Summer 2016 in this issue Where Foods First Came From p. 1-2 How People Change Plants p. 3 Recipes p. 4 Announcements p. 5-6 About Bulbs p. 7 Summer Blooming Bulbs p. 8 Garden Riddles p. 9
Where in the World did Our Favorite Foods Come From? by hannah madrone What are your favorite fruits & vegetables to grow and eat? Imagine taking a walk through a nearby veggie garden this summer. You will probably see a lot of different plants growing side by side. You might see carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers all in one bed. But what about the ancestors (great-great-great-great well, really great grandparents) of those veggies? Where did they come from in the very beginning? It might surprise you that those three vegetables you saw all in one place carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers were first grown in three very far apart places! Carrots started out in Western Europe, probably near where France is now. Tomatoes were first grown in Central and 1 South America, including what is now Mexico. Cucumbers originally grew in South Asia, near what is now India. The vegetables we love to grow and eat come from all over the world! Some edible plants come from North America, where we live. Cranberries originally grew in wetlands in what are now Canada and the northern parts of the United States. Jerusalem Artichokes (which are eaten more like a potato) come from the east and south parts of North America. Lots of plants with yummy seeds, such as sunflowers and walnuts, are from this continent too. Native Americans have been cultivating these plants since long before Europeans arrived here. People have been moving around the world for a long time, and edible plants have always moved with them. The recipes for cooking certain vegetables change when they move to new places, depending on what local people are used to eating. But when new vegetables come to a region, they also change what people eat. For example, many people in Europe were afraid to eat tomatoes when they first arrived from Central America. Some Europeans even thought they were poisonous! But now most people think of Italian foods with tomato sauce like pizza and spaghetti as completely normal. Can you find your favorite foods on the map? 2
How do people change plants? by hannah dayley How Have We Changed The Food We Eat? When you walk into the grocery store, there are so many colorful, delicious and healthy fruits and vegetables available. The food you see is only possible because of modern agriculture or farming. Farmers have cultivated food to be easy to eat and grow. To cultivate means to make something better by trying over and over until you get what you want. People cultivate plants by selective breeding. Growers can choose plants that have the best traits, and then select those plants to grow again next year. By choosing the best crop every year, the plants will get closer and closer to the taste and look we like. Plants that have been cultivated for a long time are very different from the original plant. You wouldn t even recognize what some foods looked like before. Let s take a look at some examples of plants that have changed over time. Bananas The bananas we eat today have soft fruit inside a soft skin that can be easily peeled. Before cultivation, bananas had a hard outer shell and were full of lots of very hard seeds. Carrots Wild carrots had roots that were much thinner, and looked more like roots of other plants. Ancient farmers probably didn t even use the roots of the plant, but instead used the leaves as a kind of herb. Carrots today come in many different colors: yellow, orange, red or purple. All of these carrots today have nutritious roots that people like to eat. Corn Corn is one of the most changed plants that we eat today. Corn comes from a wild grass called teosinte. Before cultivation it was almost impossible to eat! Native Americans began planting the seeds from the best tasting, softest, largest seeds. Now we have sweet juicy kernels that can be eaten in so many ways! by emilly apple by emilly apple The fruit of the banana has been cultivated for thousands of years. Over time, farmers have chosen to grow plants that only produce the most delicious fruits, slowly creating a much tastier banana. Fluffy Fruit Dip this dip is delicious with fresh fruit, berries & melons You will need 1 sm. jar marshmallow cream 1 package cream cheese 2-3 Tbls. milk, or soy, almond, or coconut milk ground cinnamon (to taste) instructions Soften cream cheese in a small bowl by setting out for 10 minutes or by microwaving 30 seconds at a time until soft. Add all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until smooth and creamy. Vanilla Creme Dip this dip is