It’s “tater planting time.” Along with potatoes, I’m planting onions, edible pod and English peas, lettuces, and cabbage – all of which grow best now and can be harvested in time to set out tomatoes, peppers, squash, and basil.

I grow most of my vegetables in large pots or a small raised bed. These warm early and make it easy to monitor water, fertilizer, and cover plants if a sudden freeze hits.

Potatoes are funny. They produce new tubers on lower stems, not roots. Rather than plant whole little potatoes, I cut them into egg-size pieces with an eye or two, let them dry a few days, and once they sprout, bury them in about three inches of soil with a scant handful of fertilizer. I plant them in trash cans, stacked tires, or anything I can fill in as the plants grow.

Every time I see new leaves poking through the soil, I cover them with more soil or mulch, a few inches at a time, so the emerging leaves are completely buried. When there is about a foot of soil above the original pieces, the stems are in total darkness, which helps new potatoes form more readily. When the tops die down in late spring, I dump it all out to harvest the potatoes.

Little onions are planted shallow so the bulbs will eventually sit near the surface – a trick for bigger onions. Because they are shallow-rooted, I give them just a dash of fertilizer every three or four weeks and harvest them when the tops die down.

My favorite cool-season vegetables are lettuces. They are tasty, nutritious, and attractive as potted porch plants. I mix several varieties together and sow them on top of soil in wide, shallow pots. I water lightly every day until they sprout, then water more deeply but skip a couple of days to encourage deeper roots. Within three or four weeks, I have a mix of green, red, smooth, and curly leaves ready for salads. I usually start new bowls two or three weeks later to maintain a continuous harvest until the hot weather causes the plants to flower or turn bitter.

For transplants like cabbage and broccoli, I avoid the biggest plants. Smaller, more tender plants establish faster, while older ones often get stuck and may not mature. I keep them moist, not wet, and fertilize lightly (half-strength liquid fertilizer) every couple of weeks so they grow steadily and mature before the heat of summer.

To get peas started quickly, I roll the seeds in a damp paper towel. Within two days, they sprout, ready to be planted exactly where I want, spaced so each plant has room to grow.

Knowing we have a long season ahead, and not being the type of gardener to rush, I don’t let balmy late-winter days tempt me to plant summer crops too early. I may start some seeds soon, but I wait to set them out in April when both soil and rains are warm. That way, the plants can outgrow those planted too early.

It’s time for cool-season veggies. With a little weeding, mulching, watering, and covering with plastic sheets in cold snaps or insect netting, my garden stays busy – and there’s no room for summer stuff just yet.

Felder Rushing is a Mississippi author, columnist, and host of the “Gestalt Gardener” on MPB Think Radio. Visit his blog at felderrushing.blog. Email gardening questions to [email protected].

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