🥬 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
Cauliflower / Phool Gobhi
फूल गोभी
Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
Cauliflower / Phool Gobhi — India's most challenging vegetable (15-22°C strict). Blanch leaves over curd. Boron spray 3x (hollow stem prevention). Caterpillar = BT spray.
🌱 Aug-Sep nursery | Oct-Nov transplant | Dec-Feb harvest
⏱️ 65-100 days from transplant
Chiku / Sapodilla
चीकू
Manilkara zapota (syn. Achras sapota)
Chiku / Sapodilla — original chewing gum tree (chicle latex)! India world's largest producer. 40-60 year low-maintenance tree. NEVER eat unripe. Baramasi variety = year-round fruit.
🌱 June-July or Feb-March | Grafted essential | Tree life: 40-60 years
⏱️ Grafted: 4-5 years | Sept-March | 100-500 fruits/mature tree yearly
Tulsi / Holy Basil
तुलसी / होली बेसिल
Ocimum tenuiflorum (syn. O. sanctum) — NOT sweet basil (O. basilicum)
Tulsi — India's sacred living deity. NOT sweet basil (completely different!). Ancient puja care rules = sound horticulture. Chew 10-12 raw leaves morning. Krishna tulsi = most medicinal. Cortisol proven.
🌱 March-June from seed | Year-round from cuttings | Perennial South India
⏱️ First: 6-8 weeks | Continuous | Pinch flowers (except puja manjari)
Cabbage / Patta Gobhi
पत्ता गोभी / बंद गोभी
Brassica oleracea var. capitata
Cabbage / Patta Gobhi — stores 2-4 weeks on plant in cold (unique!). 1-3 kg per plant. Head splitting = twist plant to break roots. Second crop from stumps free.
🌱 Sep-Oct nursery | Oct-Nov transplant | Jan-March harvest
⏱️ 80-120 days from transplant
Mulberry / Shahtut
शहतूत / तूत
Morus alba (white) | M. nigra (black) | M. rubra (red)
Mulberry / Shahtut — India's fastest fruiting tree (12-18 months cutting!). Leaf tea = clinically proven anti-diabetic (1-DNJ). Feb-April season. Stains everything — wear old clothes!
🌱 Cutting propagation — 85-90% success | Feb-March best | Fruits in 12-18 months!
⏱️ 12-18 months from cutting — India's FASTEST fruiting tree!
Ajwain / Carom Seeds
अजवायन
Trachyspermum ammi (syn. Carum copticum)
Ajwain — 30-35% thymol (same as Listerine, MORE concentrated!). Market ajwain = free planting seeds! Leaves edible as vegetable (Rajasthan). Direct sow only. Pregnancy large doses: caution.
🌱 Sept-Oct DIRECT SOW only (taproot) | Market ajwain seeds = planting seeds!
⏱️ Leaves: 4-6 weeks | Seeds: 3-4 months | Dry conditions = more thymol in seeds
Garlic / Lahsun
लहसुन
Allium sativum
Garlic / Lahsun — crush + wait 10 min before cooking (allicin forms!). 1 clove → 8-12 cloves harvest. Blood pressure proven. Stop 7-14 days before surgery. Black garlic = upgraded.
🌱 Oct-Nov planting | April-May harvest (6 months)
⏱️ 150-180 days — when 50% leaves turn yellow
Passion Fruit
पैशन फ्रूट / कृष्ण फल
Passiflora edulis f. edulis (purple) | P. edulis f. flavicarpa (yellow)
Passion Fruit — most complex flower (Christ's Passion story!). Highest fiber tropical fruit (10.4g). Plant 2 vines for cross-pollination. Leaf tea for anxiety. Hills 600m+ only (purple).
🌱 March-June | Seed or cutting | Strong trellis essential | Cross-pollinate 2 plants
⏱️ 12-18 months | 40-60 fruits/vine/year | Vine life: 5-7 years
Shatavari / Wild Asparagus
शतावरी
Asparagus racemosus
Shatavari — women's rasayana AND men too! Milk +33% (clinical). Shoots edible like asparagus. Wears gloves (thorns). 15-20 year perennial. Asparagus allergy: caution.
🌱 June-July or March-April | From seed or plant | Deep pit, trellis/support needed
⏱️ Year 2: shoots | Year 3: roots (partial harvest) | Perennial 15-20 years
Showing 9 of 75 edibles
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