Definitions and Links
Explaining the jargon
There are many technical terms used in growing salad cress. To help you out we’ve put together a brief explanation of some terms you may come across, along with some useful links.
Glossary of terms used in growing salad cress
Word / product |
Definition |
Link |
Benching |
(or staging) a structure to support produce carrying equipment in the greenhouse |
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Chitting |
Term used in horticulture, meaning to develop a shoot (or chit) on a seed |
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Cress seed |
lepidium sativum. (Can be grown without soil). Small amount of seedlings in salad cress |
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EFK |
Electric fly killers |
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Fertilizers |
Materials containing nutrients needed by crops (NB not always chemicals) |
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Greenhouse |
(or glass house) protective structure for growing crops |
www.thenbs.com - then type in BCGMA under search |
Hydroponics |
A method of growing crops without soil (often in rockwool). |
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Humidity probe |
Implement to measure humidity |
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Irrigation |
Watering system |
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Mustard seed |
Brassica hirta . Can be added to salad cress |
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Growing medium obtained from raised mire land |
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Pest control |
Management of insects and rodents |
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Punnet |
Container in which produce is sold. |
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Rape seed |
brassica napus , used to produce oil. Some varieties are suitable for growing salad cress. |
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Refridgeration |
(Or cold store) used to preserve produce by keeping cool. |
www.chilledfood.org |
Rockwool |
Growing medium used in hydroponics made from volcanic rock. |
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Screening |
(or blinds) used to reduce light and / or keep heat in greenhouses |
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| Specification | Agreed requirements of customer. | |
Tray wash |
Industrial cleaner used to wash growing trays |
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Swabbing |
Wiping with a sterile swab, to send for micro-testing |
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Temperature probe |
Implement to measure temperature of packed produce |
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Vermiculite |
Growing medium, the mineralogical name given to hydrated laminar magnesium-aluminium-ironsilicate |
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| Vents | opening used to control conditions in the greenhouses | |
| Yield | to supply or produce something positive such as a profit, an amount of food or information |
Glossary of terms relating to the science of salad cress growing
Word / product |
Definition |
Link |
Air conditioning |
A system to Control the climate of an enclosed environment |
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Alcohol gel |
Antiseptic hand cleanser |
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| Amino acids | a chemical substance found in plants and animals | |
| Anions | Ions with a negative charge | |
| ATP | a substance that stores energy in the cells | |
Auxins |
Plant hormones that control the growth of the plant |
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Biocide |
A type of disinfectant, used for the effective control of water borne micro-pathogens |
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Calibration |
To set a piece of measuring equipment to measure accurately, normally using a known value |
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Carbon dioxide |
Gas made up of carbon and oxygen atoms. Required for photosynthesis |
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| Catalyst | something that makes a chemical reaction happen more quickly without itself being changed |
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| Cations | Ions with a positive charge | |
CCP |
Critical control points |
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| Cereal | a plant which is cultivated to produce grain | |
Codex |
Principle |
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Coliform |
A family of bacteria |
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| Compound | a chemical that combines two or more elements | |
Contamination |
Something that is not meant to be there |
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| Chlorophyll | the green substance in plants, that allows them to use the energy from the sun | |
Chlorine |
Chemical used for disinfection |
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| Cytoplasm | the substance inside a cell which surrounds the cell's nucleus | |
| Deficiency | lack of what is needed | |
Disinfection |
Process of minimising the presence of harmful bacteria |
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EFK |
Electric fly killers |
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| enzymatic reaction | reaction using a enzyme as a catalyst | |
| Enzyme | any of a group of chemical substances which are produced by living cells and which cause particular chemical reactions to happen while not being changed themselves | |
| Enviroment | Combination of external physical conditions that affect and influence the growth, development and survival of an organism | |
Escherichia coli |
Commonly known as e-coli: bacterium, some strains of which cause food poisoning (symptoms: watery or bloody diarrhoea, fever, abdominal cramps nausea, vomiting. |
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| Etiolated | especially of plants, pale and weak |
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| Fertilizer | a natural or chemical substance that you put on land in order to make plants grow well |
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Geotropisms |
Tropisms affected by gravity |
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Germination |
Defined as the point reached in seed growth when the radical emerges from the seed coat |
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| Gravitropic mechanism | a tropism affected by gravity | |
