What is the potato’s least favorite day of the week? According to Allen and Janice Eubanks, it’s Friday, or fry day.

The Eubankses own Eubanks Produce and Charlie’s U-Pick in George, Greene, and Stone counties. The dynamic dirt duo informed and entertained members of the Ivy League Garden Club at its February meeting. Plants of all kinds are at the forefront of most garden club meetings. As spring approaches, gardening is likely on the minds of many folks.

During their presentation, the Eubankses gave a plethora of unique garden-related information in the form of a trivia game where club members competed for prizes. I didn’t win anything, but I came away with a multitude of fascinating facts which the couple graciously allowed me to share with readers.

Here are a few fun ones:

  1. What is the world’s largest vegetable crop? Tomatoes.
  2. What is the largest vegetable crop in the United States? Potatoes.
  3. What is Mississippi’s largest vegetable crop? Sweet potatoes.
  4. What vegetable grows the fastest? The radish.
  5. What veggie or veggies are the healthiest? Broccoli and kale.
  6. What fruit and vegetable have the most potassium? The banana and the potato.
  7. How many seeds are found on the outside of a typical strawberry? 200.
  8. How many seeds are in a normal-sized watermelon? 600.
  9. Did you know each of those seeds represents a visit to the watermelon by a bee? Yep.
  10. How much did the largest watermelon ever grow to weigh? 350 pounds.
  11. How much did the largest pumpkin weigh? 250 pounds.
  12. What was the first vegetable grown in space? Potatoes.

The next fact blew a few minds of garden clubbers. Carrots are only grown in one size. The baby carrots found in grocery market produce sections are not a variety of carrots. They are simply full-sized carrots that have been cut smaller. Another bit of trivia worth noting is one vegetable that Noah failed to take on the Ark is the leek.

Now that we’re in the gardening spirit, let’s wrap up this segment of “Things to Know” with another funny from the Eubankses.

Why did the tomato get embarrassed? He saw the salad dressing.

It’s Garden Time…Here’s Some Garden Trivia

Nancy Jo Maples is an award-winning journalist who has written about Mississippi people and places for more than 30 years. A former daily staff news reporter for the Mississippi Press, she currently writes for various media and teaches communication at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Reach her at nancyjomaples@aol.com.

Leave A Reply

Exit mobile version