If you only garden for one season, garden for the rabi. From the first week of October to the end of February, almost everything a home cook wants will grow on a balcony with four hours of sun, and it will grow without a fight.
Sow in the first fortnight
Spinach, coriander, fenugreek, radish, carrot and peas straight into their final pots. All of them germinate in under ten days in October warmth and none of them like being transplanted.
Sow in trays, transplant in November
Tomato, brinjal, chilli, cauliflower and cabbage. Sow thickly in a shallow tray, thin ruthlessly, and move the strongest seedlings into twelve-inch pots when they have four true leaves.
Plant now, flower by January
Marigold, calendula, petunia and nasturtium. Marigold at the corners of every vegetable pot earns its place twice over — it pulls pests away from the crop and brings pollinators to it.
Jobs for the month
Top up every pot with compost before you sow, because summer has exhausted it. Move pots to the sunniest position you have now that the sun has weakened. Cut back the leggy monsoon growth on hibiscus and bougainvillea. And start a diary this month if you never have — two lines a day through one rabi season will teach you more about your own balcony than any guide, ours included.