Even as children, we in the U.S. learn that June brings good things—warmer weather, ice cream trucks, and most significantly, summer break from school. As an adult, all of those things still matter to me (substitute summer break for outdoorsy weekends), but the arrival of summer produce has crept up to the top of my June list of good things. In this monthly article, I take a look at the fruits and veggies coming into season and some incredible ways you can use them. Let’s dive into June's offerings. Why seasonal and local produce is greatLong distance shipping for out-of-season produce is convenient, but there is usually a price to pay with literal higher prices or lesser quality (or both). Using seasonal produce is a step toward supporting smaller farms situated somewhere closer to where you live rather than a monoculture farm somewhere far away. A big, healthy harvest with shorter shipping distances likely means a cheaper price tag for you. And hopefully the produce exhibits the best possible flavor profile since it doesn’t have to travel great distances to arrive at your market. Buying local and in season means you’ll possibly see a greater variety of tender greens and delicate fruits that don’t travel out of state well. Those little strawberries that pop up at the farmers market are so juicy and delicate you’d never see them packed up and shipped out across the country—they’d be turned into jam before they got a chance to leave. Go to those summer farmers markets downtown and reap the benefits of the juiciest summer fruit.  What’s in season right nowYou’re probably seeing it already, but everywhere from tiny produce markets to big box grocery stores are growing fuller with the very beginnings of summer produce glut, and the prices are dropping. Personally, I’m celebrating the low berry prices with morning smoothies. (If you’re a fruit smoothie-enthusiast like I am, here are a couple great blenders that might interest you.) For those who are growing their own food, keep up with our Home and Garden section for tips.The new produce coming in for June:ApricotsSweet Cherries (not quite yet for tart cherries)StrawberriesBlueberriesRaspberriesBlackberriesBeetsBroccoli Cabbage Garlic scapesGreen peasMustard greensZucchini & summer squashSay, "au revoir" to:AsparagusArugulaRampsParsnipsProduce in peak season:Beet greensLettuceRadishes and their greensRhubarbSpinachTurnipsChardSnap peasSnow peasNote that your specific region may be warmer or cooler, or farther away—so don’t worry if floods of strawberries haven’t arrived yet, or if you still have loads of wild ramps growing in the yard. Nature will do its thing, and we’ll continue trying to keep up.What to cook with your spring bountyFruitsJune is the beginning of having all the fun you want to have when it comes to recipes. Let’s start with fruit. We’re looking at loads of berries for the next few months and the beginnings of stone fruits, so I recommend warming up those ovens. I know that sounds too hot, but think of the pies! Cherry pies, Strawberry-rhubarb, apricot and blackberry, blueberry-goat-cheese tarts—you simply must make some. To help you along, here’s my fail-proof way to lattice pie crust, and my best advice on preventing soggy fruit pies. They’re well worth a read if you’ve had trouble in the past.If you’d rather be stuck in a room with a pack of wild 7-year-olds than make a pie, OK fine. Make a fruit trifle with leftover cake, stuff delicious biscuits with summer fruit and whipped cream, and why not take a crack at your own homemade berry ice cream. I made vanilla bean ice cream with a swirl of fresh raspberry compote and I felt pretty damn pleased with myself. If you’re shopping for affordable ice cream machines, I just tested and reviewed this Cuisinart.As I mentioned, fruit smoothies always welcome a handful of frozen berries. I should mention (and I’ll say this again at the end of the season): Freezing your berries is the best way to reduce waste. (Here’s the best way to freeze fruit.) If you’re using berries to top yogurt or granola, there’s no need to freeze it, but if you’re baking with fruit, making jams, or blending smoothies, freezing is extremely helpful. Pop the fruit in the freezer in the container it came in (hull strawberries first, and halve the big ones). After a few hours, they’ll be solid and you can dump them into a zip-top freezer bag for easier freezer storage.Vegetables All the cruciferous veggies are going strong right now, so go ahead and get that fiber. Use shaved broccoli and cabbage in a salad. Wilt spinach, chard, or mustard greens down in a hearty soup. My absolute favorite thing to do with summer zucchini is to make Thai kai jiao. You can use different vegetables in this dish, but zucchini is my all-time favorite. You also can’t go wrong with grilling big, fat planks of summer squash and drizzling them with a light vinaigrette. Got lots of crisp lettuce? Well, you can always bulk up your warm salads or do what I do and add it to every sandwich. Bacon, egg, cheese, and lettuce. Meatball parm sub and lettuce. Peanut butter and—OK, maybe not that one. Pay special attention to the fleeting produce like rhubarb, ramps, and scapes. They’re around for just a blink so grab them up. Try roasting your rhubarb with strawberries for a sweet, tart, and caramelized treat. Enjoy the best of June produce, and hopefully we’ll get a peek at tomatoes at the end of the month. 

