Description: This is
a VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
See text below
Text:
Some people say eating hot chili peppers can help
you breathe easier if you have a cold. Others
believe that chilies give you more energy. All we
know is that people have been growing chilies for
centuries. And there are plenty of different kinds
of chili peppers to choose from, along with
different levels of heat. Want to spice up your
meals with homegrown chilies? They need a warm
climate. If you plant the seeds outside when the
weather is cool, place a glass over them. That will
add warmth from the sun and protect them from wind.
You can also start the seeds in your home or a
greenhouse. If you plant chili peppers inside, fill
an eight-centimeter pot with soil. The pot should
have holes in the bottom so water can run out. Tap
the sides of the pot to settle the soil. Drop
several seeds over the surface of the pot and cover
with a thin layer of vermiculite. Vermiculite is a
material that can hold air, water and nutrients.
Then cover the top of the pot with a see-through
plastic bag. Hold the bag in place with a rubber
band. Place the pot in a warm area.When the chilies
start growing, take off the bag. When the plants
have reached about two centimeters high, place each
one carefully in its own eight-centimeter pot. When
the roots show through the holes in the bottom of
the pot, transplant each seedling into a
twelve-centimeter pot. When the plants are twenty
centimeters high, tie the plants to a stick placed
in the pot to support them.When the chili peppers
are thirty centimeters high, pinch the tops off with
your fingers. That should get new branches to grow.
When the first flowers show, give the plants some
potash fertilizer. When the weather is warm, put
them into five-liter pots and place them outside.
Make sure they get a good amount of light and water.
Some people like mild chilies, others like plenty of
heat. Some like to harvest the plants when the
chilies are green. Others like their chilies red.
Either way can give color and taste to many
different foods.For VOA Special English, I'm Alex
Villareal. To read and listen to more stories about
agriculture and for English teaching activities, go
to voaspecialenglish.com. We're on Facebook, Twitter
and iTunes at VOA Learning English.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
