Foreword

Introduction
Carrots are a member of the Apiaceae (formerly called Unbelliferae) family, which also includes celery, anise, dill, and cilantro. They are a biennial crop, producing their taproot the first year, and, if left to grow, would flower, set seed and die the second year. Although most all the carrots marketed in the United States today are orange, other colors such as red, yellow, or purple can occasionally be found in various fresh, frozen, and juice products.

Carrots are primarily consumed fresh and are the 7th most consumed fresh vegetable in the U.S. Consumption of fresh carrots peaked in 1997 at 14.1 pounds per person and since then has dropped off and settled into a stable amount of approximately 8.5 pounds per person in 2014 (Vegetable and Melon Outlook, 2015). In contrast, consumption of frozen carrots averaged .7 pounds per person.

Variety types
Imperator
Most common type grown for the commercial fresh and "cut and peel" market. Long (8 - 10"), tapered, slender roots, small core, deep orange color, smooth skinned.
Nantes
Mainly used for home or farmer market or roadside stands, although can also be grown for commercial fresh market and processing. Roots are medium in length (6 - 7"), 1-2" in diameter, cylindrical, generally with a slight shoulder and an abrupt, blunt taper. Known for excellent color and quality.
Danvers
Used for both commercial fresh market and processing. Sometimes referred to the "half long" carrot. Root length is medium (6 - 7") with a conical shape but thicker in diameter (2- 2 1/2") than imperator types. Pointed or somewhat blunt root tip. Excellent early quality but can become woody with age.
Chantenay

The carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. Carrots are a domesticated form of the wild carrot, Daucus carota, native to Europe and southwestern Asia. The plant probably originated in Persia and originally cultivated for its leaves and seeds. The most commonly eaten part of the plant is the taproot, although the greens are sometimes eaten as well. The domestic carrot has beenselectively bred for its greatly enlarged, more palatable, less woody-textured taproot.

Overview
Although over 2,000 varieties of mushrooms are edible, only a handful have become important in the American diet. The mushrooms most familiar to U.S. buyers are the "whites" or common button agaricus. Other varieties of agaricus, the criminis and portabellas, are known as the “browns.” Shiitake (shee tah kay), oyster, wood ear and enoki (e nok e) mushrooms are also popular. Particularly in the Pacific Northwest and the northeastern United States, seasonal species such as morels, oysters and chanterelles are gathered in the wild and sold at farmers' markets and through retail stores. U.S. consumers continue to purchase fresh, canned and dried mushrooms, both domestic and imported.

Production

During the last 30 years, mushroom production has increased 20-fold. According to Dr. Philip Miles, professor of biology at State University of New York in Buffalo, worldwide production of phoenix tail oyster mushrooms,Pleurotus sajor-caju, has exploded. The most recent statistics show 909,000 metric tons of production, mostly in mainland China. Shiitake has become a worldwide, multi-billion dollar industry. During the 1980s, it was the number one agricultural crop exported from Japan to the international market. In Asian countries, an everyday meal at home may consist of 30 percent mushrooms. I am convinced that the consumer demand for exotic mushrooms in this country also promises a diverse and growing mushroom market in the future.

I’ve been planning for some time to add a Mushroom Production Page to Beginning Farmers. Gourmet mushrooms are a high value crop which can be a great addition to a diversified farming operation, especially if they are lucky enough to be situated on land with a decent parcel of hardwood forest (for log production), or willing to invest in the equipment necessary for more intensive cultivation.

Wild harvesting mushrooms can also be a lot of fun, and fairly lucrative, if you know where to go and when, and can find a buyer. Many gourmet restaurants are thrilled to get wild-harvested mushrooms, so it’s worth trying to make these connections. I have done this with both morel’s and hen of the woods (see pictures below). But make sure you know what you’re doing if you’re going to hunt (for more information see below). Also anyone interested in this topic should check out Paul Stamets on 6 ways mushrooms can save the world.

A mushroom farming business can be mean big profits in just a few weeks. Plus, starting your own business growing oyster mushrooms for profit is fairly easy. In fact, here’s how to get started in just six easy steps.

1. Get your spawn and substrate
You’ll need a spawn to start the culture. You can produce your own spawn using a sterile culture, or you can buy ready-to-inoculate spawn, which are carried by suppliers. Producing your own can be cheaper in the long run, but the start-up costs can be high, so chances are buying the ready-to-inoculate spawn is the way to go for you.