| humidity | (of air and weather conditions) containing extremely small drops of water in the air: | |
| inorganic | not being or consisting of living material, or (of chemical substances) containing no carbon or only small amounts of carbon: |
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| ion | an atom or small group of atoms which has an electrical charge because it has gained or lost one or more electrons |
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listeria |
An environmental contaminant. Bacterium causing listeriosis. |
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| Membrane | the outer covering of a cell | |
| Metabolism | all the chemical processes in your body, especially those that cause food to be used for energy and growth | |
Microbiology |
A branch of biology specialising in micro organisms. Used to check on bacteria in produce |
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Molecule |
Two or more atoms chemically joined together |
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| Morphology | the scientific study of the structure and form of either animals and plants or words and phrases | |
| Nucleic acid | a type of acid that exists in all living cells: DNA and RNA are both nucleic acids. |
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| Nutrient | any substance which plants or animals need in order to live and grow: | |
Oxygen |
Gas produced from photosynthesis |
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| Pectin | a chemical found in some fruits which helps to make liquid firm when making jam |
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Pest control |
Management of insects and rodents |
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Photosynthesis |
Chemical reaction occurring in the leaves of green plants. Uses energy from sunlight, changes carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen |
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Pollution |
The detrimental effect on an environment by the waste product of a process |
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| Proton | a type of elementary particle (= very small piece of matter) which has a positive electrical charge and is found in the nucleus of all atoms |
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Organism |
A living thing. |
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Quarantine |
Put something in isolation |
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| oxidise | If a substance oxidizes, it combines with oxygen to form another substance | |
| Respiration | Burning of oxygen and glucose in cells to produce energy and carbon dioxide | |
| respiratory system | System in the body used to respire | |
Rockwool |
Growing medium used in hydroponics made from volcanic rock. |
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| Root hairs | Tiny hairs on the roots of plants, increase surface area of roots to allow more nutrients and water to be absorbed. | |
Sanitation |
Cleaning process |
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Seed |
A fertilised ovule, each seed contains a dormant embryo plant. |
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| Shoot | the first part of a plant to appear above the earth as it develops from a seed, or any new growth on an already existing plant: |
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staphylococcus aureus |
Bacterium normally carried in the skin or in the nose of healthy people. Can cause skin infections |
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| Tuber | a swollen underground stem or root of a plant from which new plants can grow, as in the potato | |
Perlite |
Organic mineral |
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| photohormones | hormones used for photosynthesis | |
Tropisms |
Plant responses to gravity, moisture and light |
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| Vacuole | a single layer of unit membrane enclosing fluid in a sack | |
Ventilation |
Create an airflow |
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Vermiculite |
Growing medium, the mineralogical name given to hydrated laminar magnesium-aluminium-ironsilicate |
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Waste |
The un wanted product of a process |
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Water |
A liquid molecule of two hydrogen atoms joined to one oxygen atom |
Glossary of administration terms
Word / product |
Definition |
Link |
Assured produce |
Scheme / standard to promote safe, environmentally friendly production of fresh produce |
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Audit |
An assessment |
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Basic food hygiene |
Principles of cleanliness in food handling |
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BRC |
British Retail Consortium. Global standard for preparing and packaging produce |
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Food safety act |
Legislation FSA 1990 |
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HACCP |
Hazard analysis of critical control points |
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Pest control |
Management of insects and rodents |
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Quality control |
A system to ensure that all products meet specification |
Other useful links
If you’re looking for more information, you may also find the following websites interesting:
- ADAS - www.adas.co.uk
- Assured Produce Scheme - www.assuredproduce.co.uk
- Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association - www.campden.co.uk
- Crop Protection Association - www.cropprotection.org.uk
- British retail consortium - www.brc.org.uk
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - www.defra.gov.uk
- EUREP - www.eurep.org
- European Food Safety Authority - www.efsa.eu.int
- Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group - www.fwag.org.uk
- Food Safety - www.food.gov.uk
- Fresh Produce Consortium - www.freshproduce.org.uk
- Health and Safety - www.hsebooks.co.uk
- Health and Safety Executive - www.hse.gov.uk
- Horticulture Development Council - www.hdc.org.uk
- Horticulture Research Institute - www.warwickhri.ac.uk
- LEAF - www.leafuk.org
- National Farmers Union - www.nfu.org.uk
- Pesticide Safety Directive - www.pesticides.gov.uk
- Soil Association - www.soilassociation.org
For more information about salad cress growing or to find out more about W.S. Bentley Growers then call 01274 851214 or complete our online contact form.
© W.S. Bentley Growers