|
|
| Issue No. 10.23 | June 10, 2010 |
|
|
|
Bob's Market in the News
You may have noticed these weird little tags appearing in our retail stores over the past few months. They are actually "links" that can be read by web-enabled phones using the Microsoft Tag application. The tag pictured to the left links to our homepage.
Bob's Market is one of the first businesses in the horticultural industry to utilize this new technology. Recently, John Morgan, our technologist, was interviewed by Kevin Yanik of Greenhouse Gower Magazine on how Bob's Market is utilizing this amazing new technology. Click Here to read the article. |
|
The Mail Bag
 Brenda from Apple Grove, WV writes: "I have been told that when my potatoes begin to bloom, if I cut off the bloom, my potatoes will grow bigger. Do you know if that is true?"
I've heard of folks doing this or even cutting the plants back to half their size, but in my opinion it does more harm than good. Trimming the plant would only reduce the productivity of the plant. All plants use photosynthesis to convert light energy into chemical energy, and, in the case of potatoes, that energy gets stored in the tubers in the form of starch (carbohydrates). Therefore, more leaves equals more photosynthesis, which is also why you want to eliminate any pests that would damage the leaves.
Potato bugs are always a problem, and the best solution that I've found is good old pinching. It's a little messy, but it works best. However, if you have a really bad infestation either a spray or dust form of Rotenone will work best, but be careful if you choose to use it as it is mildly toxic to humans. Remember to always wear long sleeves, pants, closed-toed shoes, safety glasses, and gloves when applying any pesticide.
Do you have a gardening question? Email it to ask@bobsmarket.com. |
 The Amazing Peanut
Chew on These Peanut Facts
The peanut is not a nut.
It is the bean of a legume enclosed in a fibrous pod.
A filbert is a nut.
A pecan is a nut.
Some politicians are nuts.
So - is peanut an apt common name for the plant? No way.
Ground nut is not much better.
Yes, the peanut is - by a bit of a stretch - a pea
Fabaceae - Family Name Origin
But, to repeat, it is not a nut. A peanut is the oval seed enclosed in the fibrous pod of a plant that is a member of the large bean family, whose botanical family name is Fabaceae. You have probably heard of a kind of broad bean called fava. Beans take their family name from that bean. The root is the Latin word faba 'bean.' On its way into the English word kitchen, faba passed through Italian and changed its "b" to "v", as did many other intervocalic plosives (say what?) in Latin, to become Italian fava.
Other examples of that sound change was common as Latin slowly morphed into its derivative Romance languages like Italian and French. Consider the morphology of the Latin word for 'oak tree' robur becoming rovere in Italian. English borrowed the robur adjective directly from Latin and so, something strong as an oak is likely to be robust.
Growth of a Peanut
As the pod (peanut shell) ripens, it goes underground. Its flower is borne above the ground. After the flower withers, the stalk elongates, bends down, and forces the ovary underground. When the seed is mature under the soil, the seed coat changes color from white to a reddish brown. The entire plant, including most of the roots, is removed from the soil during harvesting. When harvested and mature, the beans are roasted to become the peanuts of commerce.
Antiquity of Peanut Cultivation
The peanut is native to South America. By the evidence of fossil remains, paleobotanists have determined that the peanut's domestication must have taken place 8,000 years ago in Argentina, Bolivia, or Peru, where wild strains of peanuts grow today. Most pre-Columbian cultures depicted peanuts in their art. When the bullying conquistadores of Spain invaded Mesoamerica they found the Aztecs growing peanuts, called in Nahuatl, the Aztec language, tlal-cacahuatl and that's why the Spanish word for peanut iscacahuate and the French word is cacahučte.
Other Common Names
The most satisfying alternate name for peanut is goober. Slaves brought that name from Africa, where, in the central Africa language of Kikongo, the word for peanut is nguba. However, the peanut had a circuitous path to the American snack table. First, around 1800 A.D., Portuguese merchants took the plant from Brazil to Africa where it became very popular and widely grown in tropical climates. Later the peanut entered the then English colonies of North America as a favourite food of African slaves.
Peanuts are also known as earthnuts, goober peas, pindas, jack nuts, pinders, manila nuts, and monkey nuts; the last of these is often used to mean the entire pod. |
 Savory Pork Loin Recipe Submitted by: John Morgan, Bob's Market PREP TIME: 20 Minutes COOKING TIME: 8-10 Hours INGREDIENTS 1 Pork Loin 2 Large Onion 2 Tbs. Mustard Powder 2 Tbs. Garlic Powder 3 Bay Leaves First, spray a Crockpot with non-stick cooking spray and add the whole pork loin. Next, mix the mustard and garlic powder and rub onto the pork. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Now, thinly slice the onions to form rings. Place them on and around the pork loin. On top add the three bay leaves (remove after cooking). Finally, slow cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the pork is tender.
For those of us with busy schedules, the preparation can be done the night before and refrigerated overnight. This actually allows the rub to marinate the pork allowing for more flavor. Start it cooking before going to work an a delicious meal will be waiting when you get home!
|
|
Picture of the Week
A bee enjoying a pincushion plant at our River Range facility.
Photo by: John Morgan
Taken: 5/14/2010 |
|
|
|
|
Bob's Market and Greenhouses, Inc.
Mason, West Virginia 25260
1-800-447-3760 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
