VOA慢速英语2009-Agriculture Report - Grow It Yourself: Strawberr

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.

Strawberries grow well in loamy soil that lets water pass through easily. Carl Wilson at the Colorado State University Extension suggests mixing about three to five percent organic material into the soil.

Part of caring for strawberries is renovation¹. Once the plants have produced fruit, they become less productive. Renovation means removing a lot of the old plants to let newer ones replace them. The Agricultural Extension Service at the University of Tennessee says growers should do this every year after harvest.

Renovation also includes adding fertilizer. Adding nitrogen as a side or top dressing² in late summer will supply nutrients³ to the fruit buds for the following spring.

California grows most of the strawberry crop in the United States. The fifty-first year of the Garden Grove⁴ Strawberry Festival is this weekend south of Los Angeles. The Web site Strawberryfestival.org says it began as a way to bring the city of Garden Grove together. A local public relations man suggested a celebration of the area's once plentiful⁵ strawberry fields.

It grew into one of the largest community festivals in the western states, complete with the world's largest strawberry shortcake. The festival has a parade, carnival⁶ rides, games and a karaoke singing contest called "Strawberry Idol⁷."

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. For more gardening advice, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Faith Lapidus.

1 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

2 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

3 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

5 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

6 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

7 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。