High Altitude Rhubarb Organic Farm & Nursery

Pick-Your-Own Organic Rhubarb; Organic Horseradish; Unfiltered Local Honey; Roots/Seeds; Cookbooks
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7225 Wildridge Rd., Black Forest, Colorado 80908 phone:  (719)494-8424

The 2012 Season Expected in June

Join Our Interest List and Keep Informed of Our Plans

(see above or Contact Us)

 
 
Seeds remain available throughout the year and can be ordered by email or phone.

Rhubarb seeds(1) are $2/packet (20 seeds), $4 S&H for 1-3 packets. Bulk seed rates available for 400 seeds or more.

For orders, inquiries or to join our interest list, left-click Contact us .
 
Members of our interest list are kept up-to-date on harvest plans and schedules. We don't spam nor do we offer our email lists to others. Experience shows that being on our list is the most reliable way to learn of a harvest soon enough to participate.       


General Information

 

We own and operate a small-scale, pick-your-own, organic farm in Black Forest, Colorado. We're located between Colorado Springs and Denver along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains, known as the Front Range. Our products are: organic rhubarb; local honey; rhubarb roots; horseradish roots; rhubarb cookbooks; and rhubarb seeds. Fresh, organic rhubarb is our primary product and most customers pick theirs during our celebratory Start of Harvest Weekend. It is one big party.  Bring your friends, family and neighbors.  If you can't make that weekend then appointments for later times are gladly made and sometimes we're lucky enough for a second harvest weekend. We offer a money back guarantee on our products.  Join us in the beautiful setting and friendly company at our modest, park-like farm.

Our crop includes several heirloom(2) varieties and some of unknown pedigree. We ship fresh rhubarb, roots and seeds to any destination in the continental U.S. Roots are available only at the start of each year's harvest. Seeds are available any time and can be shipped internationally. Fresh rhubarb is available during the harvest (early June). Our season is short because we sell fresh, organic rhubarb only at the peak of its flavor and quality. Some years the weather offers a second harvest, but usually not. To learn of such possible events please join our interest list.  We'll keep you up to date on our plans and won't offer your information to anyone else.

For mail orders please contact us by email or phone. We can accept cash, check and PayPal. We charge to cover shipping and handling costs, which includes an additional $0.50/lb for picking mail orders. Our rhubarb has gone to Oklahoma, New Mexico, Florida, Utah, Texas, California and other states and has always met customer expectations for quality and freshness. We've even shipped, through exporters, to restaurants in the Caribbean. Roots and seeds have shipped to many U.S. destinations as well as foreign destinations.


     We're in Black Forest, Colorado, 15 minutes northeast of Colorado Springs and a one hour drive southeast of downtown Denver.  A map and directions can be found at MAP. Or enter 7225 Wildridge Rd., Colorado Springs, CO 80908 into your GPS/Navigation system (not our actual address but this one works better on those systems).  We sometimes attend Farmer's Markets. 
 
      Ample parking is available up the driveway and left to the field and straight to the house and barn as well as on the road.  Handicapped parking is available up the driveway, left along the fence line to the rhubarb area.   On the road it is best to park beyond the driveway due to the blind curve just before it.  Please drive slowly around the house and field.  Often many children attend our harvest events.

PRODUCTS

     We currently grow and sell seven varieties of organic rhubarb, both Red and Victoria (green).  We also grow and sell an heirloom variety of horseraddish root.  Rhubarb varieties include Victoria, Turkish, Colorado Red, Candada Red, Crimson Red, and a number of strange varieties (available in very small quantities).   Of the strange varieties are included several from Australian rhubarb growers and some from local and distant sources.  We also offer rhubarb roots.  The variety or roots varies each year. We also offer organic Victoria, Turkish and Ornamental rhubarb seedsunfiltered Colorado honey , organic horseradish roots, and rhubarb cookbooks.  Most customers pick their own rhubarb at our scheduled harvest weekends.  Should health, age or other reasons necessitate, we will gladly pick it for you.  The cookbook, The Joy of Rhubarb, contains 247 rhubarb recipes!  
 
The horseradish roots are an heirloom(2) variety generously given to us by a decendent of the original homesteaders who brought the original root to Colorado.  It is a relatively mild variety of horseradish.  We offer the horseradish roots in the spring, during the rhubarb harvest.  However, they are not suitable for food production at that time.  They are intended to be planted and harvested beginning with the late fall of the following year.  Dig up the entire plant.  Remove the newest growth (from the current year) for the preparation of horseradish dishes.  Replace the older root in the ground where, next fall, it will produce a new root for culinary use.  General wisdom is that roots older than one year are unsuitable for food.  We cannot attest to this from personal experience.  Anyone with considerable horseradish experience is welcome to share their knowledge here.  Just contact us and we'll discuss your information.
 
