During the War between the States, doctors in the Union army routinely used onion juice to clean gunshot wounds, and General Grant, deprived of it, sent a testy memo to the War Department : “I will not move my troops without onions!”
When potatoes were brought back to England, the English were not quite sure what to do with them. Sir Walter Raleigh gave some potato plants to Queen Elizabeth I. When it came time for Queen Elizabeth’s cooks to prepare them, they tossed out the tubers and boiled the stems and leaves. Everyone at the table became deathly ill and potatoes were banned from the royal kitchen.
What are the 10 most popular home grown vegetables in the USA and Canada? According to a survey, the top 10 are (in order of popularity): Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers, Onions, Beans, Lettuce, Carrots, Sweet Corn, Radishes and Cabbage. Tomatoes were grown in a little over 85% of all gardens with Cabbage being grown in only 30%.
How long have people enjoyed the flavor of sauerkraut? When the Chinese were building the fifteen hundred mile long Great Wall Of China, they sustained themselves on cabbage pickled in wine.
In the seventeenth century it was said that cows fed Dutch Carrots yielded the richest milk and the yellowest butter. While butter makers in other parts of Europe, using less well fed cows, colored their butter by adding carrot juice to the churn.
Did you know that the Pimiento is an attractive and tasty pepper that, regrettably, is known to most of us solely as a stuffing for green olives.
Back in the late 19th century some towns in England had laws that reduced a persons taxes if he planted flowers and shrubbery in his yard to beautify it. If the person next to him did not do the same, his taxes were raised. With these laws, the towns became attractive for visitors and towns folk alike.
In the 1800’s, cornmeal was often used in combination with soap to wash the dirt from the farmers hands. The coarse cornmeal helped loosen the dirt and was said to stop the hands from chapping.Â
Today’s gardeners are always trying to grow the biggest tomato, watermelon or pumpkin. Back in the 1800’s the prize of every gardener was a gigantic turnip. Thirty pounders were quite common and a grower in California was said to have grown a turnip of over 100 lbs. in 1850.
According to Greek mythology, one could break the magical spells of sorcerers by drinking a tonic made with horehound leaves. Today, a tea made with horehound and honey can be used to ease the pain of a sore throat.
Peas have come along way to the tender, sweet varieties that we enjoy today. Archaeological findings suggest that early man ate peas that were roasted over open flames and peeled, similar to the way we eat chestnuts today.
Fennel is one of our oldest cultivated plants and was much used by the Romans. Gladiators consumed fennel prior to battle to make them fierce, while Roman women ate fennel to prevent obesity.
In 1983, New York Transit officials dusted ground hot pepper on subway token slots to prevent rambunctious teenagers from sucking tokens out of the turnstiles.
The herb feverfew was grown by Charlemagne in his botanical gardens. During his reign (800-814 A.D.), it was used by the Romans to reduce fevers, and as a sleep aid.
While the taste of parsley is very mild, its peculiar smell is strong. When chewed after a meal, it can neutralize the odors given to the breath by onions, garlic and other hardy delicacies.
Peppers can contain up to six times as much vitamin C as oranges! The highest levels are found when the peppers are in their “green” stage. Hot peppers contain less vitamin C than the milder bell peppers.
Besides being a really good gardener, Mike Hunter is an excellent RE Broker.
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