Tips from “The Old Farmer’s Almanac”

    To determine whether your garden soil is ready for seeds, grab a good handful of it. If you can form it into a ball, the soil is too wet.
    If it crumbles through your fingers and reminds you of chocolate cake, it’s ready for planting.     If the soil is ready, give it a good stirring and let it sit for several days.
    Then top-dress it with compost or well-rotted manure and plant beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, radishes, parsnips, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnips.
    Scatter spinach or lettuce seeds around emerging bulb foliage to make wise use of your garden space and have a leafy green crop at the ready to cover the bare spots left by deadheaded spring flowers.