Sustainable Gardening for School and Home Gardens: Sweet Corn

Corn is a member of the Poaceae family, also known as the grass or cereal family, which includes wheat, oats, barley, rye, sugarcane and rice, as well as bamboo and many ornamentals, such as the lawn grasses. There are many types of corn that can be grown and used for human food although there are two major types: corn that is harvested when mature as a dried grain (field corn) and corn that is harvested immature as a vegetable referred to as sweet corn. Grain corn types include: popcorn, ornamental corn, flint corn, flour corn, waxy corn and dent corn. Dent corn, also called grain corn, is mostly grown in the United States. Sweet corn as a vegetable was introduced to Europeans in the 1700s.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/susgard/1018/thumbnail.jp

Sustainable Gardening for School and Home Gardens: Squash, Summer and Winter

Summer and winter squash are members of the Cucurbitaceae family, also known as the gourd family, which includes crops such as cucumber, cantaloupe, watermelon and gourd. The species Cucurbita pepo includes most summer squashes (scallop, yellow crookneck, yellow straightneck and zucchini), winter squashes (acorn, delicata and spaghetti), and field and pie pumpkins and gourds. This is the most diverse species in the Cucurbitaceae family in terms of fruit appearance, size and flesh color.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/susgard/1013/thumbnail.jp

Sustainable Gardening for School and Home Gardens: Cucumber

Cucumbers are members of the Cucurbitaceae family, also known as the cucurbits or gourd family. The group includes crops such as winter and summer squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkins and gourds. It is believed that cucumbers originated in India over 3,000 years ago and then spread to China, Greece, Italy and North Africa (see Figure 2). By the 9th century, cucumbers were grown in France, likely transported by the Romans. They were not documented in England until the 14th century. Cucumbers were then transported to the Americas during colonization, led by Columbus around the mid-1500s, and were grown in early Virginia and Massachusetts settlements. By 1650, cucumbers were grown in South America.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/susgard/1004/thumbnail.jp

Sustainable Gardening for School and Home Gardens: Leafy Greens

Collards and kale are both members of the Brassicaceae family, also known as the cabbage family, which includes other cool-season cole crops like cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and radish. However, collards and kale are distinct from much of the cabbage family because they do not form heads; instead their leaves are harvested.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/susgard/1002/thumbnail.jp

Sustainable Gardening for School and Home Gardens: Eggplant

The eggplant is a member of the Solanaceae family, also known as the Nightshade family, which includes crops such as the Irish potato, tomato, tomatillo and pepper. The eggplant is thought to have originated in Asia (mainly parts of India and Burma/Myanmar), and the first record of this vegetable was from a 5th century Chinese book. The original eggplant was a wild plant with orange, pea-sized, spiny fruit — very different than the present-day eggplant!https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/susgard/1003/thumbnail.jp

Sustainable Gardening for School and Home Gardens: Citrus

Citrus trees are members of the Rutaceae family, also known as the Rue family, which includes mostly flowering woody trees and shrubs. Trees in this family produce citrus fruits, including popular crops for Louisiana, such as satsumas, oranges and kumquats (see Figure 1). Citrus trees cannot survive in areas that regularly freeze, so production is concentrated along the Gulf Coast, particularly in southern areas of Louisiana and Florida.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/susgard/1005/thumbnail.jp

Sustainable Gardening for School and Home Gardens: Blueberries

Blueberries are a member of the Ericaceae family, also known as the Heath family, which also includes cranberries and huckleberries along with thousands of other flowering plants like rhododendron, azaleas and heather. Characteristics of this plant family often include tolerance to acidic soils and flowers that produce a berry. The blueberry shrub is a deciduous shrub and one of the few fruit crops native to North America, existing in the wild for thousands of years. Blueberries were commonly harvested, dried and stored by Native Americans, and the entire plant was said to be used for medicinal purposes. European colonists learned how to grow and care for blueberry plants from the Native Americans, but domesticated blueberries have only been grown since the early 1900s.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/susgard/1010/thumbnail.jp

Sustainable Gardening for School and Home Gardens: Strawberries

Strawberries are part of the Rosaceae family, also known as the rose family, which includes the ornamental rose, along with apples, almonds, blackberries, cherries, pears and raspberries. Members of this plant family include woody shrubs or trees, although strawberry plants are more herbaceous with a low-growing habit. Strawberry’s scientific name, Fragaria x ananassa, includes an ‘x’ to indicate its hybrid nature, in this case, of two different species.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/susgard/1012/thumbnail.jp

Sustainable Gardening for School and Home Gardens: Broccoli and Cauliflower

Broccoli and cauliflower are herbaceous plants (meaning they have nonwoody stems) and are widely adapted throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world. They are closely related members of the Brassicaceae family, also known as the cabbage family, which includes other cool-season cole crops like cabbages, Brussels sprouts, kale, kohlrabi, collards and radishes. Cole crops can tolerate frost, are generally hardy and mature in cool weather. The name broccoli came from the Italian word “brocco,” meaning “shoot,” which refers to sprouting broccoli. The name cauliflower is believed to have been derived from the Italian word “cavolfiore,” meaning “cabbage flower.”https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/susgard/1008/thumbnail.jp