By May in New England, everything in our garden is planted, and in some years, I can even harvest a few herbs and lettuces for recipes. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s rewind to early in the month, when Anel heads to the nursery and gets plants in the ground.

Where Julia and I live in New England, it’s usually April before I implement these steps, but depending on where you’re based—and the weather in any given year!—you might need to hop on them earlier.