VOA慢速英语2009-Agriculture Report - Working Magic in the Garden

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Beans are a popular choice for home gardens.

Specialists at the University of Illinois Extension say bush beans need the least work. The plants do not need supports to stand.

Green bush beans used to be called string beans because of fibers¹ along the pods containing the seeds. But plant breeding reduced the fibers, and now the beans are known as snap beans. Fresh ones break with the pleasing sound of a snap.

Unlike bush beans, pole beans need supports to climb. But they need less space because they twist around poles or sticks. Also, because the plants are tall, a person can stand while harvesting the beans.

Beans should not be planted until all risk of freeze has passed in the spring. Planting beans every two to four weeks until early August will provide a continuous harvest.

Control weeds growing around bean plants, but be careful not to harm the plants. Their root systems are not very strong or deep.

Seeds should be planted two and one-half centimeters deep. Make sure the soil is not too wet or the seeds could develop poorly.

Bush beans should be planted five to ten centimeters apart. Space the rows at least forty-five to sixty centimeters apart.

Plant pole beans ten to fifteen centimeters apart along rows, and leave about eighty to ninety centimeters of room between the rows. Or you could plant the beans along rows of hills with four to six seeds per hill. The hills should be spaced about eighty centimeters apart, and the rows should also be about eighty centimeters apart.

The University of Illinois Extension service says you should harvest beans when the pods are firm and have reached their full length. Do not wait until the seeds inside are fully² developed. Bean plants produce more beans if pods are continually removed before the seeds are mature.

But wait until the plants are completely dry before picking beans. Picking beans from wet plants can spread bean bacterial³ blight⁴, a disease that damages the plants.

Beans should be moved to different areas of the garden each year. This is because diseases that infect beans can stay in the soil and infect the next bean crop.

Not only are beans a healthy food, they are also good for the soil. Other plants take nitrogen out of the soil, but beans and other legumes replace it.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. For more advice for home gardens, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Bob Doughty⁵.

1 fibers   

光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质

参考例句：

• Thesolution of collagen-PVA was wet spined with the sodium sulfate as coagulant and collagen-PVA composite fibers were prepared. 在此基础上，以硫酸钠为凝固剂，对胶原-PVA共混溶液进行湿法纺丝，制备了胶原-PVA复合纤维。
• Sympathetic fibers are distributed to all regions of the heart. 交感神经纤维分布于心脏的所有部分。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

4 blight   

n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残

参考例句：

• The apple crop was wiped out by blight.枯萎病使苹果全无收成。
• There is a blight on all his efforts.他的一切努力都遭到挫折。

5 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。