soil-texture self-test; cool peas and beans; fight mice and voles (and lyme); willows! 

When the radio reported it was the first day of spring, I burst out laughing. Persistent snow, and forecasts that include "temperature anomalies" into the start of April -- meaning well below normal, generally -- say otherwise. Let's forge ahead, anyhow:  

giveaway: regional vegetable guides, full of diy tips

Ready to self-test your soil texture, and maybe also widen your definition of "peas" and "beans" to include some Southern favorites, no matter where you garden? I am. Ira Wallace, an author in the new "Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening" series of regional guides (win one for your area!) tells us how, right here.

target mice and voles (no mothballs!); the lyme factor

The snow melts, revealing the horror: Mice and voles have had at it in your garden, coldframe or greenhouse. Whatever the havoc, mothballs are not the answer -- and are highly toxic, and illegal for garden use. How to control rodent pests safely (and how they figure into the Lyme disease equation, too).

willows for every use (and how to prune them...hard!)

"It's endless," plantsman Michael Dodge of Vermont Willow Nursery was saying, alluding to the possibilities of the genus Salix. We narrowed it down to some best-of selections: for outsmarting deer; winter interest; abundant flowers, and even best for making honey if you're a beekeeper. And I got a brutal tutorial on willow pruning (known as coppicing) to share with you, all here.