There is a specific kind of magic that happens when you step out into your garden, breathe in the crisp early spring air, and harvest a handful of sun-warmed greens for your morning greens drink.
For some of us, the garden is more than just a hobby—it’s a sanctuary. When we are reclaiming our health or navigating a new season of life, the act of harvesting our meals is profoundly restorative.
But I also know that for others, the “how-to” of gardening can feel like just another chore on a never-ending list. You shouldn’t have to wait years, through trial and error, for gardening to become easy.
The secret to an abundant, beautiful kitchen garden isn’t just “planting on Mother’s Day weekend.” It’s about embracing the three planting opportunities we have each year.
And if planting three times a year seems like quite a bit more work than planting just on Mother’s Day weekend, I have good news for you: it’s easier to plant your garden in small waves than it is all at once, in a rush.
Be gentle with yourself. Break down your small planting sessions into even smaller sessions. Give yourself a goal of planting just 15 minutes a day for a few days. By the time you’re one or two days in, I guarantee that finally being outside after our long winter is going to keep you coming back to your garden again and again.
Your Edible Garden, in Three Seasons
To maximize what you’ll grow in your garden this year (and grow your health along the way) add plants to your garden in each of these planting windows:
- End of March: The Cool Awakening
Before the last snow pile has vanished, we begin with resilient, vibrant crops like kale, sugar snap peas, radishes, and hardy herbs. These beauties thrive in the brisk and even downright cold air. Most importantly, they provide us with adorable seedlings to lift our spirits and a much-needed nutrient boost of vitamins K, A, and C after a long winter. - Mid-May: The Summer Symphony
Once the soil warms and the frosts have paused for the season, we transition to the edible garden showstoppers: heirloom tomatoes, fragrant basil, peppers, and zucchini. This is the season of abundance, where your garden becomes a lush extension of your kitchen. - End of September: The Autumn Encore
As the heat fades, we return to the cool-season favorites that we started the year with. This often-overlooked window is the true secret to growing 10 months a year in Chicago. You’ll enjoy fresh harvests well past the first frosts and into the holiday season, grounding you as the year winds down and our holiday season picks up.
