Winter forgot about us this year but who's complaining?  Spring will come anyway in the desert this month. We are still harvesting cabbage, Brussel's sprouts, kale, cauliflower, turnips, carrots, beets, chard, and broccoli - and that should continue for many weeks. But it's time to prepare for our summer plantings too.

At home:  If you haven't started your tomato, eggplant, and pepper seeds at home, do so very soon. There's a tremendous potential inside a tiny seed, and it is great fun to watch it grow!  Pre-soak the seeds in a little water overnight to help them wake up. Choose a fine-textured potting soil and put some in a bucket, stir in water to pre-moisten it then fill 2" pots, paper cups, or yogurt containers, first making holes in the pots to allow for drainage. Put one seed in each cup and label it. I cut strips from plastic milk jugs and write on them with a fine Sharpie marker and slip it in the edge of the pot for labels. Keep the soil moist, but not soppy, and keep them warm in the house, on thick old towels to insulate the roots. When green shoots appear ,give them as much sunshine as temperature allows - keep them always above 60 degrees F (they prefer over 70 when very young). Carrying them outside to your warm brick patio for a few hours then bringing them inside as it cools is ideal. Transplant them into larger pots in a few weeks if roots come out the drain holes in the bottom.

At the garden:  Remove weeds, roots and all, before they put out seeds for the next generation; small ones are easier to pull than big ones.

Prepare open sections of ground at the garden for planting by digging in composted steer manure and granulated fertilizer. Major plantings will take place the end of March or early April, so pace the work load.

Irish potatoes go in the garden this month. They are not a root at all, but a tuber - a specialized fleshy part of an underground stem that stores food. They produce a better harvest if more of the stem is under the ground!  "Seed" potatoes may be ordered for more varieties or found locally - or my favorite source is my pantry. Look in the dark corners for forgotten potatoes from the holidays that are growing sprouts; they will grow and produce tender little new potatoes.

Dig a trench 12-18 inches deep and mix in organic matter with a little fertilizer containing phosphate, then fill it up halfway. Cut the growing "eyes" from a potato, but not too close, and set them in the bottom 6-8 inches apart. Cover with about 2 inches of soil; irrigate. As the green shoots grow up a couple inches, cover them with soil and keep them moist. Repeat this until the trench is filled or even mounded up a little. DO NOT plant sweet potatoes until May, they are frost sensitive.

Try planting seeds of peas (English or snap), carrots, beets, turnips, lettuce, and radishes. Put a clear plastic or translucent frost guard fabric over them to warm the soil a little and speed germination. Remove when the little sprouts push it up.

Check irrigation connections and clocks every time you visit your plot. Look for leaks that need to be repaired or emitters that need adjusted. Keep coverings over faucets and clocks and keep them dry and secure; it's easier than fixing a broken pipe or clock because it froze.