Growing spaces: ground

Sixty days from sowing to dal, and sproutable on a kitchen shelf.

The hardiest pulse of the dry deccan, grown where rain is unreliable.

Upright, bell-flowered and ancient; the oilseed of the dry season.

The grain that carries the western desert through a bad monsoon.

A tough small-grained millet of the southern and Himalayan hills.

Ridged monsoon gourd, quick to climb and quicker to over-mature.

A tough climber that fruits through the worst humidity of the year.

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.

A long curling gourd of southern and eastern kitchen gardens.