Before you crush that garlic clove for tonight’s tadka, here’s a thought: plant it instead, and it could grow into an entire bulb of garlic.

And October is a good time to give it a try.

In many parts of India, garlic can be planted from October to November, when the cooler months ahead give it time to grow. You do not need a farm or even a large terrace. A sunny corner, a pot and a few healthy cloves are enough to get started.

Pune-based IT consultant Siddhartha Sikdar knows this from experience. He began gardening in 2012 and gradually turned a terrace of less than 2,000 sq ft into a thriving garden of fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices, including garlic.

One harvest became particularly memorable when garlic prices climbed to nearly Rs 300 per kg. Instead of keeping the homegrown bulbs to themselves, Siddhartha’s daughter carried baskets of fresh garlic to their neighbours. He jokingly called it “garlic diplomacy”.

For Siddhartha, growing food at home has always been as much about experimenting and learning as it is about the harvest. His advice to beginners is simple: start small, learn from people already growing food and do not be afraid to make mistakes.

So, if there are a few garlic cloves sitting in your kitchen this October, here’s how you can turn them into your next homegrown crop.

1. Choose healthy garlic cloves

Garlic is grown from individual cloves rather than seeds. Start with a healthy bulb and carefully separate the cloves, keeping the papery skin around each one intact.

Choose firm cloves without visible damage, softness, or signs of rot. If you can, ask a local gardener or nursery about varieties that grow well in your area.

Sikdar’s own approach to gardening involved researching different methods and learning from experienced growers. For beginners, his advice is useful here too. You do not need to know everything before you start. A little guidance and some........

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