Seasons: Monsoon

Big-leaved and happy in a wet corner; corms below, edible leaves above.

One corm fills a large pot and returns a much bigger one in a year.

Ground cover, greens and tubers from a few cuttings pushed into soil.

The southern staple root — a stem cutting in June is a meal by March.

A winged-stemmed climber storing a heavy tuber under a monsoon trellis.

The fastest useful tree there is — 3 m in a year, edible leaves and pods.

A small tree that lives happily in a deep pot and gives leaves all year.

Jowar — drought-hardy grain and fodder in one, on almost no inputs.

The big white-waxed gourd of the south, stored for months after harvest.

Sprawls generously and stores well; the leaves and flowers are food too.