salted or pickled vegetables
菹 centers on vegetables preserved by salting or pickling, specifically the resulting pickled vegetables themselves.
菹 combines the grass radical 艹 with 沮, which likely contributes a phonetic element. The character is associated with pickled vegetables, but the exact historical development is uncertain.
The grass radical 艹 sits above 沮, like vegetables covered in brine. Picture fresh greens submerged in a salty liquid, turning into pickles.
For ショ, imagine a short jar of pickled vegetables: 'short' cues ショ, and the jar is filled with the pickled greens from 菹.