🥬 Edibles Encyclopedia • Hindi & English • Free
Edibles Encyclopedia खाद्य पौधों की पूरी जानकारी — Hindi और English में
Vegetables, fruits and herbs — complete growing guides, nutrition, harvest time and Indian kitchen uses
Tomato / Tamatar
टमाटर
Solanum lycopersicum
Tomato / Tamatar — India's most grown kitchen vegetable. Cooked tomato has 3x more lycopene than raw. 3 sowing seasons. Sucker removal key for indeterminate types.
🌱 Kharif: Jul-Aug | Rabi: Oct-Nov | Spring: Jan-Feb
⏱️ 60-80 days from transplant
Mango / Aam
आम
Mangifera indica
Mango / Aam — India's national fruit (4000+ years). Always buy GRAFTED (3-5 yr fruit vs 8-10 yr seedling). 1000+ varieties. Alternate bearing fix. 100-300 year tree life!
🌱 June-July (monsoon) or Feb-March | Grafted plant only
⏱️ Grafted: 3-5 years | Tree life: 100-300 years!
Mint / Pudina
पुदीना
Mentha spicata (spearmint) | M. arvensis (corn mint — India menthol)
Mint / Pudina — grow FREE from market bundle in water (roots in 5 days!). ALWAYS container — invasive runner. India = world's largest menthol producer. Pinch flowers always.
🌱 Year-round from cuttings | ALWAYS in containers — invasive runner!
⏱️ 30-45 days from cutting | Continuous perennial harvest
Potato / Aloo
आलू
Solanum tuberosum
Potato / Aloo — world's most versatile vegetable. Hilling critical for yield. Green potato = toxic (solanine). Cooled boiled potato has lower GI. Grow-bag method for home.
🌱 Oct-Nov (plains) | Feb-Mar (hills)
⏱️ 70-90 days early | 100-120 days main crop
Banana / Kela
केला
Musa acuminata / M. balbisiana / hybrids
Banana / Kela — not a tree (world's largest herb!). India largest producer. Ratoon crops 5-10 years. Flower + stem + fruit + leaf ALL edible. Raw banana = prebiotic resistant starch.
🌱 From suckers — March-June best | Perennial ratoon cropping
⏱️ 12-18 months from sucker | 5-10 years via ratoon management
Basil / Sweet Basil
बेसिल / तुलसी-सा मीठा
Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil) — NOT tulsi (O. tenuiflorum)
Basil / Sweet Basil — NOT tulsi (different plant!). NEVER refrigerate (blackens). Sabja seeds = India's original chia seeds (falooda!). Pinch flowers always. Annual — resow every 6 weeks.
🌱 March-September | Annual — succession sow every 6-8 weeks
⏱️ 4-6 weeks from seed | Pinching essential for bushy growth
Onion / Pyaz
प्याज / कांदा
Allium cepa
Onion / Pyaz — India's most price-volatile vegetable. Short-day varieties only for India. Neck fall = harvest signal. Curing essential for 6-month storage. Don't store with potato.
🌱 Rabi: Oct-Nov (main) | Kharif: May-June
⏱️ 100-150 days from transplant
Guava / Amrud
अमरूद / पेरू
Psidium guajava
Guava / Amrud — 4x more Vitamin C than oranges! India's most nutritious underrated fruit. Leaf tea proven for diabetes + diarrhea. Drought tolerant. 50-100 kg/year mature tree.
🌱 June-July or Feb-March | Grafted plant recommended | Twice-yearly fruit
⏱️ Grafted: 2-3 years | 50-100 kg per mature tree annually
Lemongrass / Lemon Chai Ghas
लेमनग्रास / गवती चहा
Cymbopogon citratus (culinary) | C. flexuosus (East Indian — oil)
Lemongrass — grow FREE from market stalk in water (roots in 10 days!). Annual rejuvenation cut essential. Sharp leaf edges — wear gloves. India = world's largest oil producer. Chai essential.
🌱 Year-round from market stalks | Division from established clump
⏱️ 3-4 months from stalk propagation | Perennial 5-10 years
Showing 9 of 75 edibles
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