您现在的位置: Language Tips> Audio & Video> Special Speed News  
   
 





 
Putting your head to growing cabbage
[ 2009-03-03 09:54 ]

Download

Think about it if you live where the temperature is cool and the soil is moist and fertile.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

We have talked about growing carrots and beets. This week, we move from root vegetables to a leafy vegetable. Cabbage is related to mustard, turnips, kale and collards. The leaves that form a head of cabbage can be purple, red or green. "White" cabbage is really a light green.

Putting your head to growing cabbage

Cabbage is a good source of vitamin C and other nutrients. Cato the Elder, an influential Roman thinker 2,000 years ago, praised its medical value. If you eat it raw, he suggested dipping it in vinegar.

Think about growing cabbage if you live where the weather is cool and the soil is moist and fertile. Spring and fall are good times to begin. Experts say cabbage does not need full sun and grows easily if you water it regularly and protect against insects and disease.

The University of Illinois Extension says cabbage is easily transplanted from bare-root plants or cell packs. Bare-root plants have no soil on their roots. Cell packs are containers in which seeds are started.

Susan Trice from the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service says cabbage takes about 60 to 90 days to grow. She says the amount of space needed between the plants depends on how big you expect the heads to be. Cabbage can be picked any time after the heads have formed.

Always keep the plants moist. Watch for yellowing or black spots on the stems. Yellow or brown areas shaped like the letter V on leaves may be a sign of black rot infection.

Insects, transplants and seeds can spread infections. If you suspect that seeds may be diseased, place them in water at 50 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes. The Cooperative Extension Service at Oklahoma State University says buying high-quality seeds can help.

On March 17th, many Irish Americans will eat a traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day.

Cabbage leaves can be steamed or cooked in a small amount of boiling water until they soften. Cabbage smells terrible if you cook it too long. Uncooked cabbage, cut thinly, is used in cole slaw and other salads.

Sauerkraut is cabbage fermented in its own juice. It means "sour cabbage" in German. Salt is traditionally used to pull water out of the cabbage.

And Chinese cabbage is popular not just in China. It is commonly used, for example, in kimchee, a spicy Korean food made with fermented cabbage.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Bob Doughty.

transplant: to remove (a plant) from one place and plant it in another.(移植)

ferment:to cause to undergo fermentation(发酵)

(Source: VOA 英语点津编辑)

 
英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
相关文章 Related Story
 
 
 
本频道最新推荐
 
Walking in the US first lady's shoes
“准确无误”如何表达
英国新晋超女苏珊大妈改头换面
猪流感 swine flu
你有lottery mentality吗
翻吧推荐
 
论坛热贴
 
别乱扔垃圾。怎么译这个乱字呀?
橘子,橙子用英文怎么区分?
看Gossip Girl学英语
端午节怎么翻译?
母亲,您在天堂还好吗?