Cath Virginia is the senior designer here at The Verge, who creates illustrations and collages for our articles. However, she also has “dabbled” (as she puts it) in feature designs for articles such as 2004 was the first year of the future (which won the 2025 ASME Award for Best News and Entertainment Design), How the Stream Deck rose from the ashes of a legendary keyboard, and The Lurker. “I also designed the branding for Notepad by Tom Warren and recently refreshed the look of Verge Deals,” she explains.When not doing this impressive work, Cath sews. A lot. And so, when I asked her what one of her favorite gadgets was, she said it was her Brother 1034D Serger. If you’re not quite sure what a serger is (I certainly wasn’t), read on.What exactly is a thread serger?A serger, also known as an overlocker, is a type of sewing machine generally used in apparel making. It has two needles and uses up to four strands of thread at a time to create the loops and finished edge you see on the inside of most knitwear, like T-shirts and leggings. It also has a knife that cuts the edge of your fabric at the same time, so the finished product looks clean and professional.When did you buy this one, and what went into the decision?I bought this one this past March as a birthday and tax return present. I’ve been wanting one for a while, because I sew a lot of clothes. I’m picky about style and, being fat, have a hard time finding clothes I like that actually fit me. I also love wearing knits because they’re comfortable, and traditional sewing machines aren’t intended primarily to sew knit garments, which need to have stretchy seams. You can use a zigzag stitch to achieve a stretch in your seam, but the serger sews and cuts all at once, as well as finishes the inside edges, so it saves a lot of time. In choosing a serger, I wanted one that was easy to thread, had an adjustable free arm for sewing cuffs and sleeves, and could sew multiple layers of fabric at a time. I watched a bunch of YouTube reviews of sergers and found this one to be pretty affordable — and it checked my boxes. It also got better reviews than its cheaper sibling, the DX. I was intimidated by it at first because four spools of thread is kind of scary. But it has clearly labeled and color-coded instructions for threading and comes with a manual, so I learned it and had it down in under half an hour.The serger creates a chain of stitches called “overlocking” that goes along the inside edge of your garment and can also be used for decoration. Photo: Cath Virginia / The VergeWhat do you usually create with it?So far, I have hemmed a couple shirts and made a maxi skirt (with pockets!) and a crop top. That was after a long and frustrating period trying to learn how to use it. I also dulled two different knives, learning that you can’t sew over pins with a serger because there is a big metal knife chopping your seam off.What do you like about it?Sometimes when you’re sewing knits on a traditional (lockstitch) machine, the edges become unintentionally ruffle-y (due to its one measly feed dog, which is the moveable plate that pulls the material through from stitch to stitch). This can make your piece look pretty weird and bad. Another great thing about this serger is that it has something called differential feed, which uses two feed dogs to sew your fabric together. It can be adjusted to feed one piece of fabric faster or slower, so it will flatten out your wobbly knitted seams or can be used to create a lettuce hem. It also comes with a gathering foot, which can be used to gather and sew (intentional) ruffles!Is there anything about it that you dislike or that you think could be improved?This is actually on me for not doing quite enough research, but when I bought it, I was excited to finally be able to do the coveted two-thread coverstitch you see on the hems of T-shirts and other knit stuff, only to find out you actually need a whole other machine that literally only does that one thing. That was disappointing to find out, but to compensate, the serger does actually come with a blind hem foot that you can use to do an okay impression of one. It’s kind of a finicky stitch to get right, though, because you’re sewing from the wrong side of the fabric, and I had to do quite a few samples to test it out before I used it on any garments. Who would you recommend it to?If you sew a lot of knitwear clothing, it can be a really useful tool for leveling up your garments and being a bit more efficient! It’s not a total replacement for a lockstitch sewing machine but I’m really liking it so far. Don’t be too intimidated by the four threads: they are your friends. And don’t try to sew over any of your pins. $280Designed for finishing the edges and hems of a wide range of fabrics, especially linens and stretchy fabrics, and for creating ruffles and decorative edges.$280 at Amazon$280 at WalmartSee More:

