These are our herb and vegetable starts, grown in small pots and ready to plant: tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, and melons in season, alongside kitchen herbs like basil, thyme, oregano, sage, parsley, and mint. The selection rotates through the year with proven varieties suited to Alabama's long, hot growing season.

Set vegetables in full sun in soil worked with compost, and give tomatoes and peppers a steady watering routine. Most herbs prefer things a little leaner and drier. Keep mint in its own pot unless you want a lot of it, and plant warm-season crops after the last frost, usually late March here.