’t be hay are the ones that are either toxic or don’t dry well in a couple of days.
Yep, straw is the leftover stalks after a grain has been combined, which shatters the heads and removes the grain, leaving the stalks on the ground to be baled for bedding, mulch or some other use.
Thank you!!
Looks fabulous!! I love rhubarb. The season has passed here for it but I did get some in the freezer. Hope all goes well for Will and the hay. Sending prayers for a blessed week.
I love rhubarb too. No wonder pioneers usually carried a pie plant root when they moved west. It was the first fruit on their new homestead! Will’s doing well haying. No rain and he got up 27 big round bales so far with several fields to go. Thank you for your prayers!!
Waaahhhhh! I want rhubarb! I love the stuff but unfortunately it’s too hot here for it to grow. Not enough chill hours. I’ve tried from roots I’ve ordered and your seeds made some nice starter plants but nothing could survive the heat here. Neither spring-planted nor fall-planted worked. Produce people in local groceries look at you like you came from Mars if you ask if they’re getting any in to sell.
Enjoy your bounty and I’ll dream of the wonderful rhubarb sauce my grandmother up north used to can and include in our Christmas box. :)
I understand about rhubarb. Some folks in the south grow it as a short=term perennial, usually shaded. I feel the same way about peaches! I’ve tried several times to grow Contender and Reliance peaches, babying them so much. But they always died after one winter. Boo Hoo! Enjoy your peaches and I’ll enjoy our rhubarb.
Hot here, too. But rhubarb us occasionally available for an outrageous price. My solution was to have my daughter in Montana dehydrate some of hers and mail it to me. Texture isn’t perfect, but flavor is wonderful
Our tomatoes (paste and slicers) are doing just what I expected – starting to ripen in large numbers. The difference in geographic area is a bit mind boggling – they’ve cut hay three times in my area.
I don’t think I’ve ever had conserve – I’m so-so with raisins but do like nuts.
I follow a senior’s blog – she posted the price of almonds, pecans, walnuts in her area (Louisville KY so we’re not talking end of supply chain line). The price is double what a not known for best prices store in my area (think Fleet Farm type of store). And this is before tariffs and the lack of labor to harvest.
Also starting to see closing of businesses – “see you at “. Not just fast food restaurants either.
We’re all on the same page but it is worth repeating – best to be debt free. Smart debt is okay but do your best to pay it off ASAP. Maintain what you have, have a place to store what you have (I cannot believe the number of storage units these days). If at all possible, put a little aside each payday for a rainy day. If at all possible, have your house paid off before you retire.
I don’t begrudge people making money. But I had to bite my tongue reading this article. A couple wants to downsize – paid off five bedroom house. BUT.. https://www.businessinsider.com/boomer-couple-sell-home-housing-prices-capital-gains-tax-2025-7
Our country became what it is because we all pitched in (military, taxes, business). But it seems people have gotten awful greedy. You sell your house for $4.5M, pay $700K in taxes and that leaves you $3.8M. I could live on that for a long time plus help out others.
Dear Jackie,
I would love to try your recipe, and I have your book if I can get it back from my granddaughter! LOL I raided my crock today and got 5 fat quarts of great tasting sour kraut that I processed. I try to can/water bath all that I have access too. This week I made tomato sauce from the juice I had left over from canning 35 lbs of tomatoes. And I made pickled green tomatoes for winter eating with beans. My husband laughs because I won’t throw anything away and I insist on canning what other people would throw out. But it always tastes good. No waste, no want!
You’ve got that right, Jan! I hate wasting anything. That’s how I discovered Cowgirl Candy, Vaquero and Gaucho relishes, made from using up leftover syrup from Cowboy Candy! I’ve been hungry and boy, it was no fun. Go girl!!
What a beautiful hay meadow Wills mowing! Prayers for a dry weather week to cure. Conserve! I’ve got to try this. Rhubarb here is long gone, next year and I’m going to try it with fruit that’s available. Love making tarts an filled cookie. It’s nice to set a bit while waiting for water to boil. Just finished up canning a batch of bread and butter ice pickles, yep, from your family recipe in your garden pantry book! Thanks Jackie!
You’re welcome, Mary! Will’s got four hay fields baled and has five more to go. They’re bigger fields with lots of hay. But it’s been raining a bit, off and on, so we’re waiting on that while doing other chores.
I love your blog! Thanks for taking us along for the ride!
We just pulled 7 heads of cabbage and started the process of making/canning coleslaw. We love this as a stand alone salad or cooked with polish sausage for dinner. I made fresh coleslaw for dinner last night. We love hearing about your garden and processing your bounty.
Our cabbages are a lot younger than yours, just starting to head up. I make a lot of Amish coleslaw and find plenty of uses for it over winter. Today, I’m starting my first batch of Cowboy Candy out of our first picking of jalapenos. Yum!!
I get tired just reading what YOU do! lol!
I get tired, doing it! Ha ha! But there’s no better life on earth.
Hahaha hahahaha
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