Editing Vegetable farming (section)

==History==
Originally, vegetables were collected from the wild by [[hunter-gatherer]]s and entered [[Agriculture|cultivation]] in several parts of the world, probably during the period 10,000 BC to 7,000 BC, when a new [[History of agriculture|agricultural way of life]] developed. At first, plants which grew locally would have been cultivated, but as time went on, trade brought exotic crops from elsewhere to add to domestic types. Nowadays, most vegetables are grown all over the world as climate permits.

Traditionally it was done in the soil in small rows or blocks, often primarily for consumption on the farm, with the excess sold in nearby towns. Later, farms on the edge of large communities could specialize in vegetable production, with the short distance allowing the farmer to get his produce to market while still fresh. The [[Three Sisters (agriculture)|three sisters]] method used by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] (specifically the [[Haudenosaunee]]/[[Iroquois]]) grew [[Squash (plant)|squash]], [[beans]] and [[Maize|corn]] together so that the plants enhanced each other's growth. Planting in long rows allows machinery to cultivate the fields, increasing efficiency and output; however, the diversity of vegetable crops requires a number of techniques to be used to optimize the growth of each type of plant. Some farms, therefore, specialize in one vegetable; others grow a large variety. Due to the needs to market vegetables while fresh, vegetable gardening has high labor demands. Some farms avoid this by running [[u-pick]] operations where the customers pick their own produce. The development of ripening technologies and [[refrigeration]] has reduced the problems with getting produce to market in good condition.