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Apples Weren’t Originally for Eating.
The popular phrase “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” can be a reminder to incorporate nutritious fruits into your daily diet as part of a balanced meal, and modern apples are delicious, sweet, and great to toss into sack lunches. But for a long time, apples in North America were bitter and inedible and mainly used to make fermented cider...
Read MoreGood Gourd! What's With All The Weird-Looking Squash?
When Virginia farmer Charles Martin first got into the pumpkin game a decade ago, he started small, with a half-acre plot of traditional round, orange jack-o-lanterns. Today he grows 55 varieties of gourds, squash and pumpkins, and he's always looking for something new. As he walks through his half-harvested patch, Martin points out an orange pumpkin covered in green...
Read MoreCelebrating Mexico’s independence with corn.
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First, here’s a bit of history about Mexico’s Independence. Grito de Dolores marks the start of the country’s War of Independence from Spain on Sept. 16, 1810. On that morning, Fr. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a beloved Catholic priest who ordered the arrest of Spaniards in the town of Dolores, rang church bells and shouted “Mexicanos, viva Mexico,”...
The United Crops of America.
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The United States has a diverse climate and the ability to grow all kinds of crops throughout the country. And while farmers in most of the United States grow a lot of corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton (these crops, called “commodity” or “row” crops, account for almost 240 million acres...