The sight of turkey vultures drying out their wings in the mornings is an amazing sight to me! Lines of vultures, one next to the other, roosting on fences, wings outspread like so much laundry on a clothesline. The phoebes are back nesting under the eaves of the house and I can hear the killdeer looking for a place to nest on the ground in the vegetable garden, as they do every year.

I think we can (maybe) safely say that spring has arrived in spite of snow, wind, hail and, of course, mud, mud, mud. If you can get into your garden, it's time to plant English peas. I've mentioned in this column last season, that peas like alkaline soil. When you put in your compost, be sure to mix in some readily available limestone with your compost. Put up your trellis when you plant. The seedlings of peas are very frail and can break off if they are disturbed. Be sure to use an innoculant powder of bacteria, Rhizobia, which promotes the formation of root nodules containing beneficial bacteria that converts the nitrogen in the air that is used by the plants. Because of this you do not want to use nitrogen fertilizer for peas. In fact, if you do use nitrogen you could get a lot of growth, but not much pea production. Also, peas do not like being waterlogged, but do increase your watering when they bloom.

There is a lovely little snow pea that I may have mentioned before. Its name is Dwarf Grey and it has a beautiful purple-red flower and red tinged leaves. The leaves and flowers are used as a garnish in salads or stir-fries, but they are the sweetest snow pea I've ever eaten. The advice for edible peas is the same as ornamental peas. They also like the cool weather and alkaline soil. I like to plant mine near the door where their fragrance can't be missed.

The chinese greens, brassicas and spinach seeds can also be planted this month. The requirements for those plants is the same as peas, except if you do plant the seeds this month you will need to provide protection for them against the frosts we will have till May. Row cover tunnels are perfect for this. These plants do not like heat. We need to plant them while the weather is still cool. Of course, we're talking about seeds, not starts, which we can plant later in the month in the warmer parts of the county or wait till May. I've seen my spinach boil to death in the heat. It will rain and the sun comes out and literally cooks them in the soil. My friends who live up on the mountain west of Edray have gorgeous spinach all through the summer because of the cooler weather there. I usually do another planting in August as the earth begins to cool and have had very good luck with that second planting of spinach, brassicas and greens.

My beautiful iris cristadas, little irises that are native to these mountains, but a gorgeous cultivar, bloomed for a little while and then froze! And for the first time ever, the crocuses also froze. I'm hoping some didn't bloom yet and the purples and golden yellow ones will be seen again. The daffodils seem to be waiting for the cold to really be through. They are holding their buds unopened and haven't really done their show yet. As far as bulbs are concerned, I think everyone knows that, for me, other than shrubs and trees, you get the most out of your money. They just keep increasing and showing more color every year. If you plant tulips, plant late blooming ones that wait till May to bloom. They do very well here and mine come back every year. The earlier blooming ones never do.

We started an herb garden a few years ago with a small amount of mostly medicinal herbs such as, wormwood, nettles, rue, echinacea, chamomile, calundula, etc. They overwinter fine here. For some reason I thought they would freeze in winter and not come back. We also planted the peppermint in dappled shade where it gets plenty of water. Unlike spearmint that adores the sun, peppermint, I've found, thrives much better in shade. Our mountains, where they haven't been mined severely or the tops removed, contain almost more biodiversity than any mountains on earth. They are very ancient and full of herbs. My wondering whether herbs would grow well here was a little crazy! I had large herb gardens in California and Texas and, being used to that kind of dry climate, just didn't believe those herbs I planted would become perennial.

By the way, for those people new to the area , if you do not know, the bright yellow flowers you see near the ground along the roads, are coltsfoot. The root of this herb is a powerful herb for the lungs. Seeing herbs in their natural setting instead of in books has been a real treat for me. Heal-all is prolific (also known as Travelers Joy), and also red clover, both of which are some of the most healing of herbs.

If you garden organically, and more and more people are, you'll discover that it is really a simple process. The simple act of planting flowers in your vegetable garden is not only beautiful, but will attract beneficial insects that will attack the bad bugs, as well as bees which are so necessary for pollinating summer crops. The other main hint after all is said and done is to make lots and lots of compost for both your vegetables and flowers. The soil becomes balanced after time, the p.h. straightens out and the acid and alkaline balanced. The critters who live in the soil and turn it for us and provide nutrients, thrive, and you'll find, after time, lots of earthworms. It is not only cheaper to garden this way, but safer.

Serious gardening is in store for us, but the fruits of our labors are more than worth it. Gardening restores our souls and our bodies.