This summer is predicted to be another scorcher, with record breaking temperatures across the U.S. beginning in June. While traditional summer crops do require heat, which is why we wait for summer to grow them, extreme heat waves or heat domes are a different thing altogether. Plants have a series of behaviors they'll display when under heat pressure. They can wilt, which is what it sounds like, due to water stress. Leaves will droop, and the solution isn't necessarily more water, but letting the plant ride out the wave with some shade, if you can provide it. Plants may bolt, which is when they stop growing leaves or fruit and instead, thinking they are at the end of their life, send up a flower, which will quickly go to seed. Once this flower is present, which the plant focuses all its energy on, the fruit and leaves will become bitter. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to "solve" bolting, except pull the plant and start over. And heat isn't the only threat: Fruit and leaves can also experience sun scald, which is basically a sunburn. You can see these spots on your tomatoes and pumpkins, which appear white, rather than red like they would on human skin. In most cases, plants will survive sunburn, but it puts the plant under additional stress and makes it more susceptible to other garden threats like disease. The best solution is to choose plants that will tolerate heat spikes, and then provide some support to your plants by watering evenly, giving shade when you can in the afternoon sun, and not planting, transplanting, or fertilizing during these spikes, all of which are stressful for plants. Greens that will survive a heat spikeWhile there are bolt-resistant lettuces you can grow, a true heat dome is simply too much stress, and most lettuce will go to seed. For heat-resistant greens, consider kale, which is hardy in both extreme cold and heat. Collards, known for the greens they produce, are also going to survive a heat wave without wilting, which is why they're popular across the south. The crop you might not have heard of yet is malabar spinach. While traditional spinach is a spring and shoulder season crop and won't do well even in an average summer, malabar (which is not actually related to real spinach) is a vining plant from India that tastes remarkably similar and has become popular for its resilience. Okra and corn are at home in the heatConsidering crops that have been popular in geographies that experience more heat than we're used to is a good strategy for finding vegetables that'll survive extreme temperatures. Okra is from Ethiopia, so heat resistance is part of the plant's DNA. Okra sometimes gets a bad rap for becoming slimy in recipes, but I urge you to consider growing it. There are two varieties of okra: I recommend only planting the spineless variety. The "spines" are spikes that can make touching and harvesting okra painful. Credit: Amanda Blum Corn may be a resource hog in your garden, requiring a lot of additional nitrogen to be productive, but it is also highly tolerant. Corn can survive in over 110 degree temperatures and still produce crops reliably, so long as those temperature spikes aren't extended. A true summer crop, corn needs 70 degree weather to grow, which is why you wait until June to plant corn seed. Vining plants like luffa, tepary beans, and yardlong beans To be fair, most people don't eat luffa (though you can); they know it instead as loofah, a sponge-like material used in "natural" scrubbing. But truly, luffa is a form of vining squash, which will grow prolifically, adores the sun, and thrives in prolonged heat. When the fruit is allowed to dry on the vine, the flesh can be stripped off, leaving behind the luffa, which looks precisely like loofah you purchase, and can be used immediately. There are plenty of pole beans (beans that climb, as opposed to bush beans, which do not) that originated in hot climates and will do well in a heat wave. Tepary beans, for instance: These beans are native to the Southwest U.S. and Mexico, and will spend the summer climbing and producing pods. Harvest them in the fall before the rain starts, and store them as dry beans. Yardlong beans are closer to a green bean. Still a vining bean, they can produce beans that are well over a foot long, as their name suggests. These summer stars prefer less water, and they will thrive anywhere they have support, like a trellis. Soybeans need the heatWhile not a vining bean, but a bush bean, soybeans are an easy crop to grow if you've got enough heat. These sun-tolerant plants will produce a limited amount of pods per plant, so they need to be grown in groups, but they require almost no support except watering. Harvest the pods and eat the beans steamed fresh, as you would in your favorite Japanese restaurant, or dry them to make soy milk or tofu. Squash and melons love the heatThere are two kinds of squash: summer and winter. Summer squash includes crops like zucchini, yellow squash, and pumpkins. Winter squash includes crops like acorn squash, butternut, spaghetti, and others. Both kinds of squash are traditionally grown in summer, and both are surprisingly resilient in heat. While you might experience sunburn on some fruit, squash is famous for providing shade due to the large leaves, and they will not only take care of most fruit, shielding it, but will also protect nearby plants by shading them, as well. So long as you keep your melons apart from your cucumbers and squash so they don't cross pollinate, your vining melons are likely to survive a heat wave with the same caveats as squash: Look for fruit that is exposed and cover it from sunburn, but the plant will mostly take care of that on its own. Sweet potatoes are built for high tempsOriginally from Polynesia, sweet potatoes are an excellent crop for beginning gardeners. They're easy to cultivate seedlings (called slips) from any sweet potato you bring home from the store. Once planted, they produce prolific above-ground vines that are showy with flowers, while below ground the potatoes grow over 120 days. These plants not only tolerate but thrive in heat.

