You’ve been led to believe that the ideal planting time is spring. Yes, if you live in Maine. But I have great hope that some of you will one day recognize that you live in Alabama, and that Alabama is a long, long way from Maine.

So turn your seasonal prejudices upside down, and welcome to Alabama, where fall is the best season for planting. Here are six reasons why:

1. Soft ground: Up north, people often don’t plant in winter because the ground is hard as a block of ice – because it IS a block of ice. Ground freezes regularly in long winter climates. You wouldn’t want to try dig in it, and plants can’t grow in it because their roots are immobilized in those blocks of ice and can’t even deliver water.

But the ground rarely freezes anywhere in Alabama, and never for long or to any depth. In fact, the ground softens considerably after those early December rains kick in, and roots that were imprisoned in the dry, hard soil of August can now make headway. The net result is that root growth in an Alabama winter can be pretty dramatic over winter, and plants will be rarin’ to go in spring.

2. Abundant moisture: We get about as much rain in winter as we get at any other time of year – which is to say a lot. But what makes winter different is that it’s cool enough that water doesn’t evaporate readily, and plants don’t lose as much water to transpiration – which is sort of a plant’s way of sweating.

Plants in winter are, therefore, much more tolerant of your forgetfulness and neglect. Surely you’ll remember to water well when you plant. And possibly you’ll remember to water again a week or two later. And then you’ll get distracted by re-runs of Friends or Alabama’s loss to Auburn. That’s OK in winter, because a couple of good waterings will take the plant into the wet season, when the water surplus will take care of your plants for you up until next April.