You’ll also need to buy the substrate. Many growers use straw or wood chips. Straw is generally the preferred method. You want straw that can be chopped up into little pieces.
2. Prepare the substrate

The six steps are Phase I composting, Phase II composting, spawning, casing, pinning, and cropping. These steps are described in their naturally occurring sequence, emphasizing the salient features within each step. Compost provides nutrients needed for mushrooms to grow. Two types of material are generally used for mushroom compost, the most used and least expensive being wheat straw-bedded horse manure. Synthetic compost is usually made from hay and crushed corncobs, although the term often refers to any mushroom compost where the prime ingredient is not horse manure. Both types of compost require the addition of nitrogen supplements and a conditioning agent, gypsum.

The preparation of compost occurs in two steps referred to as Phase I and Phase II composting. The discussion of compost preparation and mushroom production begins with Phase I composting.
Phase I: Making Mushroom Compost

This genus also contains several other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion (Allium fistulosum), thetree onion (A. ×proliferum), and the Canada onion (Allium canadense). The name "wild onion" is applied to a number of Allium species, but A. cepa is exclusively known from cultivation. Its ancestral wild original form is not known, although escapes from cultivation have become established in some regions.[2] The onion is most frequently a biennial or a perennial plant, but is usually treated as an annual and harvested in its first growing season.

50 percent of the red onions in Kenya are imported from Tanzania, as indicated by Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) 2014 report. Kenyan Farmers have been doing their best to address the demand and close the gap, but there is still more supply to be achieved. This makes the Red Bulb Onion a very attractive commercial investment for the Kenyan market at the moment, since local production is not enough.

Major types of onions farmed in Kenya are bulb onions and spring onions. The best areas suited for farming being Karatina, Oloitoktok, Naivasha, Kieni, Emali and Mai Mahiu.

Introduction
Some of the health benefits of onions include their role in substantially relieving a number of diseases including the common cold, asthma, bacterial infections, respiratory problems, angina, and cough. Onions are also known to repel bloodthirsty insects. In other words, you may say that onions are a true gift from nature, even if they do make you cry.
Onions have been known to possess curative value since ancient times. Even the World Health Organization confirms that onions are beneficial for people with a reduced appetite and those suffering from atherosclerosis. Health experts acknowledge the fact that onions provide a great respite for patients with chronic asthma, allergic bronchitis, common cold-related cough and cold syndromes.

Introduction to Onions
Onions range in size from tiny—less than one-inch in diameter—to jumbo—more than 4.5-inches in diameter. Onions are also seasonal, divided into two categories, although imported onions make most types available year-long. Yellow, white and red onions are available in both categories.

Spring/Summer Onions (March through August)
With thin, lighter-colored skin, these onions are typically higher in water content, which reduces their shelf life. These are more delicate onions, range in flavor from sweet to mild. They are popularly used in salads, sandwiches, and lightly-cooked dishes.
Fall/Winter Onions (August through May)
These onions have multiple layers of thick, darker colored skin, are typically lower in water content, and thus have a longer shelf-life. These are heartier onions, ranging in flavor from mild to pungent. They are popularly used for savory dishes that require longer cooking times and/or more flavor.
Types of Onion Are,

The Most Distinct Methods of Planting Onions Include
 Sowing seed directly in the field where the crop is to mature
 Sowing in a seedbed from which the plants are transplanted later to the field and
 Planting sets. A grower may buy these sets, or grow them from seed himself. The transplanting method is used more commonly for early production.
Autumn Crop
Onion is grown throughout Pakistan in varying volumes and with different harvesting seasons. However, supply of onion falls in short of requirements from December-January and prices soars to more than five times compared with normal season. The nursery for off-season / autumn crop of onion is raised in first week of July and the seedlings are transplanted in the field in the middle of August for harvesting of bulbs during December. It is difficult to manage nursery seedlings of autumn crop because of high temperature and monsoon rains.

Onion is an important bulb vegetable crop, commercially grown in many countries of the world including Pakistan. Onion is being used as a raw and given protection to human beings from sun stroke, normally is consumed green as well as in mature stages almost by everyone (poor as well as rich people), by different mean.
Another,
Onion (Allium cepa L) is one of the important ingredients used in daily meals all over Pakistan. Onions are used in soups, salads, sauces and for seasoning foods. Onions as a part of diet may play a part in preventing heart disease and other ailments (suggested by medical research). It is rich in phosphorus, calcium and carbohydrates.