Seriously, the East Coast skips spring and moves directly to summer–at least that’s what high 70 degree temperatures feel like on the first day of April. Could this be an omen of what’s to come: The real summer heat? Hmm.

With the sudden burst of hot weather, you start thinking about digging in the soil and getting the garden ready for summer. A simple caveat: Do not plant tomatoes until you’re certain that no more surprise cool mornings with frost warnings will visit and kill the spiny, early plants. Think mid-May, Mother’s Day at least, for your own garden.

Take the time now to work the soil and add nutrients and research the type of garden you want. Are you doing a raised structure or thinking about trellises and hoops? These are the questions that are now timely. It’s hard to forget the great tomato blight of last year. What a costly disappointment that one hopes will not revisit us. Do some research; buy seeds and crops grown from other areas outside of the hard-hit path of tomato destruction. There are no real guarantees to protect you from a repeat of last year, but the best advice is to find a grower or seed company that at least addresses the issue!

This is also a great time to reacquaint yourself with the farmers who are coming to market. Many more farm markets are arriving in little pockets of neighborhoods. This is the type of commerce we need. Supporting the grower should be an early spring maxim. It’s not that difficult to do.

With all the talk about obesity and the foods that kill us, buying fresh and local helps alleviate many of the disastrous food cravings we are all guilty of enjoying. Yes, costs sometimes seem prohibitive but the health benefit analysis paints a very different picture.

Maybe we should eat less in order to eat better.

No joke.