I don't have any rhubarb growing in the garden. There were a few plants when I moved here but they weren't thriving. We planted more but they didn't come back.

My plans were to grow rhubarb again this year but the catalog I ordered from was fresh out of crowns. Crowns are the roots from which rhubarb is started. You can grow it from seed but that's more complicated.

There should be a huge, well-established patch of rhubarb in my garden because I love rhubarb. I'm mad about rhubarb desserts, especially the pie my mother used to make.

So I asked a friend for some rhubarb. He and his wife grow asparagus, sour cherries, red currants and raspberries. Not rhubarb. It's sort-of an old-fashioned thing, he said.

Is it, I wondered? Is that bad? One catalog called it Pie Plant, which is charming. Quinces are old-fashioned. And elderberries. So are apples, I suppose. They've been around since the first woman.

Because I have no rhubarb in my garden and lack rhubarb-growing friends, I harvest it at the Giant Eagle. It was $4.99 a pound. Can anyone explain that?

Scarcity? Because whenever I see it, I buy it all. Trim the ends, cut stems into 1-inch pieces and freeze. Then I can bake rhubarb pies anytime.

To use it, partially thaw it first. Don't thaw completely or it might become watery.

Still searching for rhubarb, I called R.H Shumway (800-342-9461; rhshumway.com). They still have crowns, if anyone is keen to start rhubarb.

The nice woman handling my order told me her grandmother tended a big patch of rhubarb and her rhubarb-strawberry pie was the best. "Oh my goodness," she exclaimed.

I asked if she learned to make the pie.

"I screw up Jell-O," she said.

According to the gardening guides, rhubarb needs fertile, well-drained soil and full sun, though it tolerates some shade. Sun we've got, but how to amend our heavy, cold, rock-growing clay soil. Peat moss? Sand?

"Rodale's Vegetable Garden Problem Solver" by Fern Marshall Bradley gave me step-by-step instructions. First, you dig a deep hole. And, ideally, rhubarb is planted in early spring. I'm a little late.

For each crown, the hole should be 2 feet wide and 1 foot deep. Mix the removed soil with a large shovelful each of compost and aged manure.

For heavy clay soil, she suggests adding more compost.

"Refill the hole partway with [the soil] mixture until you can set the crown in place with the crown tip 1 inch below the soil surface. Then refill the rest of the hole this way."

Mulch and water, then water weekly, or when dry. The first year, "harvest the plant lightly, or not at all." The second year, only harvest stalks "as wide across as your thumb. After that there's nearly no limit to the harvest."

After four or five years, plants may become spindly or crowded and should be divided to give them new life.

There's also a problem called "red leaf," when the crowns rot and leaves turn red. Discard these crowns and start again, with new crowns in a different spot.

My rhubarb crowns should arrive this week. While waiting, I will ponder this tip from Emily of Seeds of Change.

A new rhubarb grower, she thinks the best source for rhubarb is a neighbor. Dig up a bit, divide it in fourths, plant it and it grows. She started hers in March.

PG tested

Very good warm, even better with real whipped cream or plain yogurt. Don't worry if the topping sinks a little into the filling.

For the filling

• 2 cups thickly sliced hulled fresh strawberries
• 2 cups coarsely chopped rhubarb (no leaves!)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons tapioca

For the topping

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped whole almonds with skins
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut up

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Set out a 9- to 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate.

For filling: Mix strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, tapioca and 2 tablespoons water in heavy medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until juices thicken, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour into pie plate.

For topping: Put flour, sugar, almonds and butter in medium bowl and rub with fingers until butter is thoroughly blended. Mixture will be lumpy. Sprinkle evenly over fruit. Put pie plate on a baking sheet to catch any spillovers.

Bake until topping is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Makes 6 servings

-- Adapted from "Country Suppers" by Ruth Cousineau (Morrow, 1997)