What's GROWing On?
News from the MSHS Greenhouse
Back from break...
We are elated to report that our plants fared very well over spring break. Everything is alive and growing thanks to the new automatic watering system donated by Lee Rain, Inc. and installed right before break. The 128 seed starting trays are almost ready to be transplanted into six packs and our Mammoth Sunflowers are already about a foot tall so we are on schedule.
128 tray of Sweet Basil
128 tray of Cherry Tomatoes
Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes
Salad Bowl Update
WOW!
Close Up
Mesclun Mix
Radish Crop
Salad Sampling
Back of the House
Cucumbers or Pickles?
Cucumbers are among the oldest fruits (FRUITS? Isn't a cucumber a vegetable? Stay tuned for next week's Back of the House feature...) known to agriculture. It is also the most commonly cultivated in the world because the cucumber has adapted to different climates and now includes different varieties. They are members of the gourd family like squash or zucchini.
Different varieties of cucumbers are available today. Most varieties grow on vines that need lots of room in the garden to spread out, like the Straight Eight heirloom variety we are growing. It will require horizontal space in the garden or it can be trellised to grow vertically but either way, it needs lots of room to spread out and produce it's eight-inch fruits. There are bush cucumber plants that are space saving varieties, like the Picklebush we planted, with vines that grow only 18-20 inches long and produce four- to five-inch cucumbers. These are ideal for smaller spaces.
Slicing cucumbers, like the Straight Eight variety, are eaten raw on salads or with dip as part of vegetable trays. Pickling cucumbers, like the Picklebush variety, are cucumbers grown to be placed in a vinegar or brine solution, with or without additional flavors like garlic or dill, to preserve or "pickle" them. Any cucumber can be eaten raw or pickled, hence the confusion.
If you're planning on eating it raw, call it a cucumber. If you're getting it out of a jar of liquid, call it a pickle because it's been PICKLED. Either way, it started out as a CUCUMBER.
Millville Senior High School Greenhouse
Email: stacy.descalzi@millvillenj.gov
Website: http://millville.oncoursesystems.com/websites/12591130
Location: 200 North Wade Boulevard, Millville, NJ, United States
Phone: .