2. Pickle brine has many uses: Some cultures use it as soup stock, while others swear by it as a hangover cure. The brine also makes a savory marinade and, when combined with olive oil, a tangy salad dressing.
3. About 26 billion pickles are packed yearly in the United States. More than half the cucumbers grown here are pickled.
4. Though this fact is hotly debated, the pickle is both a fruit and a vegetable.
5. Along with vitamin C, pickles contain significant amounts of vitamin A, magnesium, potassium, and zinc.
6. A "good pickle" crunch should be audible from across a room.
7. Americans eat around 9 pounds of pickles per person annually.
8. During World War II, 40 percent of all pickles produced were allocated to ration kits of the armed forces.
9. Because the density of commercial salt varied from year to year, pickle makers of old couldn't accurately measure the salt needed for making pickle brines. Hence, early recipes suggested using just enough salt "to float an egg" in the brine.
10. Julius Caesar thought pickles had an invigorating effect and shared them with his army.
11. Queen Elizabeth I loved pickles.
12. As far back as 850 B.C., Aristotle extolled the healing effects of "cured" cucumbers.

-from Organic Gardening, August/September 2010

The DeKalb Master Gardener Association will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, August 31, 6:30 p.m. at the Northlake Library. Stan Leacock will discuss "Basic Rose Care."

Hobbies often become vocations and so it was with Stan Leacock. While working in the hi-tech and defense industries, Stan grew roses of various species and types as a hobby. For the Leacock family moves were frequent but they offered Stan experience in growing roses in varied climate regions and soil types. Upon retirement, Stan relocated to Atlanta, became a DeKalb Master Gardener, and founded Stan's Rose Care. Now he plants, transplants and prunes hundreds of roses, installs new rose beds and renovates gardens throughout metro Atlanta. Stan is a member of the American Rose Society and the Greater Atlanta Rose Society.

The Northlake Library is located at 3772 LaVista Rd., Tucker. The public is invited to attend.