Editing Agriculture in ancient Rome (section)

==Crops==
===Grains===
Staple crops in early Rome were [[millet]], and [[emmer]] and [[spelt]] which are species of wheat.  According to the Roman scholar [[Varro]], [[common wheat]] and [[durum wheat]] were introduced to [[Italy]] as crops about 450 BC.<ref>Fussell, G. E. (January 1967), "Farming Systems of the Classical Era," ''Technology and Culture,'' Vol. 8, No. l, p 22</ref><ref> James, Bruce R., Diazzi, Carmelo, and Blum, Winfried E. H. (2014), "Bread and Soil in Ancient Rome: A Vision of Abundance and an Ideal of Order Based on Wheat, Grapes, and Olives," [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308170675_Bread_and_Soil_in_Ancient_Rome_A_Vision_of_Abundance_and_an_Ideal_of_Order_Based_on_Wheat_Grapes_and_Olives]. Accessed 10 Nov 2018 </ref> Durum (hard) wheat became the preferred grain of urban Romans, because it could be baked into leavened bread and was easier to grow in the Mediterranean region than common (soft) wheat.<ref>Erdkamp, Paul, "The Food Supply of the Capital," in ''The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Rome, '' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 262-263</ref><ref>James ''et al, p. 165</ref> Grains, especially baked into bread, were the staple of the Roman diet, providing 70 to 80 percent of the calories in an average diet.<ref>Rosenstein, Nathan (2013), "Agriculture, Roman Republic," ''Encyclopedia of Ancient History,'' https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah20007, Accessed 9 Nov 2018.</ref> [[Barley]] was also grown extensively, dominating grain production in Greece and on poorer soils where it was more productive than wheat.  Wheat was the preferred grain, but barley was widely eaten and also important as animal feed.<ref>Jasy, Naum (1950), "The daily bread of the Ancient Greeks and Romans," ''Ostria,'', Vol. 9, pp. 231-233. Downloaded from [[JSTOR]].</ref>

In ''De re rustica'' [[Columella]] wrote that emmer was more resistant to moisture than wheat. According to Columella four types of emmer were cultivated, including one variety that he calls Clusian (named for the town [[Clusium]]).<ref>Columella, ''De re rustica'', 2.6.3-4</ref> Cato wrote that if sowing grain in humid or dewy soils was unavoidable, they should be sown alongside turnips, panic grass, millet and [[rapeseed]].<ref>Cato, ''De agricultura'', 6.1</ref>
 
Despite listing [[panicum]] and millet among the [[legumes]] Columella says they should be considered grain crops "for in many countries the peasants subsist on food made from them".<ref>Columella, ''De re Rustica'', 2.9.17</ref>

===Legumes===
Of [[legumes]], Columella lists some that are preferred for cultivation: [[lentil]]s, [[pea]]s, ''[[lupinus]]'', [[bean]]s, [[cowpea]]s, and [[chickpea]]s (also listing [[sesame]], ''[[panicum]]'', [[cannabis]], [[barley]], and millet as legumes).<ref>Columella, ''De re Rustica'', 2.7.1</ref> 

He writes the following about ''lupinus'':<ref>Columella, ''De re Rustica'', 2.10.1</ref>
<blockquote>...it requires the least labor, costs least, and of all crops that are sown is most beneficial to the land. For it affords an excellent fertilizer for worn out vineyards and ploughlands; it flourishes even in exhausted soil; and it endures age when laid away in the granary. When softened by boiling it is good fodder for cattle during the winter; in the case of humans, too, it serves to warn off famine if years of crop failures come upon them.</blockquote>

===Olives===
The Romans grew olive trees in poor, rocky soils, and often in areas with sparse precipitation.  The tree is sensitive to freezing temperatures and intolerant of the colder weather of northern Europe and high, cooler elevations. The olive was grown mostly near the Mediterranean Sea.  The consumption of olive oil provided about 12 percent of the calories and about 80 percent of necessary fats in the diet of the average Roman.<ref>James ''et al'', p. 169</ref>

===Grapes===
Viticulture was probably brought to southern Italy and Sicily by Greek colonists, but the [[Phoenicia]]ns of [[Carthage]] in northern [[Africa]] gave the Romans much of their knowledge of growing grapes and making wine. By 160 BC, the cultivation of grapes on large estates using slave labor was common in Italy and wine was becoming a universal drink in the Roman empire.  To protect their wine industry, the Romans attempted to prohibit the cultivation of grapes outside Italy,<ref>"Wine and Rome", [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/wine/wine.html], accessed 15 Nov 2018</ref> but by the 1st century AD, provinces such as [[Spain]] and [[Gaul]] (modern-day France) were exporting wine to Italy.<ref>Casson, Lionel (1991), ''The Ancient Mariners,'' Princeton: Princeton University Press, pl 200.</ref>

===Fodder===
Columella mentions [[turnips]] as important, high-yielding food crop, especially in [[Gaul]] where they were used as winter fodder for [[cattle]].<ref>Columella, De re Rustica, 2.10.22</ref> As other "[[fodder]] crops" he lists [[Medicago lupulina|Medic clover]], [[vetch]], barley, ''[[cytisus]]'', oats, chickpea and [[fenugreek]].<ref>Columella, ''De re Rustica'', 2.7.2</ref> Of Medic clover, he says it improves the soil, fattens lean cattle and is a high-yielding fodder crop.<ref>Columella, ''De re Rustica'', 2.10.25</ref> 

[[Cato the Elder]] wrote that leaves from [[Populus|poplar]], [[elm]] and [[oak]] leaves should be gathered in the Fall before they have dried completely and stored for use as fodder. Turnips, [[Lupinus|lupines]] and [[forage]] crops were to be [[sown]] after the rainy season.<ref>Cato, ''De Agricultura'', 5.8</ref>

===Other crops===
{{See also|Hemp in Ancient Rome}}
The Romans also grew [[artichoke]], [[Mustard plant|mustard]], [[coriander]], [[Eruca sativa|rocket]], [[chives]], [[leek]]s, [[celery]], [[basil]], [[parsnip]], [[Lamiaceae|mint]], [[rue]], [[thyme]] "from overseas," [[beet]]s, [[poppy]], [[dill]], [[asparagus]], [[radish]], [[cucumber]], [[gourd]], [[fennel]], [[capers]], [[onions]], [[saffron]], [[parsley]], [[marjoram]], [[cabbage]], [[lettuce]], [[cumin]], [[garlic]], [[figs]], "Armenian [[apricots]]," [[plums]], [[mulberries]], [[peach]]es, and [[hemp]].<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=Henderson |title=Roman Book of Gardening |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Q0iIgcaEzAC&pg=PA40 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |year=2004 |pages=40–65 |isbn=978-0415324496 }}</ref>