Morris, the Movie Star Alligator Who Appeared in ‘Happy Gilmore,’ Dies of Old Age Based on his growth rate and tooth loss, the 640-pound gator was estimated to be at least 80. He starred in movies and TV shows between 1975 and 2006 After starring in numerous movies and television shows, Morris retired in 2006 and lived out his final days at the Colorado Gator Farm. RJ Sangosti / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images Morris, the alligator who starred in Happy Gilmore and numerous other movies and TV shows, has died. In an announcement from the Colorado Gator Farm, where the beloved 640-pound reptile had lived for the last two decades, caretakers say the cause of death was “old age.” “He started acting strange about a week ago. Wasn’t lunging at us and wasn’t taking food,” says Jay Young, the farm’s owner and operator, while tearfully petting Morris’ head in a video posted on Facebook. Morris was nearly 11 feet long at the time of his death, according to another post the Colorado Gator Farm shared on Facebook. Based on his growth rate and tooth loss, Young estimates the gator was at least 80 years old. “While we knew this was inevitable, we are very saddened by his passing,” the Colorado Gator Farm writes. Morris was rescued from a Los Angeles backyard, where he was being kept as an illegal pet. He began his prolific career in 1975 and kept working until his retirement in 2006. His TV and film credits include Interview With the Vampire, Dr. Dolittle 2, Blues Brothers 2000, “Coach,” “Night Court” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” reports Thomas Peipert of the Associated Press. But he’s perhaps best known for Happy Gilmore, the 1996 comedy starring Adam Sandler as a down-on-his-luck hockey player who discovers his powerful golf swing. After Gilmore hits a shot in a tournament, Morris grabs his golf ball with his mouth. Gilmore confronts the alligator. “Give me my ball! Give it here!” he shouts, while waving his golf club in the alligator’s face. Morris responds by snapping his jaws a few times. After Gilmore tries unsuccessfully to grab the ball from the alligator’s gaping mouth, he sees the creature is missing one eye. Gilmore realizes it’s the same gator that bit off the hand of his mentor, Derick “Chubbs” Peterson (Carl Weathers). When Morris sprints into a nearby pond, Gilmore follows. After a brief tussle, Gilmore retrieves his ball from the gator’s mouth and holds it above his head as the crowd cheers. Later, he presents the alligator’s head to Chubbs, who is so shocked he falls backward through an open window to his death. On May 14, Sandler posted a tribute to Morris on Instagram.“You could be hard on directors, make-up artists, costumers—really anyone with arms or legs—but I know you did it for the ultimate good of the film,” the actor wrote in a caption accompanying a still from the movie. “The day you wouldn’t come out of your trailer unless we sent in 40 heads of lettuce taught me a powerful lesson: Never compromise your art.” He added: “I will miss the sound of your tail sliding through the tall grass, your cold, bumpy skin, but, most of all, I will miss your infectious laugh.” Sandler is working on a sequel to the film, called Happy Gilmore 2, which will be released on Netflix in July. Morris does not appear in the new film, since he died in the first movie. But his memory will live on. “We have decided to get Morris taxidermied so that he can continue to scare children for years to come,” the Colorado Gator Farm writes on Facebook. “It’s what he would have wanted.” The farm is located in Mosca, a small town roughly 200 miles southwest of Denver. Situated in the San Luis Valley, the farm is home to roughly 300 alligators, as well as snakes, lizards, crocodiles and tortoises, per CBS News Colorado’s Logan Smith. Young’s parents, Erwin and Lynne, started the operation as a tilapia farm in the late 1970s. They brought in baby alligators to clean up the dead fish, but as the reptiles grew, visitors began showing up to see them. Today, the farm serves as a refuge for unwanted, illegal and abused reptiles. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.The reality of home gardening is that you rarely have as much space as you’d like. For many people, all they have is one raised 4x8 foot bed. While that doesn’t feel like a lot of space, you can fit a whole lot of plants into 32 square feet. With a smaller space, you just have to find new and inventive ways to get more variety in your beds. Around where I live, we call this "cramscaping. "Take advantage of plant timing and growth patternsEvery vegetable and fruit out there has recommended spacing (for instance, tomatoes should be 18 inches apart), and in an ideal world, you’d accommodate them perfectly. However, you can plant closer if needed, while understanding your plants might not be as productive as they’d be if they had more space to grow to their full potential.  kohnrabi growing underneath beans, which are trellised up. Credit: Amanda Blum To get the most out of limited space, take advantage of space above and below the soil. For instance, radishes and carrots are mostly below ground, while tomatoes are above ground. Thus, they are great to grow next to one another. Grow beets alongside peas and large squash with climbing beans. Also consider that plants mature at different rates. Lettuce will grow quickly, and be ready for harvest in mere weeks, while eggplants take all summer. If you plant them at the same time when they’re both small, you’ll harvest your lettuce in time to free up space for your eggplants to spread out. Trellising is essential  help plants grow upward using trellises, creating horizontal space Credit: Amanda Blum When you don’t have as much horizontal space, you have to take advantage of the vertical space. You’ll need to keep plants from sprawling on the ground, and the primary way to do that is by training them up. Choose indeterminate tomatoes (which are more vine-like) instead of determinate (or "bush" tomatoes) so they continue to grow upwards despite pruning. Then prune everything but a few stems and train them onto a tall trellis. Use an obelisk or netting to provide structure for climbing beans, peas, or cucumbers. IYellow squash and zucchini can also be trained to grow upwards along a trellis, as can pumpkins and melons. Remember, though, that