excellent with peaches, plums & apples You will need 2 c. plain yogurt 1 package vanilla pudding mix 1 dash nutmeg instructions Put all your ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk or stir until thoroughly blended. Be sure to taste-test to get the amount of nutmeg you prefer. It s ready to eat as soon as it s blended, or you can refrigerate the dip for later. Mermaid or Pirate Tea Sandwiches great for garden hide-away tea parties You will need cottage or cream cheese canned tuna or sardines a few drops of lemon juice fresh herbs like dill or parsley or capers (optional) sliced bread butter instructions Mix first 4 ingredients together. Lightly spread butter on 2 slices of bread. This keeps the bread from becoming limp. Spread the filling. Cut off crusts and cut sandwiches into triangles or use a cookie cutter for shapes. Freeze bread slightly before preparing for nicer edges. 3 recipes & a poem Heart Beet Do you carrot at all for me? My heart beets for you, with your turnip nose and your radish face. you are a peach. If we cantaloupe, lettuce marry. Weed make a swell pear. excerpt from - A Rocket in My Pocket: Rhymes and Chants of Young Americans 3 4
GIFTS Use your Junior Gardeners Club membership card to get these awesome gifts for free! EVENTS Make sure to check our website and the newsletter to find out what s coming up! JUNE JULY June 4-inch vegetable plant Have you planted a veggie garden yet this year? You can still start now, or add some new plants to the mix! During June, pick out any $2.99, pack or 4 vegetable start. July 4 Perennial Perennials are plants that come back every year. From strange and beautiful succulents to big, bright flowers, we have lots of perennials here! Choose any $3.99, 4 perennial start during July. 3 in wide x 2.45 H June - Try this at home Make a bug home Make your own bug hotel to welcome garden helpers like beetles, spiders, and bees to your garden! Check out our website and our Junior Gardeners Headquarters in June to learn how. July - Try this at home Make a self-watering container Create a miniature planter that will water itself! Check out our website and our Junior Gardeners Headquarters in July to learn how. What do you think of all the changes around here? Do you love this club? Do you have some ideas for improvements, articles, or activities? Do you want to send us photographs or artwork of your garden? We want to hear from you! You can always let us know what you think in person, or by emailing us at JGclub@skynursery.com. We d love your help. AUGUST August Italian Soda Stop by the coffee stand for a refreshing summer drink in August! Choose your favorite flavor, or try something new! Sunday, August 14, 2016 2:00pm Plant an up-cycled, water-wise container Did you know that almost anything can become a planter? We can plant in shoes, old cooking pots, soup cans, and more. Let your imagination run wild and bring your own funky container to plant with succulents and other water-wise plants. We ll have a few extra containers available too. $5 helps cover the cost of plants and soil, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Please call Sky Nursery to register in advance. Take our survey online or in person Let s keep making this club better together! 5 6 Answers to jokes - page 10: A. Lettuce, B. Newly webs, C. A colli-flower, D. A hoarse radish
gladiola oriental lily What is a bulb? by nichole sheehan A bulb is like a small package that contains next year s plant. Inside the paper-like outside layers are young leaves, stems, and even flower buds. Tulips, garlic, onions, crocus and daffodils all grow from bulbs. Bulbs store nutrients to feed the new plant and help it grow. begonia Summer Bulbs? I thought they were a spring thing! allium Try this experiment: leave an onion out in a windowsill until it starts to sprout and grow roots. Cut the onion in half from the top down to the roots. See if you can find the young leaves and other parts of the new plant. Parts of a tulip bulb developing leaves stem starting to grow developing flower bud dahlia There are many hard-working bulbs that we can see blooming this time of year. Plant these bulbs in April for bold summer color or exotic tropical leaves. Try these bulbs for: SUN Allium Crocosmia Iris Lilies Day lily Canna Asiatic lily Oriental lily Shooting Star Dahlia crocosmia SHADE Alocasia (Elephant Ear) Colocasia Caladium Tuberous begonia Oxalis day lily caladium 7 iris
Garden Riddles A. I have a head but no body, a heart but no blood. Just leaves and no branches I grow without wood. What am I? B. What do you call two young married spiders? C. What do you get when you cross a dog with a daisy? D. What is small, red and whispers? find answers on page 6 8