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Getting children interested in vegetables is never easy!
Vegetables - Vegetables 2
What does a kohlrabi look like? How do you grow celery? What do Americans call pumpkins? What is very partial to broad beans? The answers to all these questions and more will be revealed as you play this - our second quiz on vegetable gardening.
To see a larger image, click on the picture.
1 .
What is it that makes the stalks of old varieties of celery go white?
Photograph courtesy of Popolon
Exclusion of light
Reduction of water
Profusion of nitrogen
Elimination of potash
Latin Name: Apium graveolens.
Requires moist but well drained situations.
Has a reputation for growing well on peaty soils.
Suffers from very few pests and diseases.
Lift plants as required from August onwards.
Best kept in the soil to keep it crisp and fresh.
Tastes better after the first frosts.
2 .
The vegetable known in the UK as pumpkin is sometimes called what in America?
Photograph courtesy of Martin Doege
Squash
Crush
Pulp
Squeeze
Genus: Cucurbita.
A new world record weight for a pumpkin was set in September 2021 when a pumpkin grown in Italy weighed in at 2,702lbs (1,226 kilos).
A great plant with which to get youngsters interested in gardening because they are so easy to grow.
In the UK they are used mainly for Halloween activities but in Australia and the USA they are eaten with gusto.
3 .
What is the name of this vegetable?
Photograph courtesy of C Ford
Jerusalem Artichoke
Kohlrabi
Sea Samphire
Sweet Potato
Latin Name: Brassica oleracea.
Belongs to the same family as cabbage and cauliflower.
Its taste is similar to that of cabbage but a little sweeter.
There are different varieties to produce green, purple and white skins but that is only cosmetic - they are all white inside.
Usually sown in spring to produce an autumn crop but in favourable locations they can be sown in autumn to produce a late spring crop.
4 .
Which family of plants do cabbage belong to?
Photograph courtesy of www.flickr.com/photos/wheatfields/
Apiaceae
Asteraceae
Brassicaceae
Solanaceae
By using different varieties it is possible to have fresh cabbage every week of the year except in the severest of winters.
When referring to cabbages the season refers to the season in which it is EATEN not when it is sown. Thus 'summer cabbages' are eaten in the summer.
Top tip: If you find the taste a little bland then boil some bacon and save the water in which to cook your cabbage!
5 .
What is the name of the small type of onion that is often used for pickling?
Photograph courtesy of Fir002
Charlotte
Culotte
Garrotte
Shallot
Latin Name: Allium cepa.
Spring onions are eaten as a salad when the bulbs have just begun to swell.
Mature onions that have been dried correctly will store for up to 6 months.
Crops can be produced from seed but it is sometimes difficult to get the seeds to germinate.
It is easier to grow from 'sets' - immature onions produced commercially in the previous season.
6 .
Which of the names beneath the picture is NOT a variety of pea?
Lincoln
London
Little Marvel
Kelvedon Wonder
Latin Name: Pisum sativum.
The English climate is well suited to growing peas - they grow poorly if the temperature is consistently over 18 degrees C.
A succession of sowings (early March to late June) will ensure fresh peas from June to September but you should expect less peas per plant in the height of summer.
Mangetout peas have particularly sweet pods that are cooked and eaten before the peas within start to swell.
7 .
This is the flower of salsify but what is the common name for the vegetable?
Photograph courtesy of www.geograph.org.uk/profile/41439
Cockle plant
Mussel plant
Oyster plant
Winkle plant
Latin name: Tragopogon porrifolius.
An attractive, flowering addition to the vegetable garden.
Often grown as a curiosity but most gardeners never seem to get around to eating it!
It tastes somewhat similar to the shellfish from which it gets its common name.
Can be used in soups and stews or mashed like potatoes.
8 .
According to folklore when should beans be planted in order to bring good luck?
Photograph courtesy of FotoosVanRobin
Ash Wednesday
Maundy Thursday
Good Friday
Easter Sunday
Latin Name: Vicia faba.
Sometimes known as bell bean, fava bean or field bean.
Broad beans are sometimes considered mundane and flavourless but young beans served with lashings of butter (as in the picture) are delicious.
The secret is to crop whilst the beans are still small and tender.
Easy to grow but watch out for blackfly - they like nothing better than broad bean plants.
9 .
An extract from beetroot is used as a food colourant in tomato paste and jams. What is the name of the extract?
Photograph courtesy of Evan-Amos
Betamon
Betanin
Betabuy
Betablocker
Latin Name: Beta vulgaris.
Variously known as garden beet, red beet and table beet.
Usually the roots are boiled and eaten hot as a vegetable or cold as a salad.
The leaves can also be eaten (if you are desperate!) and they are said to taste a little like spinach.
Sow from April onwards and start to harvest about 3 months later when the roots have reached the size of a golf ball.
10 .
This exotic looking flower is that of a vegetable but what is the vegetable's name?
Photograph courtesy of Paul Fenwick
Celeriac
Jerusalem Artichoke
Kohlrabi
Okra
Latin Name: Helianthus tuberosus.
Closely related to the sunflower (Helianthus annuus).
Has been named the 'best soup vegetable' by a French panel!
The plants are perennial and easy to grow.
Some people believe they are TOO easy to grow because even a small piece of tuber left in the ground will spring to life and make it a nuisance in the next crop on the same land.