Plenty of folks are fretting about the early arrival of daylight-saving time this year because of what it may do to electronic devices that contain digital clocks. The worry is that a lot of the digital equipment that automatically converts to DST is programmed to accommodate the old date, which arrived early in April, rather than the new date, which this year will be March 11.

When Congress changed the date on which DST would commence, it’s unlikely that the needs of vegetable gardeners figured into the decision, but this is one constituency that will benefit from the shift of sunlight to the latter part of the day.

Because we don’t tend to be a particularly digital crowd, the clock problem isn’t our concern. During the growing season, vegetable gardeners tell time one way: When the sun sets, it’s time to quit.

And that is precisely why the early arrival of DST is a good thing. While the day doesn’t really become longer, of course, adjusting the clock so that sunlight continues into the early evening means that gardeners who work will have a chance to putter in the garden after they come home.

This will be particularly convenient during March, when those who plant early-season gardens typically struggle to find enough daylight hours to till and plant potatoes, onions, greens, carrots, cole crops, beets, peas, turnips and the like.

Even an hour of extra sunlight at the end of the day will make a lot of difference, particularly after the garden is in and it needs to be weeded, watered, thinned and mulched. It’s extremely difficult to have an early-spring garden and work full-time, unless you commit all of your weekends to it. The DST change will relieve some of the pressure.

The other bit of good news for vegetable gardeners right now is the recent snowfall, which piled up nicely in some parts of northeast Kansas and appears to be melting slowly. This will allow the precipitation to saturate the soil instead of running off, which is often the case with heavy spring rains. Under these conditions, the 3 inches of snow that was standing on top of my garden last Saturday may be as beneficial as a 6-inch downpour.

In addition, as the snowmelt and any early rains we get seep into the ground, this moisture will provide the early veggies with a reserve. This will become particularly important when the wind starts to blow, which it always does during the spring in Kansas.

Gardeners who want to grow cole crops need to be starting their seeds if they plan to set out plants in late March or early April. The sturdier the seedlings, the better. Little broccoli and cabbage plants can be undone in the wind.

A lot of people also start lettuce indoors, although greens do fine when they are direct-seeded. The rest of the spring crops must be seeded directly into the soil.

This year I’m thinking about giving in to one of the gimmicks and planting those paper seed strips for carrots and a couple of varieties of lettuce. Seeds are embedded in thin paper strips and can be planted simply by burying the strip. They are available in the Gurney’s catalog (www.Gurneys.com).

This is supposed to alleviate the problem of planting tiny seeds. Although I never considered to be much of an issue, I thought I’d try this method of planting. Anyone who has experience with these strips should feel free to e-mail me with encouragement or a warning.