Every year, as the days grow a little longer and the air warms just enough to hint at spring, many of us feel that familiar pull—the irresistible itch to start a vegetable garden. It often begins as a simple thought: Wouldn’t it be nice to grow my own tomatoes this year? Before long, you’re paging through seed catalogs, imagining raised beds, and dreaming of crisp cucumbers and sun-warmed strawberries.
The vegetable gardening itch is more than seasonal excitement—it’s a response to the natural rhythm of the year. After winter, people crave reconnection with the outdoors, fresh food, and the satisfying hands-on work of tending something alive. Gardening offers all of that and more. It’s grounding, creative, and surprisingly therapeutic. There’s a special joy in poking tiny seeds into soil and watching them grow into something nourishing.
This year we are growing tomatoes, strawberries (‘Everbearing’ and ‘Surecrop’), Walla Walla onions, pumpkins, beans (climbing and bush), Marionberry, rhubarb, peppers (Anaheim and Poblano) and herbs. I will add carrots, ‘Bright Lights’ chard and beets to our garden, shortly.
I kind of gave up on vegetable gardening for the past few years because we have so many rodents (rabbits, ground squirrels, rats and mice) that decimate some of our vegetable starts. (The pumpkin, cilantro and zucchini plants are already destroyed.) But this year I got the vegetable gardening itch.
Starting a vegetable garden doesn’t require a huge space or prior experience. A few containers on a sunny patio or a small backyard bed is enough to grow herbs, lettuces, tomatoes, and peppers. The key is simply to begin. Choose a handful of vegetables you love to eat, pick up a few packets of seeds or starter plants, and let curiosity guide you.
What makes the gardening itch so rewarding is its promise of future abundance. The work you do now—preparing soil, planting seeds, planning your layout—pays off in months of crisp harvests and delicious meals. Each sprout becomes a little victory, each ripening fruit a reminder that your efforts matter.
So if you’re feeling that familiar tug toward the garden, embrace it. The soil is waiting, the season is waking up, and there’s no better time to dig in and grow something wonderful.
If you’re looking for some guidance about growing a vegetable garden, the Old Farmer’s Almanac Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook is pretty helpful.