The most comprehensive ancient treatise on agriculture — twelve books covering crops, livestock, viticulture, arboriculture, and estate management. Book 10, on gardens, is written in verse as a tribute to Virgil's Georgics.
Start ReadingThe importance of agriculture. Columella defends farming as the noblest occupation and attacks the neglect of agricultural knowledge in his own time.
Soil science and site selection. How to evaluate land, assess soil quality, and plan the layout of a farm.
Field crops: wheat, barley, legumes, and fodder plants. Ploughing techniques, sowing schedules, and crop rotation.
Viticulture. Vine varieties, planting methods, trellising systems, and the detailed management of a vineyard through the seasons.
Arboriculture. Olive cultivation, fruit trees, grafting, and the management of woodland.
Livestock: cattle, horses, mules, and donkeys. Breeding, feeding, veterinary care, and the economics of animal husbandry.
Smaller animals: sheep, goats, pigs, and dogs. Practical advice on breeds, diseases, and management.
Poultry, fish ponds, and bees. The villa's supplementary enterprises, from chickens to oyster beds.
The garden. Vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Columella writes this book in hexameter verse — a homage to Virgil's Georgics.