Agriculture
i r * . . 4
Ginger Inspiration from the start
t t
' My friend, L. P. read somewhere
,? that wild ginger from his back yard
could be used as a substitute for the
real thing. It can, but only after some
preparation.
Wild ginger is officially Asaruiq,
part of the Birthwort family. A
canadense is a six-inch-high plant
that grows in woods as south as North
t Carolina and north to Quebec.
' '' Its underground stem has a
pungent odor when broken. Asarum
forms a dense ground cover in shady
areas during the summer. Besides
having a number of medicinal uses,
its aromatic rootstock makes a good
substitute for real ginger (Zingebar).
L. P. sliced it up in a salad, but it
didn't taste right. What he should
have done, the book says, is use it
dried or cooked with sugar.
We see a lot of A. shuttle worthii, or
Mottled Wild Ginger in Zone t. You
can pretty well figure out what it
looks like, so I won't bother with a
description.
BEYOND
WEEI
by
Jean Win
A common evergreen variety is A.
virginicum, very prevelant in dry
woods of Virginia and North
Carolina. You see its small flowers
blooming from March to May.
Zingebar officianale, or Common
Ginger, is a native of the East Indies.
This is the commercial ginger.
Called "coated" ginger if the
rhizome retains its rind, "scraped"
ginger is the name for the rhizome
with its rind scraped off.
This singularly beautiful plant is
considered tropical; I've grown it in
protected spots, but it is not long
'ived.
Commerce comes from the fleshy
rhizomes or underground stems,
often so curiously lobed or fingered
that they are commonly called
"hands" in the trade. Fresh
greenrhizomes are cleaned, shaped
Peanut crop late in county
The cool, crisp mornings of Oc
tober reminds us that fall is here. The
soybeans are turning yellow, many
fields have started their leaf drop
indicating that the beans are nearing
maturity. Some of the earlier
varieties will be ready to pick next
week.
Farming
The
Flatlands
north Carolina
AGRICULTURAL
EXTENSION
SERVICE
By Bill JeVer
Ei tern ion Chairman
One of the sights that has been
missing from late September and
early October, has been the presence
of peanut diggers in the field. All but
a few fields are late. Fields that have
been dug are mostly fields in which
disease has run its course and, by
waiting for the peanuts to mature,
the grower would risk losing his
entire crop.
Several growers have asked me
; about estimating yields. A good rule
; ; of thumb for Florigiants is for five
' ? pods per foot equals 274 pounds of
? peanuts ; for NC7's, five pods per foot
-- equals 303 pounds of peanuts; for 6K
3's and NC6's use the same figure as
forNCT's.
Rember this is only an estimate
and that it may be off by a con
siderable amount. Some of the ghings
that may throw this estimate off
I would be if peanuts were dug im
. ' mature or too late, diseased or
smaller or larger than average in pod
size.
It appears that peanut buyers are
offering some premiums. Therefore,
the decision to place your peanuts
under loan or put them on farm
storage is much more difficult.
For example, if the grower is of
fered a premium he must expect his
loan peanuts to eventually bring him
more than the premium per pound
over support that the buyer if of
fering.
There is a probability if one refuses
this premium that the price could
come back down once the available
supply of peanuts becomes more
concrete. Only the grower can decide
whether or not he can afford to
speculate on the price going up.
I think it is safe to say that the
peanut prices will be above the $550
per ton support price this year, but
' ' all indications seem to point towards
a price that is considerably less than
? the $1100 per ton that we saw in 1980.
? Part of the reason for this is that
? there are considerable number of
'J, last years peanuts in cold storage. I
~ would not recommend any particular
7, marketing strategy at this time. I
think that growers should try to learn
2 as much as they can about the
K marketing situation and the
-j possibilities of higher prices and then
?| play their own "best hunch."
I recently received the race
determinations back on some
? soybean cyst nematode samples I
~ sent In to Dr. Don Schmitt. Extension
? Soybean Nematologist in Raleigh.
" These came back as race two and
race five of the soybean cyst
nematode.
% Neither of these cyst nematode
? races has a resistant variety which
2 we can use in the field, nor is there
? any resistance on the horizon.
2 The break-down of resistant
varieties is now quite common it
;; Perquimans Conaty. My recom
2 inundation is to grow corn either for
? mm or two years and follow it with a
Yon may or may not have to Mac a
?matic)de. A soil assay for
will determine this. Do
resistant varieties.
Now is a good time to take your
nematode and soil samples. Pick up
the kit at the extension office.
and boiled to make delicious
aweetmeati.
These are candled, crystallized or
preserved in syrup. We are all
familiar with the dried or powdered
product that has so many culinary
uses. Essential oil of the fresh root
has many medicinal uses and also
imparts an oriental aroma to certain
perfumes.
Ginger was one of the first spices
known in the Old World. It was
mentioned by Confucious (551 B.C.)
and preseumably reached Europe by
the camel trains of Arab traders.
Even before the Norman Conquest
(1066 A.D.) ginger was included in
Anglo-Saxon medicinal works. As a
spice it was second in importance
only to pepper.
In the 16th century Henry VIII
recommended ginger as a specific
against the plague. Consequently,
gingerbread men became popular at
court. His daughter Elizabeth I was
wild about them. So was Sir Walter
Raleigh:
"Sir Walter, we seem to be inef
fectual this afternoon. Our discussion
is getting us nowhere, and this
Eastern Trade question simply must
be resolved."
"Your majesty, that cartel out of
Cathay has offered OSEC
(Organization of Spice Exporting
Countries) everything but the Em
peror's concubines for the southern
spice route license. If they corner
Cape Horn we shall be forced to pay
the Arabs a sad guinea for the tiniest
pinch of ginger, by Jove."
"Life without ginger? Egad, man,
I'd sooner my peruker flee the
country with every wig he ever made
me. If we only had something they
needed. After all, we cannot pay
Bedouins with sea-going vessels, and
that's our best product."
"Besides, frigates don't fold well.
Why, oh why, doesn't someone go
ahead and invent air conditioning?
They'd be in the palms of our hands
then."
"My Queen, what you just said ?
that gives me an idea ? listen to this:
how about a little time-sahring? We
could offer each sheik two weeks on
the misty moor* of Scotland. We'll
hype the humidity and promiae
steam heat in the harem."
"In turn he allowi us a one-galleon
run into the port at Alexandria for
pepper pick-up. I know it will work. (
They have a lot of sheiks and Lord
knows we got the rain."
"Sir W? you've done it again. I like
it. really do. 1 authorise you to
negotiate."
"And now, do you know what your
grateful sovereign is going to do for
you? Here, have some Oolong and
gingerbread man. Go on, take the
biggest one ? you deserve it." A
"Umramm. I shall, I can't resist
these little raisin buttons. I always
eat them first. Oh, they're all gone.
Now the little spun-sugar belt buckle.
Ooh, heaven on a trencher!"
"One thousand thanks, Madam.
This surely beats a Moon-Pie any
day. I leave now to do your bidding. I
feel so fortified."
"Singin' in the rain, just singin' in g~
the rain..."
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