items on trellises have to be within reach: If you plant a trellis of green beans in the dead center of your bed, you’re not going to be able to reach those beans without stepping on other plants. So trellised plants should be located close enough to the edge of the bed to be accessed. Corners and edges make the most sense. For low trellises such as for squash, you can place them closer to the middle, but test your reach before finalizing planting. Start with the largest plants Start with an empty 4x8 bed (I left last year's nasturtiums.) Credit: Amanda Blum Begin by sketching out a grid for your bed, foot by foot, and a list of everything you’d like to plant. Lay in the largest plants first: in this case, tomatoes. Since they’ll be the tallest, place them in the corners or close to the edge of the bed, so they’re not shading anything. Now consider anything that needs a wide trellis, like peas and cucumbers or beans. Those should live at the edge of the bed, but leave space on either side of the trellis so you can reach what’s on the other side. These trellises are good at the short ends of the bed, so they don’t prevent you from reaching in. Now, start working your way down the list of plants in descending size. I placed eggplants and peppers, which will all need a trellis, on either side. For the center, which is hard to reach, I chose plants that don’t need support and won’t get too tall, but are larger: kale, chard, and onions. What’s left to plan for are short crops that will grow quickly like lettuce, radishes, beets, and carrots. Lettuce is a great buffer between nightshades like eggplant and cruciferous plants like chard and kale, so you can add heads of various lettuces. I don’t worry about root vegetables yet. I then add some beneficial flowers like nasturtium, alyssum and marigolds throughout, particularly hanging over the edges of the bed. These flowers will trap aphids, keep pests at bay, and add color. Next, I lay in herbs like basil, dill, parsley, and cilantro. In addition to being great in the kitchen, these all help control pests. These herbs can be sprinkled throughout the bed, but basil and dill do best next to nightshades. Now, in all the spaces left, I backfill with root vegetables: rows of carrots, circles of radishes, and blocks of beets. Plant established seedlings first, then seeds Sketch of the finished garden. Credit: Amanda Blum When it comes time to plant, work from the inside out. Start with the plants in the dead center of the bed, and work towards the outside by putting your seedlings into the ground. Once your starts are planted, go back and work sector by sector, seeding things like beets and radishes. Working in this way allows you to see what you’ve already done, so you don’t accidentally overseed an area you’ve already worked on. Water everything well and then simply pay attention. Prune plants as soon as they need to be pruned. As plants need to be harvested, replace them or allow larger plants to infill the area.  Keep your bed moist, but not wet, watering at the root —and use a fish fertilizer every other week, adding it to your water. Over the season, some plants might do better than others, and you may need to replace them. Because of the tight spacing, eggplants might not get enough sun where they are, or lettuce might get too much. You’ll learn over the season where each plant might succeed, and you should chart it for next year. Each season is another opportunity to learn about your yard, sun profile, and soil, and each season your vegetable garden—no matter how small—will get better.

I've been around the burger block, and Burger King's cheesy, flame-grilled burgers consistently rank among my favorites.According to an original menu reported by Delish, Burger King has sold cheeseburgers since its inception in the 1950s, but exactly how the chain makes them has changed considerably.The chain started with simple broiled cheeseburgers, but now the Burger King menu includes cheeseburger melts, seven variations on its classic Whopper, chicken sandwiches, nuggets, fries, and more.To determine which Burger King burger reigns supreme, I compared five different cheeseburgers from the chain. I tried the classic Whopper with cheese, the Triple Whopper with cheese, a plain cheeseburger, a double cheeseburger, and the Bacon King.Here's how the burgers ranked, from my least favorite to my favorite. My least favorite cheeseburger I tried was the chain's classic plain cheeseburger. Burger King cheeseburger. Erin McDowell/Business Insider The cheeseburger from Burger King cost $2.79, excluding tax. The cheeseburger came with American cheese, pickles, ketchup, and mustard on a sesame-seed bun. Burger King cheeseburger. Erin McDowell/Business Insider The burger was extremely simple, but I was impressed by the generous serving of toppings. There was a hearty amount of condiments on the burger, and the cheese was thick and perfectly melted. The sesame-seed bun also added a lot of flavor, but this burger was just a little simple compared to the other burgers I tried. Burger King cheeseburger. Erin McDowell/Business Insider The flame-grilled burger had a grilled, smoky flavor that worked well with the ketchup and mustard.Not only was this burger flavorful, but it also provided the best value, priced at $2.79, which was the cheapest option among the cheeseburgers I tried.I enjoyed this burger a lot, but it could have been improved with an extra patty or more creative ingredients. At the end of the day, it was a basic fast-food cheeseburger. Next up was the chain's double cheeseburger, which was a step up from the basic cheeseburger. Burger King double cheeseburger. Erin McDowell/Business Insider It cost $4.09, excluding tax and fees. The double cheeseburger came with two of the chain's beef patties, American cheese, pickles, mustard, and ketchup on a sesame-seed bun. Burger King double cheeseburger. Erin McDowell/Business Insider Like the regular cheeseburger, there was a hearty serving of ketchup and mustard. The pickle slices were thick and crunchy, and I enjoyed the flavor of the bun. Burger King double cheeseburger. Erin McDowell/Business Insider I thought this burger was certainly a step up from the regular cheeseburger. It packed the same grilled flavor and low price, but the extra patty made it even more flavorful and filling. The Triple Whopper with