Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America.

I'm Katie Weaver.

And I'm Mario Ritter Jr.

This program is designed for English learners, so we speak a little slower and we use words

and phrases especially written for people learning English.

Today on the program, Jill Robbins presents the education report.

We also hear from John Russell, who has a story about a very old tadpole.

And we close the show with The Lesson of the Day.

But first, it's back to Mario.

It would not be autumn without planting advice

from Associated Press gardening expert, Jessica Damiano.

Damiano recently wrote about her experience planting garlic cloves.

She was concerned not just about protecting them from low winter temperatures.

She was worried that animals would dig up her bulbs and eat them.

Tulips, daffodils, and garlic, for example, produce bulbs that bloom in the spring,

in places that have four seasons and cold winters to keep away animals

Damiano put netting over the soil and covered it with straw to a thickness of ten

centimeters she said this is good to do with any bulbs, especially ones like garlic, tulips, and crocuses.

That is because animals like to eat the bulbs of these plants.

Netting, or a kind of fencing called chicken wire, can serve as a physical barrier that prevents animals from digging up plants. Such barriers do not block

sunlight and water from reaching the soil.

Damiano said they can be secured to the ground with pieces of wood or rocks.

...