Spring 2026

Top-dress beds with finished compost — feed the soil, not the plant. Georgia clay alone is not soil; organic matter is how we build it over time.

Local sources worth knowing: Wylde Center, Soil 3 Veggie Mix, RiverSand. Local compost is far richer than anything in a bag at the big-box store.

Buy starts for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, basil, squash, cucumbers, and okra — these do best transplanted, not direct sown.

Skip big-box overcrowded cell packs. Try Wylde Center, ATL Urban Farms, or Garlands Garden for better quality starts that actually thrive.

Direct sow beans, nasturtium, and marigolds — these are best sown straight into the ground.

Marigolds, borage, and nasturtium are your top companion plants — they offer the most direct pest deterrence and pollinator support. Other flowers help but these three earn their spot.

Harvest cool-season greens before they bolt, then fill that space with companion flowers or annuals.

Get 3 inches of mulch down now — leaves and wood chip both work. Layer it, don't turn it. Every layer that breaks down is building the soil system underneath.

Don't clean up too aggressively. Leaves left in beds are future soil. This is one of the most important things you can do for a regenerative garden.

Pull invasives before they set seed — privet, English ivy, and Bradford pear are all going right now.

Plant native perennials now — coneflower, milkweed, black-eyed Susan, coreopsis — and fill the gaps with annuals while they establish.

First year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap. Use annuals like zinnias, cosmos, marigolds, and sunflowers to keep beds full and beautiful while your perennials build roots you can't see yet.

Repot anything rootbound now — this is peak growing season and plants handle the transition well. Go up one pot size only; too much extra soil holds water and causes root rot.

Check for roots circling the bottom or escaping drainage holes — those are your signals.

When repotting, top off with fresh soil that already has compost in it — this is the best food you can give your plants and sets them up for the whole growing season.

Move plants toward brighter windows or back out to shaded porches — they're hungry for light after a low-sun winter.

Resume regular watering — growth is ramping up fast. Your plants will start communicating more clearly now; pay attention to them.

Feed with compost tea or diluted organic fertilizer — skip the synthetic stuff, which feeds the plant but starves the soil.

1–2 times per season is plenty, with a maximum of once a month through September. Less is more.

Get ahead of pests before they start — spray foliage with Bonide Insecticidal Soap and work Bonide Systemic Granules into the top layer of soil.

Prevention is far easier than treatment. Doing this now at the start of growing season means you're not chasing spider mites and fungus gnats all summer.