cheese landed squarely in the middle of my ranking. Burger King Triple Whopper. Erin McDowell/Business Insider The burger cost me $11.49, excluding tax, making it the second-most expensive burger I tried. The Triple Whopper comes with three quarter-pound beef patties, one slice of cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, and ketchup. Burger King Triple Whopper. Erin McDowell/Business Insider The burger patties had a deliciously smoky and savory flavor that gave the sandwich a freshly grilled taste. The lettuce and tomato slices tasted extremely fresh, and I liked the addition of mayonnaise.However, I thought this burger could have been improved with another slice of cheese between the layers of beef. The cheese's flavor was lost amid all the meat and other toppings. I thoroughly enjoyed this burger and would certainly order it again — if I have the appetite for it. Burger King Triple Whopper. Erin McDowell/Business Insider This burger was extremely filling, and I would struggle to eat it all, in addition to fries. However, if you have a big appetite or simply love Burger King's beef, this might just be the burger for you.The burger was also significantly more expensive than the smaller cheeseburgers and the regular Whopper with cheese. However, I don't think the higher price was worth it — the two extra patties were a hindrance, rather than an asset, to the burger. My second favorite burger was the Bacon King. Burger King Bacon King burger. Erin McDowell/Business Insider It cost $11.29, excluding tax and fees, making it the most expensive burger I tried. The Bacon King comes with two quarter-pound beef patties, bacon, two slices of cheese, ketchup, and mayonnaise on a sesame-seed bun. Burger King Bacon King burger. Erin McDowell/Business Insider The burger was swimming in mayonnaise and ketchup, but I didn't mind.I like mayonnaise a lot, but I quickly noticed the generous amount spread on both the burger and the sesame-seed bun. If you're not fond of mayo, you might consider customizing or skipping this burger. It was the most decadent, filling burger I tried. Burger King Bacon King burger. Erin McDowell/Business Insider The slices of cheese were evenly layered over the burger patties, which had a distinct smoky taste.The perfectly crispy bacon added even more smoky flavor, and the cheese and condiments added a lot of moisture, which I felt the Triple Whopper lacked. My favorite Burger King burger — and one of my favorite fast-food burgers, period — is the Whopper with cheese. Burger King Whopper. Erin McDowell/Business Insider Burger King's signature burger has been around since 1957, just four years after the chain opened. Back then, the Whopper cost 37 cents.It now costs $8.49, excluding tax and fees. A Whopper comes with a quarter-pound beef patty, pickles, onions, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and mayonnaise. I always add cheese for an extra 50 cents. Burger King Whopper. Erin McDowell/Business Insider Immediately, it was evident that this burger would be bursting with flavor. Thick layers of ketchup and mayo spilled from the sides of the burger, but the sizable sesame-seed bun kept all the ingredients together. I'm not surprised the chain's signature burger is so famous — it was my favorite, by far. Burger King Whopper. Erin McDowell/Business Insider The cheese coated the burger patty, and the lettuce, tomatoes, and onions all tasted very fresh. They added a delicious crunch to the burger.Even though this burger is a classic, and perhaps not the most creative burger I tried, it was the most satisfying. I also thought it was a great value for the price, and I would definitely order it again and again.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.Vegetable plants are expensive. To get the best yield out of them, you need to pay attention to more than just the soil, sun, and watering. You need to get your plants off on the right foot by planting them the right way. Here's what I mean. Choose the right plant at the nursery Credit: Amanda Blum When I first started gardening, I thought the best vegetable starts to buy were the ones that were the biggest, with flowers and fruit already on them. This would give the plant a head start, right? Sadly, no. Plants go through something called "transplant shock" when you move them. You’re disturbing the plant's roots, and moving it to a new environment. To survive, the plant needs to focus all its energy on the plant's roots, and if there's a lot of plant matter like leaves, flowers, and fruit to support, energy is wasted supporting them. Plants with established fruit, in particular, struggle during the transplant process. Choose plants that look healthy, with strong stems and leaves without damage, but that don't yet have flowers or fruit. Prepare your soil Credit: Amanda Blum There are legions of ways to handle your garden from season to season. Some people till the soil, while others employ a no-till method, and still others use something called "chop-and-drop." Regardless of the method, the soil you’re planting into has to be pliable enough that roots can flourish in them. For that reason, ensure that the soil is turned over and broken up—from a shovel to a shovel and a half’s depth. You can use a broadfork for this, if you don’t want to disturb the soil structure, but otherwise, just use a shovel. Breaking up the soil will help you see the texture—so you can add sand if the soil has too much clay in it, or compost if it isn't holding any moisture. You can use this time to add amendments such as vegetable fertilizer and lime. Fertilizer is obvious, but lime is used to turn your soil less acidic, which happens over time through watering and growing. Most vegetables don’t enjoy acidic environments. Turn the amendments into the soil. Choose an overcast dayYour plants will already be stressed by transplanting. Planting them into the blazing sun is even more stress. A stretch of overcast days is the perfect planting time. If that's not an option, plant at twilight to give your plants a night to adjust. Consider giving the plant some shade the next day to help it acclimate.Get the plant out of the pot without damaging the roots Credit: Amanda Blum By the time plants reach the nursery, they’re often root-bound in the plastic pots or six packs you buy them in. Roots are resilient, but you don’t want to disturb them more than necessary. The best way to break a plant free from a plastic pot is to use two fingers and squeeze the bottom of the pot. This should free the plant. Don’t turn the pot over or pound on it with your palm, and definitely don’t try to pull it loose by the plant’s stem.  on the left, the eggplant seedling just out of the pot, and on the right, after the roots have been broken up Credit: Amanda Blum Once the plant is out, you want to break up the roots by using your fingers like a comb on the bottom of the plant, so that roots are freed. That said, these plants do not enjoy their roots being disturbed: cucumbers, beans, pumpkins, luffa, beets, and most root vegetables. For these, I simply dig a hole, remove the plant from the plastic tray, carefully plop the plant in, and walk away.  