Plants

Apples

Children holidaying on fruit farms are being given some apples. „What kind of apple do you want?“ asks the farmer’s wife. All sort of apples are hanging on the trees - large and small, red, yellow and green. The fruit are not only different colours and sizes, but also have different tastes. There are sweet and sour apples growing on the trees and every variety has its own name. Some ripen sooner, others ripen later. Children especially love baked apples and the farmer’s wife can make jam, jelly and apple puree from them, too.

Kitchen gardens

Plants for salads are grown in kitchen gardens. Alex can see lettuce, endive and lamb’s lettuce. In the beds next to these there are cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, aubergines, carrots, courgettes, broccoli and cauliflower. Alex helps the farmer’s wife with her weeding. He is really good at this and she gives him a carrot. Alex is pleased with it and takes a bite.
The farmer’s wife has also planted chives, parsley, celery, sage, basil, origano, marjoram, dill, camomile, aniseed, lemon balm and lavender. Everything is in rows and labelled. This end of the garden smells really nice.

The vine and its grapes

Vines are one of the oldest cultivated plants, having been grown way back in 3,500 B.C during Egyptian and Babylonian times. The ancient Greeks and Romans are also known to have grown grapes. Today, vines are cultivated all over the world, but the Mediterranean remains the largest and most important grape-growing region due to its warm and temporate climate. Vitis vinifera, the noble grapevine, belongs to the genus of the vine. Its fruit is the grape, which can basically be divided into red and white wine varieties.

Grapes are harvested in autumn and eaten raw as dessert grapes or pressed and made into grape juice or wine. What remains of the grapes after their juice has been pressed out of them is called marc and can be made into schnaps. Grape juice can also be made into sparkling wine or wine vinegar. Dried grapes are known as raisins and those without pips, sultanas.
Vine leaves are hand-shaped and have soft felty fur on the underside. The colour and shape of grapes varies according to their variety and they can be round, oval, green, yellow, red or black. They also contain glucose, which enters the bloodstream quickly and provides people with instant energy.