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True or false? Potatoes are root vegetables.
False. Potatoes are underground stems called tubers.
Most kinds of potatoes can be planted during cool weather. But John Masiunas of the University of Illinois Extension says it may be best to wait until after the last winter freeze.
The extension service says the best formation happens when the soil is between fifteen and twenty-one degrees Celsius. Tubers will not form if the soil temperature reaches twenty-seven degrees.
Potatoes are started from "seed pieces." These are either small whole potatoes or potatoes cut into pieces. Each piece should weigh about forty to sixty grams. The experts at the University of Illinois say pieces that weigh less than thirty grams may not produce as much.
Each piece must have at least one good "eye," the small dark spot where a sprout will grow. Soon after the pieces are cut, plant them twenty-five to thirty centimeters apart. Cover them in a furrow between two and one-half and seven and one-half centimeters deep. The rows should be spaced about sixty to ninety centimeters apart.
For potatoes, the best soil is fertile and well drained, not wet. To improve clay soils, mix in garden waste or other organic matter and turn the soil deeply in the fall. If possible, in the year before you plant potatoes, plant a cover crop to improve the soil and the potato production. The extension service suggests a crop such as clover, buckwheat or winter rye.
After the potato plants appear, organic mulch can be spread around to hold moisture, help suppress weed growth and cool the soil. John Masiunas says water management is extremely important. Potatoes do not grow well in very dry conditions.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Today we talk about tomatoes.
Tomatoes are generally easy to grow. Experts at the University of Illinois Extension suggest you start seeds indoors if the ground is still cold. For best results with the least risk, they say, plant when the soil is warm, soon after the frost-free date for your area.
Be prepared to cover early plantings during the night if there is still a risk of freeze. Black plastic mulch can help keep them warm. Better to wait until the soil is warm to use organic mulch.
When transplanting, use starter fertilizer.
Small plants called dwarfs may be placed a third of a meter apart in rows. If you grow staked plants, set the sticks in the ground about half a meter apart. Some larger varieties of tomatoes may need about a meter between plants and at least a meter and a half between rows. The idea is to leave enough space for harvesting.
Work the soil to remove weeds. But do not work the soil too deeply or you could damage the tomato plants.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Beans are a popular choice for home gardens.
Specialists at the University of Illinois Extension say bush beans need the least work. The plants do not need supports to stand.
Green bush beans used to be called string beans because of fibers along the pods containing the seeds. But plant breeding reduced the fibers, and now the beans are known as snap beans. Fresh ones break with the pleasing sound of a snap.
Unlike bush beans, pole beans need supports to climb. But they need less space because they twist around poles or sticks. Also, because the plants are tall, a person can stand while harvesting the beans.
Beans should not be planted until all risk of freeze has passed in the spring. Planting beans every two to four weeks until early August will provide a continuous harvest.
Control weeds growing around bean plants, but be careful not to harm the plants. Their root systems are not very strong or deep.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Earlier this month, Michelle Obama and twenty-three schoolchildren helped prepare the ground for an organic vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House. The first lady showed the young gardeners how to turn the soil for the one hundred square meter garden.
The students from nearby Bancroft Elementary School will help grow fifty-five kinds of vegetables, herbs and berries. They will plant organic seedlings in a few weeks. The White House will provide organic fertilizer for the garden. Crops will include lettuce, spinach, broccoli, peas, onions and berries. Missus Obama said two beehives will provide honey. The whole Obama family, including the president, will pull weeds in the garden. The total cost of the seedlings and fertilizer is two hundred dollars.
The vegetables and fruit will help provide meals for the Obama family, White House workers and guests. The produce will also go to a nearby center that provides food for homeless people. Michelle Obama said the main goal of the garden is to educate children and influence communities to choose and prepare healthful food.
The garden will be the first on the White House lawn since World War Two. President Franklin Roosevelt's wife Eleanor planted what was called a "Victory Garden" as part of the war effort in nineteen forty-three.
Eleanor Roosevelt urged all Americans to grow their own vegetables and fruits. Much of the nation's farm produce at the time was feeding American soldiers. More recently, President and Missus Clinton had a small garden. But it was planted in containers on the roof of the White House.
The White House garden marks a victory for people like Professor Michael Pollan of the University of California, Berkeley. The writer and food expert has worked to increase public education about good food. He said gardens like the one at the White House help people reconnect with food and eat more healthfully.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report

