It’s time to get going in the veggie garden.

Even though the first day of spring is officially a long ways away, you don’t want to wait much longer to set this year’s vegetable garden plans in motion. That’s because our mild climate makes late February the perfect time to sow snow peas, fava bean and many varieties of carrots, radishes and onions directly in the ground.

And if you didn’t plant your garlic in the fall, you can still do it now, though your cloves won’t be as big by the time you harvest them this summer.

How do I know this? It’s because of a wonderful book I keep on hand to clue me in on the best time to plant anything in this neck of the woods. It’s “The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide” put out by Seattle Tilth. Their newly revised edition came out in 2014 and is available on their website at seattletilth.org

But in order to accomplish any of this, you need to have your garden ready for planting. This doesn’t mean you have to go out and till every square inch at once. You can do this, of course, especially if you’ve borrowed a friend’s tiller or are renting one and need to return it within a short period of time. Otherwise, make a plan for where you’ll be putting each of your crops – don’t forget to rotate them! – and concentrate on those areas that need to be planted first. If it’s a small area, use a shovel or garden fork and do it bit by bit.

But what if you don’t already have a vegetable patch, you’re toying with the idea of giving it a try but don’t know where to start? In fact, you’re looking at your plot of land and trying to figure out where you’d put such a thing.

The three biggest factors for me have been light, critters and water.

It all starts with sunlight. Find an area where you’re going to get at least six hours of sunshine a day. This doesn’t mean every square inch needs to get six hours of sunshine simultaneously. It helps, of course, but you can have a decent garden with some brighter and some shadier spots. Just pay attention to where those spots are so you don’t create more shade by planting your corn or pole beans where they’ll create a permanent shadow on something shorter.

Will critters be a factor? If deer aren’t a problem but rabbits are, you’ll want to invest in a low fence with the bottom edge buried or bent outwards several inches and staked down to discourage burrowing. I’ve made a lot of very serviceable landscape staples from metal coat hangers, so don’t go all Joan Crawford and throw them out just yet.

For deer, you’ll need at least a six-foot fence. There’s an entire industry devoted to keeping deer out of landscaping and vegetable gardens and you’re sure to hear lots of advice on the matter – especially from other disgruntled gardeners.

Finally, if we have a repeat of last summer, you might end up ritually throwing yourself on your hori hori if you can’t get enough water to your garden. If you don’t have a hose bib nearby, be willing to buy enough garden hose to reach from the spigot to the garden and commit to being a conscientious and diligent waterer. That means watering when you need to but not wasting it with inappropriately aimed sprinklers or poorly set timers. Now go out and play!