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This is the VOA Special English
Agriculture Report. |
Carrots are
grown on farms
and in family gardens throughout the world. Carrots are
easy to raise and
easy
to harvest. They taste good. And they contain a lot of
carotene, which the body
makes into vitamin A. |
When people
think of carrots, they usually picture in their mind a vegetable
that is long, thin and orange in color. But carrots come in many different
sizes and
shapes. And not all carrots are orange. |
For example, Paris Market carrots are about five centimeters around. Imperator
carrots are thin and about twenty-five centimeters long. And Belgian White
carrots are, as their name suggests,
white. |
For the best results, carrots
should be grown in
sandy soil that does not
hold water for a long
time. The soil also should have no rocks. |
To prepare your carrot garden,
dig up the soil,
loosen it and turn it over.
Then, mix in some plant material or animal
fertilizer. |
Weather, soil conditions and age will affect the way carrots taste. Experts say
warm days,
cool nights
and a medium soil temperature are the best conditions for growing carrots
that
taste great. |
Carrots need time to develop
their full sugar content.
This gives them their taste. If they are
harvested too early, they
will not have enough sugar. But carrots loose their
sweetness if you wait too
long to pull them from the ground. |
The best way
to judge if a carrot is ready to be harvested is by its color.
Usually, the brighter the color, the
better the taste. |
Most people do not know that carrots can be grown during the winter months. If
the winter is not cold enough to freeze the
ground, you can grow and harvest
carrots the same way as during the summer months. |
If the ground does freeze in your part of the world, simply cover your carrot garden with a thick layer of
leaves or straw.
This will prevent the
ground from freezing. You can remove the ground cover and harvest the
carrots as they are needed. |
Carrots are prepared and eaten many different ways. They are cut in thin pieces
and added to other vegetables. They are cooked by themselves or
added to stews.
Or, once they are washed, they are eaten just as they come out of the ground. |
GLOSSARY:
grown:
cultivadas; throughout: en todo; easy to raise:
fáciles de cultivar; easy
to harvest: fáciles de cosechar; taste good: tienen buen sabor; carotene:
caroteno;
makes into: transforma en; think of: piensa en; sizes and
shapes: tamaños y formas; suggests: sugiere; should be grown:
deben cultivarse; sandy soil: suelo arenoso; hold water:
conserva agua; dig up; cava; loosen it:
aflójalo; fertilizer: fertilizante; weather: tiempo
(atmosférico); warm days: días cálidos; cool nights:
noches frescas; that
taste great: que tengan buen sabor; their full sugar content: todo su
contenido en azúcar; harvested too early: cosechadas
demasiado pronto; sweetness: dulzor; to judge: juzgar,
decidir; the brighter the color, the better the taste: cuanto
más brillante el color, mejor es el sabor; to freeze:
congelar; ground: terreno; thick layer: capa gruesa;
leaves or straw: hojas o paja; this will prevent: esto
impedirá que; added to stews: agregadas a los guisados. |