Agrihortico strana 5 z 7

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Taro or colocasia is a popular tropical tuber crop grown for its edible root tubers and succulent, tender shoots and young leaves. Colocasia tubers are used as a staple food and as a vegetable in many countries. Colocasia leaves are used as a tropical leafy vegetable. There are many varieties of colocasia that are cultivated for edible purposes. Tubers of some varieties of colocasia may contain considerable amounts of an acrid compound called calcium oxalate which can be destroyed by proper cooking. Yams are a group of monocot plants, precisely speaking, a group of perennial herbaceous vines grown for their starch-rich, edible tubers. They belong to the family Dioscoreaceae and genus Dioscorea. Yams are widely grown in both temperate and tropical parts of the world and considered as an important food crop in the tropical areas of America, Asia and Africa. Yams are a rich source of carbohydrates. There are white yams, purple yams and yellow yams, depending on the colour of the tuber flesh.

Banana is one of the most popular fruits across the world. Scientific name of banana is Musa spp. It belongs to the family Musaceae. Banana is believed to be originated in tropical Indo-Malayan Region in South East Asia. Bananas are fast-growing, perennial herbaceous plants arising from large rhizomes. It is a non-seasonal plant and can be grown throughout the year. Banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant known to humans and is one of the oldest cultivated plants. These plants grow to a height of 3 to 7 meters or sometimes more than 7 meters and are considered as one of the most productive food crops. Stem of this plant is a pseudo stem and is succulent. The stem consists of a series of sheathing petioles of leaves. Leaves are large, flexible, waterproof, dark green in colour and of varying sizes and spirally arranged around the stem.

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.

Vegetables are the edible parts of the plants i.e. fruit, bark, root, leaves, etc. It is consumed on daily basis to live a healthy life. Vegetables are full of nutrition. Vegetables are available in large number of varieties, sizes and colors.

Brinjal or eggplant is scientifically known as Solanum melongena. It is a tropical, perennial vegetable grown for its edible fruits. It is generally grown as a half-hardy annual plant for vegetable purposes. Brinjal fruit is a berry and these berries are used as vegetables. Brinjal is known by different names in different regions. Brinjal is known as ‘eggplant’ in the USA and Australia and ‘aubergines’ in the UK. Brinjal is a self-pollinated crop

Amaranth greens are popular leafy greens throughout the world. Several cultivars of amaranth plant are used as leafy vegetables; some are with green leaves, some with greenish-red leaves while others are with red leaves. However, all cultivars are grown only during the summer and the rainy seasons. Scientific name of arugula is Eruca sativa. Arugula belongs to the family Brassicaceae, the cabbage family (syn. Cruciferae). All members of Brassicaceae are believed to be originated in the region comprising of Western Europe, the Mediterranean region and the temperate regions of Asia. Scientific name of portulaca greens is Portulaca oleracea. Portulaca belongs to the family Portulacaceae. It is believed to be originated in the Indian subcontinent. Common names of portulaca are Common purslane, verdolaga, red root, or parsley.

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.

Scientific name of collards or collard greens is Brassica oleracea cv. acephala. The name ‘acephala’ means ‘without a head’; that is, this Brassica vegetable is formed of loose leaves unlike cabbage or other Brassica vegetables. It belongs to the genus Brassica and family Brassicaceae, the mustard family. It is believed to be originated in the region comprising of Western Europe, the Mediterranean region and the temperate regions of Asia. Chards or Swiss chards are of two types: Flavescens group and Cicla group. Scientific name of Swiss chard belonging to cicla group is Beta vulgaris var. cicla and that belonging to flavescens group is Beta vulgaris var. flavescens. Swiss chard belongs to the family Chenopodiaceae, the beet leaf family. Swiss chard, a vegetable of temperate climate, is believed to be originated in Mediterranean region. Scientific name of dandelion is Taraxacum officinale. It belongs to the family Asteraceae, the chrysanthemum family. It is a native to Eurasia and North America. Dandelion greens are grown for its edible leaves which are used as a leaf vegetable in many parts of the world

Cassava is a tropical tuber crop mainly grown for its edible starchy storage roots. Cassava tubers are an excellent source of carbohydrates and therefore used as a staple food in many African and Asian countries. In these countries, cassava is an important source of food carbohydrates and therefore it is grown as an important cash crop. Cassava tubers are used as a root vegetable also. Tender, young shoots and leaves of cassava plant are used as a leafy vegetable in some countries. Cassava leaves are a good source of protein. Cassava is considered as a ‘Food Security’ crop in times of famine and food insecurity.

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.

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’.

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.