Many colleges and universities in the United States provide education in agriculture. But only a few schools offer experience in traditional hands-on field work in addition to classes.
Sustainable agriculture is a major goal at these colleges. They teach the need for farming to improve the environment and make good use of natural resources. Students grow organic food and use as little fossil fuels and chemicals as possible.
Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, Vermont, is one of the colleges that supports sustainable agriculture. Students produce some of their own food. They prepare the soil for planting with their hands or simple tools. They do not use much big machinery that uses gasoline.
This month, students are making their own sugar and maple syrup. After liquid sap is taken from sugar maple trees, it goes to a sugarhouse where the sap is boiled. Students built the sugarhouse. The college farm has solar-powered barns, gardens, fruit trees, greenhouses and animals.
Sterling College President Will Wootton says the school's Sustainable Agriculture Program includes pay for farm jobs. The money reduces the cost of the students' education. The students care for steers, oxen, chickens, a turkey, goats and sheep. A pig and a guard llama also live on the farm.
Goshen College in Wolf Lake, Indiana, is another college teaching sustainable agriculture. In June, students at the Agroecology Summer Intensive Program begin taking courses like Introduction to Soils. Agroecology examines the connection between agricultural crops and the environment.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Some people who like to eat very hot chili peppers say that they can help you breathe better if you have a cold. Others believe that chilies give you added energy. We cannot confirm those ideas. But we can tell you that people have been growing chilies for centuries, and there are many kinds.
In fact, a gardener at the Colorado State University Extension says there are between one hundred fifty and two hundred kinds of chili peppers.
Want to fire up your meals with homegrown chilies? They need a warm climate. If you plant the seeds outside when the weather is cool, place the seeds under a glass. That will add warmth from the sun and protect them from wind. You can also start the seeds in your home or a greenhouse.
If you plant inside, fill a seven and one-half centimeter pot with soil. The pot should have holes in the bottom so water can run out. Tap the sides of the pot to settle the soil.
Drop several seeds over the surface of the pot and cover with a thin layer of vermiculite, a substance that can hold air, water and nutrients. Then cover the top of the pot with a see-through plastic bag. Hold the bag in place with a rubber band. Place the pot in a warm area.
When the chilies start growing, take off the bag. When the plants have reached about two centimeters high, place each one carefully in its own seven and one-half centimeter pot.

Researchers from twenty-five countries now have a full genetic map of a cow. Understanding what makes a cow a cow could lead to better milk and meat production.
It could also help drug companies. The cow genome is more similar to humans than to mice or rats. Mice and rats are commonly used to test new medicines. Project scientist Harris Lewin from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign predicts there will be more laboratory cows in the future.
The Bovine Genome Sequencing Project found that the cattle genome contains at least twenty-two thousand genes. Most of these are shared among humans as well as mice, rats and other mammals used for comparison in the study.
More than three hundred researchers studied a female Hereford cow from the American state of Montana. The genome took six years to complete.
A genome is not just a map of the order of genes. It contains information about every position including spaces on the chromosomes on which genes are grouped.
The findings are in the journal Science. A related report looked at genetic changes in cattle over time. The bovine family tree divided into two major groups more than two hundred fifty thousand years ago.
Taurine cattle have no hump on their back. They are mostly found in Europe, Africa and East and West Asia, as well as the Americas. Indicine cattle have a hump and are found in India, South and West Asia and East Africa.
Humans started to domesticate wild cows about eight to ten thousand years ago. Scientists examined several breeds and say the cow genome appears to show evidence of this selective reproduction.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

One of the sweetest gifts of nature is a red, ripe strawberry. There are three basic kinds of strawberries: June bearing, ever bearing and day neutrals
June bearing are ready in the spring, so they are also called spring bearing. But gardeners will not get a crop during the first spring after planting.
Ever bearers, when planted after the last winter freeze, will produce fruit during spring or early summer. A second or sometimes third crop will be ready in late summer. Day neutrals produce fruit throughout the summer months.
The University of Illinois Urban Extension says ever bearers and day neutrals are especially good for home gardens. Plant strawberries in the spring as soon as the soil is dry enough.
Try to plant late in the day or on a cloudy day. The soil should cover just the roots and not the crown on top of the plant. Runners will appear in a few weeks.
Strawberries grown in containers need a soil depth of about twenty-five to thirty centimeters. Be sure the container has holes in the bottom.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

