Engineer Daniel Schubert inspects lettuce at the German Aerospace Center in Bremen. Scientists there are developing greenhouses for a potential Mars colony. The first greenhouse is being tested in an inhospitable environment in the Antarctic. David Hecker/Getty Images hide caption
Chef Dadisi Olutosin makes collard greens, a beloved staple of the American South — but with a Caribbean-West African twist. NPR hide caption
Chef Jeremy Fox's inventive dish: double-chucked spring peas sprinkled with white chocolate and roasted macadamia nuts. It's served with a bit of pea broth poured on the side, "to retain the crunch." Each pea is shucked, blanched and squeezed to get the halves out. It's a labor preparation that he serves only on special occasions, like Valentine's day. Oriana Koren for NPR hide caption
Vegetables were rationed at supermarkets in the U.K. due to poor weather conditions in Europe. Here, lettuce, broccoli and zucchini were rationed at a Tesco store in London. Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images hide caption
To develop a new variety of kale tailored to American palates, plant researchers are surveying consumer attitudes on the leafy green. Study participants took home the six varieties of kale pictured. The takeaway so far? "Be less like kale." Courtesy of H. Swegarden/Cornell NYSAES hide caption
Why did humans start cultivating celery? It's low-calorie and, one might argue, low flavor. We asked some experts at the intersection of botany and anthropology to share their best guesses. Cora Niele/Getty Images hide caption
Not only do the flavor and texture of butternut squash improve with time, they actually become more nutritious. Diane Labommbarbe/iStockphoto hide caption
About 50 percent of the vegetables available today are tomatoes and potatoes, according to new USDA data. Lettuce is the third most available single vegetable. Legumes and all other vegetables make up 41 percent of what's available. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption
The California Pepper Commission says mechanical harvesters to pick hot and bell peppers could help solve labor shortage problems. Bob Sacha/Corbis hide caption
Alaria, a type of seaweed also known as "Wild Atlantic Wakame," grows in the North Atlantic Ocean and is similar to Japanese wakame, a common ingredient in miso soup. Courtesy of Sarah Redmond hide caption
Mutant carrot?! Not really ... these extra "limbs" sprout for perfectly normal reasons, as we explain below. Duncan Drennan/Flickr hide caption
Sayur manis at a restaurant in Kota Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo. The greens were sautéed with onions, red pepper, dry-fried shallots and egg white. Konstantin Kakaes for NPR hide caption
This isn't exactly what a healthy serving of veggies looks like. Lauri Patterson/iStockphoto hide caption
Hermine Ricketts says she gardens for the food and for the peace it brings her. Greg Allen/NPR hide caption
Ramps, or wild leeks, are a member of the lily family and resemble scallions with their wide leaves and small, white bulbs tinged a rusty red. John Blankenship/The Register-Herald hide caption
There's new evidence that kids can reduce calories and feel full by snacking on veggies and cheese instead of chips. famfriendsfood/Flickr.com hide caption
A cup of pumpkin ice cream with chunks of frozen candy cap mushrooms. The candy cap variety is said to have the fragrance of maple syrup. Jeff Moreau hide caption
Heirloom beets served at Bibiana Restaurant in downtown Washington, D.C. Joseph Silverman/The Washington Times /Landov hide caption
A farm worker inspects organic kale at the Grant Family Farms in Wellington, Colo. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption