Easy Farming

Easy Farming

A pumpkin is a cultivar of a squash plant, most commonly ofCucurbita pepo, that is round, with smooth, slightly ribbed skin, and deep yellow to orange coloration. The thick shell contains the seeds and pulp. Some exceptionally large cultivars of squash with similar appearance have also been derived fromCucurbita maxima. Specific cultivars of winter squash derived from other species, including C. argyrosperma, and C. moschata, are also sometimes called "pumpkin". In New Zealand and Australian English, the term pumpkin generally refers to the broader category called winter squash elsewhere.

Description
The scarlet (S. aethiopicum L.) and Gboma (S. macrocarpon L.) eggplants are two cultivated eggplants, which are popular traditional vegetables in tropical Africa. Both species are grown for their leaves and fruits. The fruits are consumed fresh as well as boiled, steamed, pickled, or in stews with other vegetables or meats, while young leaves are often used in soups and with other vegetables.
The fruits of S. aethiopicum are light to dark green, white or blackish in colour, turning red or reddish-orange, due to the high carotene content, as they ripen. The fruits’ shape is round to oval with smooth or grooved surface and the taste varies from sweet to bitter. The oval-fruit cultivars are particularly bitter.

Fresh, safe, quality-assured Western Australian carrots are delivered fresh to local, interstate and international markets from year-round production. Growers in Western Australia (WA) produce more than 90 per cent of Australia’s export carrots. Total carrot production was estimated at 112 140 tonnes in 2011/12 (ABS) with nearly 60% of this volume shipped to international markets.
The industry
Western Australian carrot production continues to expand to meet increasing international demand. In 2011/12, total production from an estimated 1870 hectares was 112 140 tonnes with an average yield of 60 tonnes per hectare (ABS).
In 2012/13, Western Australian exporters shipped 64 430 tonnes of fresh carrots to customers in 15 countries. The major export markets are in the Middle East and Asia (see Carrot exports from WA). In the same year Australian carrot production was estimated at 319 185 tonnes from 5528 hectares.

Introduction
When newspaper headlines and radio or television newscasts announce that a foodborne illness associated with fresh produce has occurred, the entire industry from grower to retailer should take serious notice. Today's produce is increasingly being put under the microscope as a potential carrier of safety hazards. Carrot growers and shippers are urged to take a proactive role in minimizing the food safety risks for their crops.
Quality and Safety
Carrot quality and safety are often perceived by consumers to mean the same thing. Good quality carrots may be visually appealing and delicious, yet may contain pathogens or toxins that can cause illness to the consumer. Safe product, in contrast, may be discolored, over mature and unappealing, yet present no hazard to the consumer. Unfortunately, the safety of fresh carrots cannot be determined by its outward appearance or condition.
Field Sanitation Program
Raw Product Safety

Many Kenyans in urban areas appreciate meals with cucumber. This is a vegetable crop that belongs to the cucumbitaceae family and is a popular vegetable crop cultivated all around the world. Cucumber plant has a climbing or trailing habit. The tender cucumber can be eaten raw or with salt in salad. It can also be used in daily cooking. Cucumber seeds can be used in oil extraction.

There are three commercial varieties that are available. These are:
 Japanese long green.
 Poinsettee
 Straight eight.
CLIMATE CONDITIONS REQUIRED FOR CUCUMBER FARMING.
The cucumber crop requires a moderate warm temperature and grows best at a temperature between 20c and 24c. It is not suitable for adverse weather conditions.
SUITABLE SOIL FOR CUCUMBER FARMING.

Introduction
Pumpkins belong to the Cucurbita genus, along with cucumbers, melons, and squash. However, the term “pumpkin” refers to members of four different species, C. moschata, C. mixta, C. pep, and C. maxima. Pumpkins range in size from less than one pound to more than 1,000 pounds. Miniature-sized pumpkins weigh less than one pound, are marketed fresh and typically are used for decorative purposes. Pie pumpkins range in many sizes, however, the 5- to 10-pound pie pumpkins are most often grown. Pumpkins in the 10- to 25-pound range are primarily used for fall decorations, carved into jack-o-lanterns, but can also be used for processing.

The traditional understanding of the history of agriculture begins in the ancient Near East and Southwest Asia, about 10,000 years ago, but it has its roots in the climatic changes at the tail end of the Upper Paleolithic, called the Epipaleolithic, about 10,000 years earlier.

It has to be said that recent archaeological and climate studies suggest that the process may have been slower and begun earlier than 10,000 years ago; and may well have been much more widespread than in the near east/southwest Asia. But there is no doubt that a significant amount of domestication invention occurred in the Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic period.
History of Agriculture Timeline
• Last Glacial Maximum ca 18,000 BC
• Early Epipaleolithic 18,000-12,000 BC
• Late Epipaleolithic 12,000-9,600 BC
• Younger Dryas 10,800-9,600 BC
• Early Aceramic Neolithic 9,600-8,000 BC
• Late Aceramic Neolithic 8,000-6,900 BC

Wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) is highly competitive in crops and can cause a yield loss of 10-90%. The fibrous stems of wild radish make harvesting difficult by choking the header comb, it is an alternative host for a number of pests and diseases and it can cause animal health problems when grazed.
Identification and attributes
Latin name - Raphanus raphanistrum
Common name - Wild radish, white weed, white charlock, wild charlock, cadlock, wild kale, wild turnip, jointed radish.

Distinguishing features
Wild radish is generally a winter and spring-growing annual that may grow up to 1.5 metres (m) high. The cotyledons are heart-shaped and hairless with long stems. The first true leaves are irregularly lobed around the edges with one or more completely separated lobes at the base of the leaf blade.

To our kids’ delight, a field of processing pumpkins grew across our gravel road this year. And to mine, they witnessed commercial pumpkin production and what few people realize: Illinois smashes the competition when it comes to growing pumpkins. Illinois farms commercially grow more pumpkin-pie-worthy pumpkins and ornamental carving pumpkins than any other state, a university expert tells me. In the recent five-year average, Illinois annually produced three times as many pumpkins as No. 2 California. Our state commercially grew an average 537.6 million pounds of pumpkin per year on 18,140 acres, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Cabbage or headed cabbage (comprising several cultivars ofBrassica oleracea) is a leafy green or purple biennial plant, grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage, B. oleracea var. oleracea, and is closely related to broccoli and cauliflower (var. botrytis), brussels sprouts (var.gemmifera) and savoy cabbage (var. sabauda). Cabbage heads generally range from 0.5 to 4 kilograms (1 to 9 lb), and can be green, purple and white. Smooth-leafed firm-headed green cabbages are the most common, with smooth-leafed red and crinkle-leafed savoy cabbages of both colors seen more rarely. It is a multi-layered vegetable. Under conditions of long sunlit days such as are found at high northern latitudes in summer, cabbages can grow much larger. Some records are discussed at the end of the history section.

Apricots are native to parts of Asia. They are hugely popular in Middle Eastern countries, with Turkey and Iran being the world’s largest producers of the fruit. Spanish missionaries are credited with introducing the apricot to California, which is the leading state of apricot production within the United States. Plums and apricots are genetically very similar and thus can hybridize making pluots (75 percent plum, 25 percent apricot), plumcots (50 percent plum, 50 percent apricot), and apriums (75 percent apricot, 25 percent plum) (University of Illinois – Extension, 2010).
Today, nearly 85 percent of the apricots grown in the United States come from California. The remainder largely comes from Washington, with less than 1 percent from Utah.

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

People live in the present. They plan for and worry about the future. History, however, is the study of the past. Given all the demands that press in from living in the present and anticipating what is yet to come, why bother with what has been? Given all the desirable and available branches of knowledge, why insist—as most American educational programs do—on a good bit of history? And why urge many students to study even more history than they are required to?
Any subject of study needs justification: its advocates must explain why it is worth attention. Most widely accepted subjects—and history is certainly one of them—attract some people who simply like the information and modes of thought involved. But audiences less spontaneously drawn to the subject and more doubtful about why to bother need to know what the purpose is.

Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species Brassica oleracea, in the family Brassicaceae. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed. Typically, only the head (the white curd) is eaten. The cauliflower head is composed of a white inflorescence meristem. Cauliflower heads resemble those in broccoli, which differs in having flower buds. Brassica oleracea also includes broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, collard greens, and kale, though they are of different cultivar groups.
Contents
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• 1History
• 2Etymology
• 3Classification and identification
o 3.1Major groups
o 3.2Varieties
o 3.3Colours
• 4Production
• 5Nutrition
o 5.1Phytochemicals
• 6Cooking
• 7Fractal dimension
• 8References
• 9Further reading
• 10External links
History

Growing cucumbers is among the most popular activities in backyard vegetable gardens across the country. In fact, almost half of the nation’s home vegetable growers – 47 percent according to Susan Littlefield, horticultural editor at theNational Gardening Association – plant cucumbers. That makes cukes America’s No. 2 most popular homegrown vegetable. (Tomatoes, which should surprise no one, are the runaway favorite at 86 percent.)

There are two forms of cucumber plants, bush and vining. Bush selections form compact plants and are ideally suited for small gardens and containers. Vining plants, however, may be the better choice. They clamber up trellises and produce fruit that is straighter with less disease and insect problems than cukes grown on bushing plants.

Cucumber plants make two basic types of fruit, those for slicing and those for pickling. There are many varieties of each. Pickling varieties seem to reach their peak faster than slicing varieties.