When is a plant considered a weed? Experts at Penn State University have a simple answer: When its undesirable qualities outweigh its good qualities.
Consider this: Crops generally produce several hundred seeds per plant. But each weed plant can produce tens or even hundreds of thousands of seeds. And some buried seeds can survive up to forty years, or even longer.
Eradicating weeds means that you have to remove all the seeds and roots so the plants will not grow back. But birds or the wind can reintroduce them to the land.
A more common way to deal with weeds is to control them enough so that the land can be used for planting. Experts advise using two or more control methods to deal with weeds.
Chemical weed killers or natural treatments like corn gluten can suppress weed growth. Dense planting of a crop can also act as a natural control.
Bill Curran is a professor of weed science at Penn State, in University Park, Pennsylvania. He says one of the most common methods for suppressing weeds is dense planting.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Sorghum is an important grain for Africa. Millions of Africans have more to eat because of Gebisa Ejeta. The Ethiopian scientist developed sorghum seeds that can resist long dry periods. The seeds can also resist the Striga weed, a big cause of crop failures in Africa.
Now his work has earned him this year's World Food Prize from the World Food Prize Foundation in Des Moines, Iowa. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the announcement last week in Washington. She pointed out that Professor Ejeta did not just develop the seeds. He also worked to get them to farmers.
He will receive the two hundred fifty thousand dollar award at a ceremony in October. He is only the second African to win the prize since it was established in nineteen eighty-six. Monty Jones, a rice expert from Sierra Leone, was the winner in two thousand four.
Gebisa Ejeta is a professor at Purdue University in Indiana. Over the years, he has worked with farmers and seed companies and developed more than eighty seed types for Africa.
In the early nineteen eighties, Professor Ejeta developed the first sorghum hybrid seeds. These resisted drought and led to a major increase in production.
Drought is not the only enemy. Striga is a parasitic weed that Africans commonly call witchweed. The plant attacks sorghum and other crops and steals water and nutrients from the roots.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Compost is a dark, rich material added to soil to improve it.
Compost is produced when bacteria and fungi break down organic matter, aided by insects, earthworms and other organisms. This natural recycling returns nutrients to the soil. Some experts advise adding five centimeters of compost for every fifteen centimeters of turned soil
More and more people are making their own compost at home. Composting can reduce the amount of garden and cooking waste that would otherwise go into public landfills.
Monica David from the University of Illinois Extension oversees the master gardeners program in her state. She explains that you can make a compost pile or dig a pit or use a waste container with holes cut in the side.
There are different methods of composting. Some take more work. Others take almost no work but may require waiting up to a year.
Advice about composting can be found from extension services, at garden centers, in books and on the Internet.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Mulch is material spread over soil. It protects against wind and rain damage. It can also limit weed growth.
Finding materials for organic mulch can be easy. Small pieces of tree bark or cut up leaves can be used. Some people use grass cuttings or newspapers. Others use inorganic material such as shredded rubber from tires.
Mulch is important to home gardens but also to farms. Farmers may keep the remains of maize or other crops on top of the soil. The crop waste creates mulch. This practice is called conservation tillage.
Organic mulch protects but also improves the condition of the soil. It provides nutrients for plants. It also provides a good environment for earthworms and other helpful organisms in the soil.
As the mulch breaks down, it provides material that keeps the soil from getting hard. This improves the growth of roots and increases the movement of water through the soil. The mulch also improves the ability of the soil to hold moisture.
Experts generally suggest laying mulch to a depth of about ten centimeters. If finer materials are used, such as cut grass, the depth should be two and a half to seven and a half centimeters. The same is true if compost is used for mulch.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Officials in Liberia say tens of millions of caterpillars are destroying crops and polluting waterways in the country's agricultural centers.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says the caterpillars are invading houses in some areas. More than one hundred thousand people have fled their homes because of the insects.

The government in Monrovia has appealed for international help. Agriculture Minister Christopher Toe urged other countries to help save Liberia's crops and other vegetation that the caterpillars feed on.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

We have a question from a Chinese student who is interested in floriculture. Wang Yue wants to know what kinds of flowers Americans like to plant in their gardens.
Some of the most popular bedding flowers are chrysanthemums, impatiens and petunias. Bedding plants are usually started in greenhouses. People buy them in containers and replant them.
Roses are also popular in American gardens. So are tulips, a welcome sign of spring. At the Chicago Botanic Garden in Illinois, workers plant twenty-nine thousand tulip bulbs every fall. The workers move in a long line as they plant row after row of tulips.
Kris Jarantoski is the director of the Chicago Botanic Garden. He says a flowering plant called agastache is also popular in gardens. Hummingbirds love it. Salvia is another popular flower that attracts hummingbirds.
Kris Jarantoski says people also choose flowers such as the spiderflower for its ability to reseed. Another quality that people often look for is the ability to resist dry periods. Lantana is an example of a popular drought-resistant plant.
Where people live can limit the choices for their gardens. The United States is a huge country with all kinds of weather conditions, from desert heat to arctic cold. But something else can also limit people's choices: a stormy economy.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

We talked last week about growing beets. Today we have advice about growing another root vegetable, carrots. Carrots are easy to raise and easy to harvest. They taste good. And they contain a lot of carotene, which the body makes into vitamin A.
When people think of carrots, they usually picture in their mind a vegetable that is long, thin and orange. But carrots come in many different sizes and shapes.
And not all carrots are orange.
For example, Paris Market carrots are about five centimeters around. Imperator carrots are thin and about twenty-five centimeters long. And Belgian White carrots are, as their name suggests, white.
For the best results, carrots should be grown in sandy soil that does not hold water for a long time. The soil also should have no rocks.
To prepare your garden for carrots, dig up the soil, loosen it and turn it over. Then, mix in some plant material or animal fertilizer.

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.

Cabbage is a good source of vitamin C and other nutrients. Cato the Elder, an influential Roman thinker two thousand 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 sixty to ninety 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.