Separate plants as necessary Credit: Amanda Blum Most pots have more than one seed in each cell. In some cases, like tomatoes, someone usually culls the seedlings so only one is left to flourish. However, in some cases, like herbs and lettuce, nurseries leave the seeds alone and let multiple seeds grow. In other cases like onions and carrots, the cells are purposely overseeded to be filled with lots of seedlings. Strawberries usually come in a pot of five to 10 starts.  If you take a cell of onion seedlings out, you can separate them by diving the block in half over and over again, until you have individual seedlings. Credit: Amanda Blum When there’s more than one seedling, you need to separate them. You shouldn’t try to plant them altogether. For lettuce or herbs, this is simple: Remove one cell, and with your fingers, gently pull the soil pod apart. Start by pulling the pod in half, and then keep dividing until all the seedlings are free. This works on larger plants like squash, and smaller plants like carrots where there can be 20 or more seedlings in a single cell. Once the individual seedlings are free, they can each be planted as if they’re a whole plant. This is how you get a whole row of carrots or onions. This is also a great way to save money, since you usually get far more than six lettuce heads from a six-pack of lettuce. Know the right depth Credit: Amanda Blum Plants need to go in the ground at the right depth, ensuring that the base of the plant is at soil level. In some cases, though, you can (and should) plant the stem deeper.Leeks and onions, for example, can be planted deeply. In particular, leeks can be planted as deeply as possible, with only an inch or two of seedling above the surface of the soil. This will help blanch the leek (keep it white). Tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers can be planted deeply, as they’ll form roots along their entire stem. If your tomato is leggy (tall with little horizontal branching), this is a spectacular way to fix the problem. When in doubt, follow the directions on the plant tag, or simply plant at a standard depth so the roots are covered, but the stem is exposed above the soil. Don’t mulch against your stemsWhile mulch is an important part of insulating your vegetable plants and keeping moisture in the ground, it’s also a way to spread pathogens. You want to ensure plants have a few inches of clearance between them and the mulch. Keep your labels or make new ones Keep those plant tags. Credit: Amanda Blum In the melee of planting, it’s common to lose your plant tags. After all, a tomato is a tomato. However, you’ll be sad at the end of the season when one tomato does spectacularly and another doesn’t, and you don’t know what variety each was. Label your plants! 

Neat weaponry A dangerous E. coli strain has emerged; a small mutation may explain its rise It's unclear what the mutation does, but it might make E. coli stealthy on lettuce. Beth Mole – May 14, 2025 5:22 pm | 22 Colored scanning electron micrograph of the rod-shaped, gram-negative bacteria E. coli Credit: Getty | STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Colored scanning electron micrograph of the rod-shaped, gram-negative bacteria E. coli Credit: Getty | STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Since 2017, a particularly dangerous strain of E. coli O157:H7 has emerged across the country to spark outbreaks, severe disease, and deaths. It spreads in various ways: via leafy greens and contaminated beef, like its relatives, but also recreational waters. Hundreds of people across 46 states have been infected, and health officials have documented at least nine separate outbreaks. One in 2018, linked to lettuce, caused over 200 infections across 37 states, killing five people and causing a severe kidney condition in 26. Now, a sweeping genetic analysis by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests a tiny mutation in one of the bacteria's molecular weapons may be behind the strain's rise. The finding, published recently in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, provides insights into this clinically significant plague and its rise to prominence. It also highlights the role of the bacteria's sophisticated military tactics. The mutated weapon is part of a complex system that E. coli and other harmful bacteria sometimes use called a Type 3 Secretion System (T3SS). This involves molecular machinery that basically functions like a syringe, complete with a long needle that is poked into the cells of its victims. The T3SS then directly injects a fleet of hostile proteins. Those proteins—called effectors—attack specific targets that collectively disable the host's defense responses and make the host more hospitable for its bacterial conqueror. The mutation the CDC researchers found was in one of these T3SS effectors, a protein called EspW. Previous research suggests that this effector is responsible for buttressing a host cell's structure during an invasion, keeping the cell from contracting while enabling the bacteria to become attached to it. A related protein in the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae, called HopW1, also disrupts normal cellular structure and processes that would otherwise restrict the ability of P. syringae to cause an infection. Small change The CDC researchers identified the EspW mutation by comparing the genetic sequences of 729 isolates of the new E. coli strain—dubbed REPEXH01—to genetic sequences of 2,027 other E. coli O157:H7 isolates. Of the 729 REPEXH01 