Not all vegetables need lots of sunshine. Mark Hoffman and his wife own a bed-and-breakfast guesthouse in rural Kempton, Illinois. They often serve their guests fresh products from the garden.
The Hoffmans have been growing food and flowers for twenty-five years. For almost ten of those years, Mr. Hoffman has been experimenting and working with shade (阴凉) plantings. He says, “The bottom line here is that most plants will produce more in full sun. But if you do not have full sun, there are other choices.”
For example, he grows tomatoes near oak trees. Oak trees can produce a lot of shade. But Mr. Hoffman says his tomato plants grow as long as they get five hours’ direct sunshine a day, especially morning sun. Not only does this go against the traditional advice that tomatoes need six, eight, even twelve hours’ full sun a day. It also shows how plants and tree roots can share nutrients and water.
Mr. Hoffman says plants with wider leaves seem to do better in shady environments. He also found that his potatoes did better partly in shade than in full sun.
Moving them out of the sun helped control an insect problem. Mr. Hoffman does not use pesticide (农药). Instead, he planted the potatoes in the shade, especially on the east side of the tree. The potatoes get morning sun, but they are shaded during the hottest part of the day. Some insects dislike shade, and the hottest part day is when they do the worst of their damage.
Time of day, sun intensity (强度), shadows from trees, walls and buildings all influence how much sunlight falls on plants. And people interested in shade planting should also remember something else. The term “shade” can describe different amounts of darkness. It can even mean different things in different parts of the world.
小题1:How many hours of sunshine are enough to keep tomato plants growing in Hoffman’s garden?
A．five hours a day
B．Six hours a day
C．Eight hours a day
D．Twelve hours a day小题2:From the passage we can know that ______ .
A．plants with wider leaves produce more in full sun.
B．as a matter of fact, plants don’t need to grow in full sun.
C．the more sunshine plants get, the more they will produce
D．plants with wider leaves grow better in shadows小题3:All of the following can influence how much sunlight falls on plants EXCEPT ______.
A．length of day time
B．brightness of the sun
C．changes of the season
D．shadows小题4: Which of the following can best describe Mr. Hoffman?
A．Curious
B．Experienced
C．Easy-going
D．Funny小题5:We may read the passage on a website in the section of ______.
A．environment
B．travelling
C．agriculture
D．lifestyle