     Annual production of fresh, organic rhubarb varies from one to two tons, some red and some green.  Our own products and farm are 100% organic, exempt, in full compliance with USDA guidelines for organic farm products.  We are always expanding production and expect considerably higher capacity in then near future.  Honey, however, cannot be guaranteed organic.  According to the producer, all hives are intentionally placed away from agricultural land to minimize the opportunity for pesticides or other chemicals to be included in the honey.   It is wildflower honey.  However, it is not feasible to know the source of pollen and honey with certainty.
 
     The Victoria-like plants are extremely hardy and large and well suited to our Colorado mountain climate.  These plants each produced 90 pounds of rhubarb for the first harvest in 2009, of which we harvested at most 45 pounds to ensure continued plant vigor.  Mature stalks of Victoria varieties are green on the inside but they vary in outside coloration.  The outside of some Victoria varieties transition from red at the base to green at the leaf while others are pure green inside and out.  Red varieties can be either green or red inside but all Red varieties are only red on the outside.  (Some categorizations define Red varieties to include only those with pure red inside and out.  Those varieties are unusual as they are smaller and less profitable for producers.  However, we offer those as well as the larger and more common green-inside varieties of Red.) 
 
     All green-inside varieties are classified as Victoria by some people.  Under that method the Victoria varieties are by far the most common varieties of rhubarb in the United States.)  The pure Red variety is smaller, later to harvest, slightly tarter and less hardy than the Victoria strains.  Nutritionally they are believed to be the same.  Some recipes offer better presentation when made with Red instead of pure green varieties.  Red plants which are red outside and green inside (e.g. Canada Red) are closer to the Victoria varieties in size than they are to the pure Red.  Some Victoria varieties are mild and smooth outside.  They are the premium varieties for cooking.  They don't generally require removal of the outer skin.  Other Victoria varieties are course on the outside and should be skinned before cooking. 
 
     Our nursery is still growing.  It consists primarily of root preparation at this time.  We do experiment with other plants but have yet to go into commercial production with anything but rhubarb and horseradish. 
 
     We sometimes attend June or July farmer's markets in nearby Colorado Springs.  Thsi is rare.  Instead, we offer our product for sale to others who attend such markets.  Our wholesale prices begin with orders of 200 pounds or more. Please contact us at the beginning of harvest if you'd like to discuss wholesale purchases for that year.
 
What is Rhubarb?
Only the stalks are consumed for food. The leaves are poisonous. Rhubarb is horticulturally a vegetable and culinarily a fruit. It is very high in nutritional value and played an important role in the development of our country, commonly packed west by pioneers. It is often the first vegetable to ripen in the spring and heralds the approach of other freshly grown, local foods. Even more important today, it is high in calcium, vitamin C and dietary fiber. Its spring appearance was anxiously awaited in days of old and today it is an ingredient in many delicious recipes. Frozen and vacuum packed it keeps for years without lengthy preparation and thereby provides healthy eating throughout the year. It also remains viable in a freezer storage bag for 6 months or more. Since organically grown rhubarb is not sprayed with poisons that prevent growth of bacteria, freshly picked, organic rhubarb keeps in a refrigerator crisper drawer for only 1-2 weeks.

The Website
 
     This page describes our products and business in general terms.  The content of the other pages are outlined as follows:   Recipes defines some unique and tasty uses of rhubarb that we're confident you'll enjoy.  It also provides important information about cooking rhubarb. Rhubarb's main contributions to your nutrition is described in more detail in Nutrition.  If you're in the Denver/Colorado Springs area and would like to stock up on fresh, organic rhubarb then check out our Pick-Your-Own program and come visit food in the making!
 
     You may be surprised to learn that rhubarb was primarily a medicine throughout virtually all of the 5000 years of documented use.  Prepare for your next rhubarb debate and impress your friends with the information to be found at the History of Rhubarb.  Details and photos of our unique approach to organic growing are to be found at Organic Technology.  You'll also find details and photos for planting, growing and harvesting your own rhubarb at Growing Rhubarb.   Freezing & Storage explains various ways of preserving rhubarb beyond its normal shelf life, including drying and freezing.  Lastly, you'll find information about participation in our seed experiments and how to contact us at Seeds and Contact Us, respectively.  We'd love to hear from you! 

(1)  We test our seeds each year.  We germinate 100 seeds.   All tests to-date have yielded at least 90% fertility.  Like all our products, your satisfaction is guaranteed or your money back.
(2) "heirloom" refers to plant varieties at least 50 years old.
To contact the webmaster left-click the following:   Web Master