What the heck is a peck?

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?

I challenge you to say that five times in a row, as fast as you can. It will surely leave your tongue twisted and tangled in your mouth!  But, what is a peck, anyway?

A peck is 1/4 of a bushel. So, what is a bushel?  That all depends on what you're measuring!

A bushel measures produce by volume, not by weight.  A bushel of grain will weigh more than a bushel of apples which will out weigh a bushel of beans which will beat out a bushel of turnip greens and so on and so on.  Professional farmers may understand and know these relative weights, but if you are a gardener, a home canner, or even a consumer who frequents farmers' markets it would be helpful to be familiar with these terms.

Here's an interesting article that explains in simple language all those odd gardening weight and measurement terms.  In it, the author says that a peck of peppers would weigh in at 10 - 14 pounds.
http://voices.yahoo.com/how-much-bushel-peck-1899378.html?cat=32

Here's a listing of US commercial bushel sizes for various crops.  I have to admit, I'm disappointed that these charts do not include peppers!
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/scales/bushels.html


Here's a picture of the peck of peppers I picked today:

And when you need just the right word to describe your feelings for that special someone...

I love you ...
A bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck;
A hug around the neck, and a barrel and a heap;
A barrel and a heap and I'm talkin' in my sleep about you!