Agrihortico

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.

Compost is a type of organic matter that is rich in humus and plant nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). NPK content of compost varies from 1.5-0.5-1.0 to 3.5-1.0-2.0 depending upon the organic waste materials and manures used for making compost. The process of making compost is called composting.

Blackberry plants are grown for their nutritious, delicious fruits. Blackberry is considered as one of the most nutrient-dense fruits. It is counted among top 50 nutrient-rich, plant-based foods. Blackberry fruits are commonly known as ‘bramble fruit’. Blackberry plants belong to the family Rosaceae, the Rose family.

Carrot is a biennial herbaceous plant cultivated for its starchy, edible root tubers. For vegetable purposes, carrot is grown as an annual crop. During the first season of growth, the plant completes vegetative growth and produces edible root tubers; during the next season, the plant completes its reproductive cycle and produces seeds. Scientific name of beets is Beta vulgaris. It belongs to the family Chenopodiaceae. This plant is native to the Mediterranean regions. Though beets are biennial plants, they are grown as an annual crop for food purposes. Beets are grown for both its tender leaves which are used as leafy vegetables and edible roots which are used as root vegetables. Edible roots of beets are called ‘beet roots.’

Cucumbers and gherkins are a group of cucurbitaceous vegetables that are mainly used as salad vegetables. Cucumbers are large fruits while gherkins are small fruits. Scientific name of cucumber is Cucumis sativus. Gherkins are known as ‘small cucumbers’ as it belongs to the same family as cucumber and its scientific name is same as that of cucumber i.e. Cucumis sativus, but cultivar is different. Cucumbers: Cucumbers are mainly used as summer season salad vegetables. Cucumber fruits have cooling and strengthening properties and also capable of quenching thirst during summer months. Gherkins: Gherkins are small, prickly, cylindrical green fruits which are with thin green rinds and white flesh. Small immature fruits of gherkins are used for pickling and hence it is commonly called as ‘pickling cucumbers’.

Scientific name of Globe Artichoke is Cynara scolymus. It is a popular plant which is grown for its edible globular flower buds that is used as a vegetable. Globe artichokes are known by different names in different parts of the world. It is called “Sharifa” or "Shalifa" in Hindi.

Mulberry plant is a woody perennial plant. Scientific name of mulberry is Morus spp.. White mulberry is known as Morus alba, red mulberry is known as Morus rubra, and black mulberry is known as Morus nigra. Mulberry belongs to the family Moraceae. Mulberry plants are mainly grown for their fruits and for sericulture purposes. Sericulture is the culture of silk worms where mulberry leaves are used as fodders for silk worms.

There are always some exceptions found in the nature. For example, there are a group of plants called ‘parasitic plants’ which are unable to perform photosynthesis, a characteristic function of majority members of the plant kingdom. These parasitic plants depend on other living plants for their food and nutritional requirements. Parasitic plants that depend totally on other plants for their food and nutritional requirements are known as total parasites or holoparasites or obligately parasitic plants. Parasitic plants that depend partially on other plants for their food and nutritional requirements are called partial parasites or hemiparasites.

Potato is one of the most ancient and the oldest domesticated food crops. Today, potato is the most important and the largest vegetable crop of the world (both production-wise and consumption-wise). Potato is also used as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potato is a starchy tuberous perennial vegetable; however for vegetable purposes, potato plants are grown as annual plants. Potato plants are considered as cool season crops because of the low temperature requirement for tuber formation. The edible portion or tuber is a modified underground stem.

Scientific name of spine gourd or teasle gourd is Momordica dioica. Spine gourd is a cucurbitaceous vegetable which is closely related to bitter gourd. However, it is not bitter in taste as bitter gourd. As in case of other cucurbitaceous vegetables (cucurbits) which mainly include melons and gourds, spine gourd is also grown as a summer vegetable in tropical and subtropical countries. Spine gourd is called Kantola or kakrol in Hindi, mada hagalakai in Kannada, kadu peere in Tulu, and paagila in Konkani. 

Scientific name of Tomatillo plant is Physalis philadelphica (Syn. Physalis ixocarpa). It is a vegetable plant belonging to Solanaceae family. This plant is a native to Mexico. Tomatillo plants are mainly grown for their small, round fruits which are used as vegetables. Tomatillo is popularly known as ‘Mexican husk tomato’ ‘Mexican ground cherry’ and ‘Mexican green tomato.’ Its popular Spanish names are tomate de cascara, tomate verde, tomate de fresadilla, tomatillo, and miltomate.

Scientific name of spine gourd is Momordica dioica. Spine gourd is a cucurbitaceous vegetable which is closely related to bitter gourd. However, it is not bitter in taste as bitter gourd. As in case of other cucurbitaceous vegetables (cucurbits) which mainly include melons and gourds, spine gourd is also grown as a summer vegetable in tropical and subtropical countries.Zucchini is a type of summer squash grown as a summer vegetable for its tender, edible long fruits. It is the most popular, widely grown and economically important summer squash vegetable. Scientific name of zucchini is Cucurbita pepo.Gherkins are known as ‘small cucumbers’ as it belongs to the same family as cucumber. Scientific name of gherkin is same as that of cucumber i.e. Cucumis sativus, but cultivar is different. Gherkin is a cucurbitaceous plant grown for its small, prickly, cylindrical green fruits which are with thin green rinds and white flesh. Gherkin is a tropical gourd plant and is climbing in growth habit. Small immature fruits of gherkins are used for pickling and hence it is commonly called as pickling cucumber.

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.

Botanical name of curry leaf plant is Murraya koenigii. It belongs to the family Rutaceace, the citrus family. Curry leaf plant is tropical to subtropical in growth habit. It is grown as a perennial plant which when grown in an open space, grows into a small tree of up to 5 meters in height; while growing in containers and greenhouses, it grows into a small bushy shrub of up to 2.5 meters in height.

This small book explains in detail growing practices, health benefits, food preparations, and nutrient information of four popular vegetables namely, artichokes, crosnes, broccoli and chives. Artichokes and crosnes are perennial vegetables and are used in rare and exotic food preparations. Crosnes are also known as 'Chinese artichokes' and these are one of the most delicious root vegetables available today. Broccoli and chives are considered as one of the most nutrient-dense, plant-based food groups.

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.