Jose Roby

This is a small booklet that explains general GROWING PRACTICES for rhubarb plant and is meant for growers of this plant. Rhubarb is popularly known as ‘the pie-plant’ because of its significance as a major ingredient in preparing pies. Botanical name of Rhubarb is Rheum rhabarbarum. Rhubarb is a cool season crop which is grown as an herbaceous, perennial vegetable. Rhubarb belongs to the family Polygonaceae. The economically significant portion of the plant is its fleshy leafstalks and the plant is normally grown for these fleshy leaf stalks (petioles) only. Color of petioles may be red, white or green depending upon the cultivar.

This small book is about ‘Spinach Herbs’ and it deals with mainly four types of edible herbaceous plants; these are Spinach (Spinacia oleracea), Malabar Spinach (Basella spp.), New Zealand Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides) and Mustard Spinach(Brassica rapa perviridis). Food value and nutritive value of spinach herbs are very high. There are very few vegetable greens which equal the nutritive value of spinach herbs. Spinach herbs are highly nutritious salad greens and can also be cooked as delicious, nutritious leafy vegetables. Description of growing practices, nutrient data, health benefits, and food uses of the spinach herbs is given in detail in this small book.

Chinese Cabbages are a group of nutrient-dense Cruciferous vegetables. Some recent scientific researches conducted at the William Paterson University, New Jersey concluded that Cruciferous vegetables and dark leafy greens are the most nutrient-dense, plant-based foods available today. Among 47 nutritious foods studied, Chinese cabbages are the second-most nutrient-rich food, only after watercress. This small book of 100 pages explains in detail growing practices, health benefits, food preparations, and nutrient information of two varieties of Chinese Cabbages, i.e. bok choy/pak choi and napa cabbages.

It is very easy to get waylaid by the demands of personal and professional life. We often stray from our intended course of journey and become demoralized soon. We, eventually, end up with having a stagnant life rather than having the passion to pursue our dreams and goals. Here comes the significance of some good inspirational books.

With the advent of e-businesses and e-commercial transactions, the number of internet users who rely on internet for their buying and selling transactions has gone up considerably. E-Commerce is the buzz word in this modern technology-empowered era and there are numerous entrepreneurial opportunities awaiting creative entrepreneurs of all sorts in the field of e-commerce.

This eBook explains about the growing practices and nutritional information of almost all popular brassica vegetables (cruciferous vegetables), namely cabbage, cauliflower, chinese cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, kohlrabi, collard greens, and more. Brassica vegetables are also known as cole crops, crucifers, and cruciferous vegetables. They belong to the genus Brassica and family Brassicaceae, the mustard family. Recent scientific researches about 'Nutrient-Density in Plant-Based Foods' reveal that dark leafy vegetables and brassica vegetables are the most nutrient-dense, plant-based foods available to us today.This book explains in detail growing practices, nutritional information, health benefits, and popular food preparations of these brassica vegetables.

Some freshly harvested leafy vegetables may be consumed as such in its raw form just after washing them. They may also be consumed after minimal processing such as chopping and adding in salads and in other raw food preparations. Such leafy vegetables which may be consumed in its uncooked state such as salads are called leafy salad vegetables. Their leaves and leaf stalks are used for consumption and therefore they are termed as leafy greens or leafy vegetables. They may be consumed as salads and therefore these vegetables are also known as salad vegetables.

Mushroom farming has become very popular worldwide owing to the fact that mushroom farming is relatively easy and requires less space and less investment. Economic returns on investment are also high in mushroom farming. Mushroom farming is an attractive low-cost entrepreneurial option because mushrooms can successfully be grown by using even primitive farming technologies. This low technology approach to mushroom farming may be one of the reasons behind its popularity as a small scale farm enterprise.

Among all the garden crops, bulbous crops play an important role in magnifying the view of the home garden as these have other good qualities besides beautifying the place where these are grown. One of the main advantages of growing bulbous crops in a home garden is that due to perennial nature, a gardener does not have to worry about next season planting. All the bulbous plants have storage parts underground the soil which can be corms, true bulbs, pseudo-bulbs, stolons, rhizomes, tubers etc. While corms are similar to bulbs with the differentiation of hardness and no stems, the bulbils or bulblets are small bulbs, a rhizome is a modified stem that extends underground horizontally and arises from lateral stem of main stem of the plant. Stolons can be produced either underground or above the ground depending plant to plant.

Modern advanced hydroponics grow systems combine one or more hydroponics systems into a highly efficient grow system unit to ensure higher yields and high quality of the produce. This fusion of different hydroponics technologies into a single advanced hydroponics grow system has made it possible to produce hydroponics crops on a commercial scale.

This booklet is intended for providing information about cilantro (coriander leaves or coriander greens); fresh stems and tender leaves of which are used as a culinary herb for garnishing and flavoring various food preparations.Cilantro is a term used for the fresh stems and tender young leaves of the coriander plant. Scientific name of Coriander is Coriandrum sativum. It is an umbelliferous annual herbaceous plant belonging to the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae). Cilantro is a plant of temperate climate; however it may be grown in tropical and subtropical climates as well. Cilantro is a short-lived herb. Coriander plants are mainly grown for coriander seeds which is an important condiment used for various food preparations. Coriander seeds are also used for preparing coriander powder which is an essential ingredient of various curry powders. Common names of coriander greens are Coriander leaves, Cilantro, Chinese parsley, Cilantrillo, Culantro, Mexican parsley, and Yuen sai.

This small book explains in detail growing practices and health benefits of three prominent members of Ginger family such as ginger, turmeric and Indian arrowroot. Ginger is tropical and subtropical in its growth habit. It is grown for its aromatic rhizomes which are used as a vegetable, a spice and as a traditional medicine. Ginger rhizomes are often called ‘ginger root’ though it is not actually a root. As in case of all plants belonging to ginger family, turmeric also prefers tropical and subtropical moist climate for its growth. Turmeric plant is an herbaceous perennial crop mainly grown for its edible rhizomes which are used as an important spice, condiment and dye. Turmeric is also known as ‘Indian saffron’. Indian arrowroot is cultivated as a root crop just like ginger and turmeric for extracting arrowroot powder. Arrowroot powder is believed to have numerous medicinal properties.

This small book explains in detail growing practices, health benefits, food preparations, and nutrient information of three nutrient-rich vegetables namely, knolkhol or kohlrabi, lettuce, and zucchini. Kohlrabi is a brassica vegetable, lettuce is a salad leafy vegetable, and zucchini is a summer squash vegetable.

This is a small book on "Mint Herbs". Growing practices and nutritional information of peppermint, spearmint, apple mint, corn mint, and other plants belonging to mint family are explained in detail in this book. Mint herbs are fast-growing and can be easily grown in the gardens and open fields. Mint herbs are suitable for container gardening and hydroponic growing also.

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum formerly known as Petroselinum hortense) is a biennial herbal spice crop belongs to the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae). It can successfully be cultivated both in tropical and temperate climates. Commercially it is grown as an annual and its economically significant part is its aromatic leaves. Parsley is believed to be originated in the region comprising of Europe and western Asia.

Root vegetables are those vegetables where edible portion of the plant is a modified storage root. Popular root vegetables are carrots, beetroots, rutabaga, turnips, radish, sweet potatoes and cassava. Parsnips and Hamburg parsley are also root vegetables.