If you’ve ever stood in a nursery holding a packet of seeds, unsure whether now is the right time to plant them, you’re not alone. Turns out, the answer isn’t really a guess; India’s own agricultural institutions have been mapping this out for decades. The country’s growing calendar is split into three official seasons: Kharif, Rabi, and Zaid a system the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and its associated bodies use to guide sowing nationwide. Each of these three cropping seasons is shaped by its own pattern of temperature, rainfall, and soil moisture, which is what actually determines when farmers, and home gardeners by extension, should be planting what. Institutions like the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research in Bengaluru the country’s premier body for vegetable and horticulture research, have long leaned on this framework to guide timing across the country. Here’s what that seasonal logic actually means if you’re trying to figure out your best month to start a garden.
