10 Monsoon (rainy season) vegetables to grow in India

Monsoon is the best time to grow most of the plants.
Monsoon is nature’s way to tell us grow, forget the dirt and start afresh. That is why you look at soil, there are millions of possibilities grown – be it vegetable plant, foliages, decorative plant, fruit plant or plants on window sill. Rain drenches them and they look at its natural best.

So, as a beginner the simple question is where to start? Which vegetable to grow ?

There are lot of permutations for growing plants. Some plants require specific environment to survive, temperature level, humidity, soil PH level – all these factors play an important role in the growth of the plants. After all – we as new gardeners all have made a mistake of sowing the wrong seeds at the wrong time.

There are multiple seeds that you can grow in monsoon in India.

• 1. Cucumber
• 2. Tomato
• 3. Green Chilly
• 4. Beand/Sem
• 5. Bhindi / Okra
• 6. Gourds
• 7. Brinjal
• 8. Beetroot
• 9. Spinach/ Palak
• 10. Radish

So, How to grow monsoon vegetable at rooftop garden or your home garden?

First thing first, you need space and Direct Sunlight of average 5 – 7 hours. Please plan something else if you are not getting sunlight. Lets have a deeper look

1. Cucumber

Chose a place that receives good sunlight. Cucumber needs watering and warmth.
Sow the seeds about 1 inch deep and 2-3 inches apart in a row.

Soil which is moist and well-drained.

If you want to grow cucumbers indoors or less space for gardening. Then, support your plants with trellis.Trellising will also protect the fruit from being damaged from moist ground.

Cucumber suits an ideal temperature of 16-32 degree.

Once the soil is good and sun availability is there, cucumber is an easy-to-grow vegetable.

2. Tomato

Tomatoes are ‘easy’ to grow but keep in mind few things.

Plant the tomato seeds in well-drained soil about 1/4th inches deep and 3-4 inches away from one another . The seedling should come out in 1- – 15 days. Wait. Till then.

Tomato plants LOVE Sun approximately 6-7 hours direct sunlight, so if your plants are not getting that don’t complaint later. Tomato plants need moist soil but well drained. No water logging please.

Special trick is – always plant tomatoes in slanted position, this helps in building a strong root network. Keep the soil moist always, but not too wet as it increases the chances of root rot. Remove all the leaves when there is some sort of curling, as it is caused by leaf curling virus and leads to the stunted growth.

Tomatoes are heavy feeders, they require high doses of fertilizers (add well decomposed cow dung manure during the vegetative growth and start applying banana peel fertilizer when flowering occurs

3. Green Chilly/ Mirchi

Green chilies grow perfectly in humid and warm weather. A 16 to 18 inch pot , 3-4 innch deep is ideal for chillies. Make sure drainage holes. Great if you are planting other than container.

Chose a sunny spot getting 5-6 hours daily sunlight with partial shade. than growing them in your garden. Potassium is an important nutrient needed in the soil.

4. Hyacinth Beans/Sem Vegetable

Sow sem phalli seeds where 3-5 hours of direct sunlight is available.

Slightly alkaline soil is needed. Slightly alkaline soil is good. Dry cowding mixed with soil along with chicken manure, or compost is good for sem phalli.

The beans take 20 – 25 days to sprout. So have patience. Seeds require about 18 – 21 degrees C to germinate successfully.

Make sure it gets enough space to grow.

Keep a climber, trellis or keep near your fence as you like this to grow. Keep soil moistened yet porous.

5. Bhindi/Okra

Bhindi can be easily grown in rainy season. It grows best within a temperature range of 24-27°C.

The good part is bhindi can be grown in variety of soils. This grows best in loose, friable, well-drained sandy loam soils rich in organic matter. It also gives good yield in heavy soils with good drainage.

pH range of 6.0-6.8 is considered as optimum. Alkaline, saline soils and soils with poor drainage are not good for this crop.

Like other vegetables mentioned, okra also prefers sun Plant the seeds about ½ to 1 inch deep and 12-18 inches apart in a row.

Soak the seeds overnight in lukewarm water to speed up the process of germination. Keep the plants well-watered throughout the growing period.

6. Gourds

Bottle gourds ( Lau/kaddu), bitter gourds( Karela), Ridge gourd , sponge gourd, Snake gourd all grows well when sown in monsoon days.

A good mix of manure( go organic- mix dry cow dung with soil) for gourds to give good harvest.

Sow the seeds 1-2 inches deep in a group of 3-4 seeds, spaced 4-5 feet apart from one another.

Gourds require plenty of sunlight and DOES NOT grow well without sunlight. It grows well in 25 – 350 C

Gourd plant grows quite tall – so it needs trellis. Or you may sow them near some fence/ grill.

If the flowers not converting to fruits try self pollination of flowers

7. Brinjal

Brinjal / Baingan needs 5-6 hours direct sunlight . chose moist soil.

The seeds can be directly down into your gardens.

For organic care, use cow dung manure Plant the seeds about 1 centimeter deep and spaced about 15 centimeters from one another.

Water your plants regularly and the seeds will start to germinate within 2-3 weeks.

Other than the basic sun and water, eggplants don’t require extra nutrients and feeding.

Your Brinjals should be ready for pickings after 1-2 months of planting.

8. Beetroot

The trick is to soak beet root seeds in glass of water for the whole night as the seeds have thick outer layer.

This will soften the seeds and promote germination.

It needs soil preparation – a well-drained soil that has been made loose to keep it porous. Also add some dry cow dungmanure or kitchen compost.

Beetroot is easy for even beginner vegetable gardeners. It’s better to grow beetroot in a relatively big pot with a drainage hole with organic soil.

Place the pot someplace with sunlight

If you are planting the seedlings then tenderly pull them apart and plant it at a distance of about 5 to 10cm to allow adequate space to grow.

It’s enough to water it once in 5-6 days because it anyway receives rainwater. Just make sure there’s not too much water because it can damage the plant.

Beetroot seedlings generally appear after 15 days and are ready for harvest about 2 months from sowing the seeds.

9. Spinach/ Palak

Palak or spinach seeds need well-drained soil rich in organic matter such as compost or composted manure. Soil pH of 6.5 to 7.

Keep soil moist during the germination process.

Plant it towards end of Monsoon. Spinach loves Sun to partial shade.

Plant seeds in porous soil. Prepare the soil with some aged manure.

Since spinach grows best in cold weather, avoid over-watering.

Have an eye on the plants to avoid pests, water alternate days according to your climate

Radish

Radish/ Mooli comparatively takes less space. Monsoon is good time to sow the seeds.

Radishes prefer partial sun, so choose a spot where they can get sun with partial shade.

Plant the seeds in loose and well-drained soil.

Sow the seeds 1/2 inch deep and 2 inches apart. And in a row, plant 1 foot apart.

After 5-6 days, the seeds will start to germinate.

At Gardening Ideas and More .. we see gardening as a way of forgetting stress. Planting is not only a process but a connection to be built with nature. Have patience, learn slow, failures are okay. Feel like a parent who keep learning while slowly the child grows up. Manuals does not always mean a lot. Soil, climate conditions differ – so are the results.

Rainy daus and Monsoon are best time to plant seeds for natural growth. Let us know, ask at our community, share happiness with gardening.