http://www.lawrence.com/users/shenning/photos/2012/mar/4/231071/

It seems like yesterday that the kiddo and I were on the deck, harvesting mint before bringing our pots in for the summer.

And you know why it doesn’t seem that long ago?

Because we did it during a September cold snap that was cooler than pretty much any day in the past month. Or so it seemed. Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that that hoodie doesn’t fit him anymore (so sad) that pic at the top of the blog could’ve been taken Saturday — at least weather-wise.

In fact, until Saturday, I hadn’t thought about my 2012 vegetable and herb garden AT ALL. I feel late, late, late for an important date, and I totally blame the sunshine. And warm temps. And all the beautiful days we’ve had during this non-winter winter.

I’m pretty sure this has been the nicest winter of my life (save for the three winters I spent in West Palm Beach, Fla.) and, admittedly, the last thing I’ve wanted to do is sit inside. For anything. Even planning my yearly garden.

But you know what? That’s absolutely fine. We’ve got time, people, even if you (like me) want spring greens.

Now’s the time to start, and as long as you’ve got some greens going by April, you should be good. And if it’s just tomatoes and herbs you want? Psssh, you have until May.

See, we’re fine.

Though, it is true that March is the month when we should at least be thinking about are gardens, even if we’re not actually planting anything.

So, with that in mind, here’s a little primer on what I’m planning on doing with my garden this spring. Use it as inspiration, a template or just a kick in the pants (if, like me, you’re kind of shocked winter is nearly “over”).

Get your greens going: Start them inside, under a grow light (I use a basic fluorescent light, hung very low on chains), or, be brave and put them outside, with row cover or a white sheet handy for those inevitable cold snaps.

As far as greens go, I’ve had some real luck with spinach, chard and bok choy (as you can see below).

http://www.lawrence.com/users/shenning/photos/2012/mar/4/231072/

What I want to do better this year? Kale. I love the stuff, but I can’t seem to grow it to save my life. I’m not really sure why, but I want to give it another go this year.

I also plan to start early with shelling peas, potatoes (planted alone in a single bed) and onions.

Check on last year’s plants: After harvesting (above), the kiddo and I brought in several plants that should spring back once the mercury rises. Included: mint, basil (according to the interview I did with Jennifer Smith in the fall), rosemary, lavender, majoram and thyme (though my cat chewed the heck out of it, so I’m not sure it’ll make it).

I plan on reintroducing these guys to the great outdoors slowly, to make sure they aren’t stunned by the breeze or temperatures.

Decide what else you’ll want to grow: I have three 8×4 raised beds, a small raspberry patch and a small blueberry patch (each have three plants), plus a deck on which I squeeze 15 to 20 potted plants, including everything from herbs to peppers to eggplant.

Generally, I break up the space based on what how best I can shoe-horn in a spring, summer and fall harvest. It tends to end up looking like this:

Bed No. 1: Potatoes. Gold, red and purple, all covered in the straw method. Both the hubby and the kiddo love digging for potatoes and they’re pretty hard to screw up, so we tend to get a really good yield off them.

Bed No. 2: Greens, onions, beets, peas and carrots (spring and fall), peppers, herbs and greens (summer). In this bed, I’ll line one end with onions, one end with climbing peas and fill in with alternating rows of beets, carrots and greens, including kale, chard, spinach and bok choy. Come may, I’ll put in bell pepper transplants (orange, yellow, purple and red) and plant basil and parsley seeds. Then, I’ll switch it out again in the fall for one last crop.

Bed No. 3: Garlic, greens and beans (spring and fall), tomatoes and herbs (summer). I already planted garlic in the fall in this bed, so that garlic should be getting there this spring. The rest of the early bed will be a mix of short-growth greens, bush beans and three strawberry plants (if they’re still thriving). Then come May, I’ll put in tomato plants — usually a pair each of Sungold and Sun Sugar, plus at least four Cherokee Purple and maybe one each of Black Krim and pink Brandywine. We love the little Sungold and Sun Sugars the best for picking, because that’s the only way we can get the kiddo to eat fresh tomatoes (straight off the plant), but I have a special love of Cherokee Purples, so I like to have the majority of my tomato space go to them.

On the deck: We’ll have tons of pots, including: mint (three types), pineapple sage, majoram, thyme, lavender, rosemary (two types), catnip, lemongrass, lemon balm, parsley, basil (two types), jalapeños, Japanese eggplant, dill, chives, cilantro and whatever else strikes my fancy.

All lined up like that, all this sounds like a lot of work, but I promise it’s not. Set up a rain barrel, and watering isn’t nearly the problem it tends to be, make sure to mulch well, and just go out there every night after work to check on things.

With a little maintenance and time spent hashing out your space before going wild at the gardening store, you’ll be set — very little “inside time” needed.