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Thursday, July 10, 2025 at 8:59 PM
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Edith on Veggies -- pick them at their peak

Edith on Veggies -- pick them at their peak
by Edith Isidoro-Mills -- Many warm season vegetables such as squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, melons, and sweet corn have either started ripening in Churchill County or will ripen in the next couple of weeks.  Selecting varieties, planting, watering, fertilizing, and weeding are all important to producing tasty, nutritious vegetables but if not harvested and stored properly home grown produce can be of inferior quality compared to store bought. In our modern times with people commuting long distances to work and supermarkets with extensive produce sections, vegetable gardening isn’t necessary.  Most people raise vegetable gardens because of the superior flavor that can be achieved from freshly harvested vegetables.  However, if not harvested at just the right stage of maturity garden produce can be woody, seedy, bitter, mushy, or just plain flavorless.  The following are a couple of links to sites with tables and lists of vegetables and a guide of what to look for when determining when vegetables are ready to eat; https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/2004/7-23-2004/vegguide.html  and  https://harvesttotable.com/vegetable_harvest_times/ . Harvesting vegetables at the proper stage of maturity can also increase yield because if vegetables such as cucumbers or summer squash are left on the vine too long not only do they become seedy but the plants stop producing because they’re expending energy producing seeds that would otherwise go toward more vegetables. Ripeness isn’t the only consideration when it comes to harvesting produce; the time of day is also a factor that can affect quality.  If you plan to harvest more than what you can immediately eat it should be harvested during the cool morning hours. Once harvested, proper storage is important to preserve the flavor of homegrown vegetables and not all vegetables have the same storage requirements.  The University of Minnesota Cooperative Extension has webpage telling how different vegetables should be stored. The storage information in this publication is based on storage of unblemished vegetables.   Insect damage and mechanical injuries to vegetables can shorten their storage life.  Also if unblemished vegetables are stored with blemished ones the storage life of the unblemished vegetables is shortened.  Blemished vegetables are best eaten immediately after harvested with the blemished portion trimmed out.     Sign up to receive updates and the Friday File email notices. Support local, independent news – contribute to The Fallon Post, your non-profit (501c3) online news source for all things Fallon.

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Comment author: Mike HinzComment text: I knew Sam as a member of our church growing up. He always had a warm smile, a kind word, and a great sense of humor! He will be great missed!Comment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:57 AMComment source: Obituary -- Samuel Bruce WickizerComment author: Mike HinzComment text: Great teacher, great coach, but even a better person!!! Rest in peace Mr. BeachComment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:53 AMComment source: Obituary -- Jack Victor Beach, Jr.Comment author: Mike HinzComment text: I had Mrs Hedges for First Grade at Northside Elementary in 1969. I still, to this day, remember her as a wonderful teacher…one of my favorites!!Comment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:29 AMComment source: Obituary - Nancy Marie Hedges C Comment author: Carl C. HagenComment text: What are MFNs and PBMs ?? ............................ From the editor: This is a very good question and we apologize for not catching that wasn't in there. We reached out to the writer/submitter and got this info back...hope it's helpful. PBM: Pharmacy Benefit Managers are pharmacies that are owned by insurance companies. (CVS is one.) They negotiate with drug makers to get reduced pricing for medications, but they historically have not passed along those savings to patients. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/pharmacy-benefit-managers-staff-report.pdf MFN: Most Favored Nation pricing is a policy that means a country agrees to offer the same trade concessions (like tariffs or price reductions) to all member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). When applied to pharmaceuticals, it could disrupt global access, deter innovation, and obscure the deeper systemic issues in American health care. https://petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2025/05/22/the-global-risks-of-americas-most-favored-nation-drug-pricing-policy/Comment publication date: 6/23/25, 7:47 AMComment source: L E T T E R TO THE EDITOR
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