strains, all but two had a single nucleotide deletion in EspW (the remaining two had ambiguous sequences), while the deletion was present in less than 4 percent of the non-REPEXH01 E. coli strains. The finding suggests the tiny change could be a genetic signature of the strain, and its persistence in a key disease protein may offer the strain an advantage. For now, it's unclear what that advantage might be. The deletion of a single DNA base (an adenine) shifts the frame of the three-sequence protein code for the rest of EspW. This could result in a shorter protein. It could also cause the molecular machinery that translates the genetic code to slip, leading to proteins of various lengths. In any case, the deletion is likely to result in a less fully functional EspW protein. The CDC researchers suggest this could help E. coli when it's on lettuce and other produce. For example, EspW might spur an immune response from an infected plant that causes stomata—pores on the surfaces of leaves—to close, blocking the bacteria's ability to invade. Thus, cutting back EspW may help E. coli sneak in—an adaptation in the ongoing arms race between the bacteria and its host. Another possibility is that EspW could function like HopW1, leading to more severe infection in plant tissues, which could lower the chances that those infected leaves are harvested and make it to grocery stores and atop burgers. Thus, cutting back on EspW could help E. coli move to its human victims. Ultimately, additional research will be needed to understand what's going on. As the CDC researchers conclude: "the role of the single base pair mutation in this strain’s colonization and survival on leafy vegetables could yield valuable insights." Beth Mole Senior Health Reporter Beth Mole Senior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technica’s Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 22 Comments

Everything is more expensive this year, and that likely includes utilities like your water bill. While growing vegetables in your yard can be enchanting and empowering, it isn’t very efficient (compared to farms) in terms of water usage. There are a number of ways to become more efficient and sustainable, including using drip irrigation, but another way is to only plant vegetables that don't need too much water to begin with. Watering at the root is keyBefore I get to the specific vegetables, it's important to go over a few general watering tips.Remember that vegetables get hydration through their roots, which live underground. Watering from above, like a hose or sprinkler, has problems: you’re getting the plants wet more than the roots, which creates conditions for disease spread; you’re watering less precisely, therefore wasting water; and the impact of the water against the dirt causes droplets to bounce back up with whatever fungus or viruses are in the dirt, also spreading disease. Watering gently and consistently at ground level with drip irrigation is the best option for both the plant and your wallet. To ensure you’re watering efficiently, group plants with similar watering needs together in your garden, so you can set the drip appropriately to water less. But even more important is remembering that roots grow over time. A new seedling has shallow roots, whereas an end-of-season plant has deeply established roots. More roots means that the plant can absorb more water from deeper underground. Less roots means less hydration from the soil, so more water is needed at a shallower depth. (Though some vegetables, like corn and lettuce, will always be shallow rooted, and thus aren’t good candidates for less water.)Hothouse plantsAccording to Oregon State University, a tomato plant's need for watering is negated by the deep roots the plants establish over the season. As above, you want to water sufficiently early in the season as roots are established while taking care not to over water, which will result in those roots staying close to the surface. If the plant needs water, those roots will grow deeper in search of moisture. Reducing water greatly, if not cutting it off entirely mid-season, shouldn’t harm your harvest. The lack of surface water will reduce disease spread, and tomatoes will ripen if you reduce their watering. It’s not only tomatoes, either: Squash, which includes zucchini, summer and winter squash, as well as melons, eggplants, and hot peppers all behave the same in terms of water needs and roots. Beans Credit: Amanda Blum Most beans, particularly pole beans, have adapted to drought conditions over time. As such, they can survive and produce flowers and fruit with minimal moisture. Beans require water to germinate, so if you direct sow, ensure the seeds have consistent moisture levels. Once germinated, you can reduce (but not eliminate) water. Since beans have such a short season (usually 60 days or less), they require less water simply by existing for less time. Less moisture is going to reduce common bean problems like powdery mildew, a quickly spreading surface fungus.Chard and okra Credit: Amanda Blum For some heat hardier vegetables like chard and okra, they still require water, but do better with weekly or every-other-weekly deep watering, as opposed to daily drip. Okra is native to drier climates and prefers less water. The deep roots of the plant allow it to draw enough water from the soil to sustain itself. Chard and kale can use their huge leaves to shade the ground, which is an effective form of moisture retention. Occasional deep waterings will be enough for the plant to continue growing.Blueberries prefer less moistureI know, blueberries are a fruit and not a vegetable, but I felt compelled to include the advice here anyway. Consider it a bonus tip. A few years ago, Micah Geiselman, a blueberry farmer from Morning Shade Farm in Canby came to inspect my many bushes, and he had surprising advice: “People over-water their blueberries,” he explained to me. They appreciate good drainage and do better with less water. I’ve since changed the elevation of my blueberries to ensure better drainage and moved watering lines further away—the results were astounding. I experienced better yields, but the berries themselves were plumper and better tasting. This isn’t conclusive, of course, since there are too many variables to account for, but I take the advice of a blueberry expert seriously.