National Apple Day
October 21
At last count, more than 7,500 apple varieties have been identified worldwide with more than 2,500 varieties are grown in the United States – 100 of which are grown for commercial sale. Apples are a member of the rose family of plants, along with pears, peaches, plums and cherries. Apples come in all shades of red, green and yellow. It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider. Approximately 25% of an apple’s volume is air; that’s why they float. A standard-size apple tree starts bearing fruit 8-10 years after it is planted. It takes the energy from 50 leaves to produce one apple. A bushel of apples weighs 42 pounds and will yield 20-24 quarts of applesauce.
World Earthworm Day
October 21
Earthworms come in a seemly infinite variety—around 6,000 species worldwide. One of the most familiar of them, the sort you may see in your garden, is commonly known as the night crawler (it typically surfaces after dark). Lacking lungs or other specialized respiratory organs, earthworms breathe through their skin. The skin exudes a lubricating fluid that makes moving through underground burrows easier and helps keep skin moist. Each earthworm is both male and female, producing both eggs and sperm. The earthworm’s digestive system is a tube running straight from the mouth, located at the tip of the front end of the body, to the rear of the body, where digested material is passed to the outside. Species vary in what they eat, but by and large their devouring of fallen leaves and/or soil allows the worms to move nutrients such as potassium and nitrogen into the soil.
Today’s Birthdays of Note….
Kim Kardashian – Media Personality – born in Los Angeles, California
Carrie Fisher – Actress – born in Burbank, California
