Olericulture is the branch of horticulture concerned with growing vegetables. The word comes from the Latin oleris, meaning pot herb, and cultura, cultivation. It covers everything from a market garden to a large-scale cabbage operation.

Vegetables are a diverse group, and their needs differ sharply. Leafy crops like lettuce and spinach want cool weather and steady moisture. Fruiting crops like tomatoes and peppers want heat and pollination. Root crops like carrots need loose, stone-free soil. Brassicas like cabbage and broccoli are heavy feeders and prone to a long list of pests.

What olericulture involves

• Variety selection for climate, market, and disease resistance
• Transplant production in nurseries
• Irrigation, fertilisation, and pest management
• Harvest timing and post-harvest cooling

Vegetable farming is intensive and unforgiving. Prices swing with the season, and a crop that is a day late to market may be worthless. Growers who succeed tend to be good at both agronomy and logistics.