Just starting out

[nancy70364]

I never had a garden of my own but I remember helping my dad in his garden growing up.I've finally decided that the $ being spent on produce that seems to rot on the car trip home is getting ridiculous.I decided to venture and plant some seedlings and pray for the best! I know many of the fellow members have many years of gardening and great tips for a newbie..Would appreciate any and all help thanks in advance!

[IndigoMom]

I'm fairly new to gardening myself. I've had container gardens, and we had done the square foot gardening - but this is the first year we've had a 'traditional' garden.
If you have time to start from seed - it will be a cheaper way to get enough plants. Even if you purchase a few starters and direct sow the rest, it will cut the cost, and stagger your harvest a bit. We meant to do that - but purcased what we thought were flats of 8 plants (to split between sis and I) and they were 8 packs of 6-packs of starters! Do count stems, LOL.
Don't take it too seriously - right now, I have collard greens in my front yard, as well as a full garden in the back, plus more in containers...not to mention seeds that will have to be transplanted into containers. It IS a learning experience.
Herbs should generally be planted in pots. They tend to be invasive. If you have the space to let them have to their own, that's great. If not, it's not worth the fight of keeping them in check. Turns out, you really can have too much oregano (and I'm Sicilian!)
Only grow what you KNOW you will use. Once you're more comfortable, you can add a new varieties to try. If you have limited space, focus on things that will save you the most. You will never grow enough corn in a small garden to feed your family for a year, and it's still relatively cheap. But peppers get outrageous in price and we personally cook with them often.
Other than that, read. Look what is being planted in your neighborhood - it's a good indicater to what you will have success with. Don't be afraid to ask questions when you see people garden. Really, for the most part - people really enjoy sharing thier experience and are always happy when others are venturing upon the adventure.
Good Luck and Enjoy!

[ladytoysdream]

The youngest son and his family stopped in last evening. One of the topics was a garden as they are in the process of buying their first house and moving in soon. She wasn't sure they had time for a garden. So we threw around quite a few ideas. I loaned her some pots so she can get her 100 strawberry plants started while she waits for the ground to get worked up.

Start small, experiment and work your way up. Our garden is 3X the size of last year, and not sure it is big enough yet. Last year we only had like 9 tomato plants and that was more than enough. This year, I have 36 plants ready to go in the ground some time soon - 6 different varieties. I got my first yellow ones just a few days ago. I plan on doing a lot of canning this summer And like I tell the hubby....we can always give some away if we have to, to friends and family. And now that we have chickens, they can get some of the extra stuff also

[Grainlady]

1. Check with your (County) Cooperative Extension Service. They will have all kinds of information on gardening - including plant selection, planting time and harvest for each garden item, for your area. If they have a Master Gardener coarse available, see if one of the Master Gardeners will mentor you. You may want to take them a soil sample for testing.

2. You can also check on-line for a planting schedule for your area. For instance, my sister in southern Texas has been deep in the middle of harvesting for several weeks now, while here in central Kansas we're about done with cool season plants and warm season plants have been planted but won't produce until July, and my sister-in-law in Wisconsin is just planting cool-season plants, so a lot depends on your location.

3. Check a garden nursery in your area for a planting/growing schedule and other information. They will have plants ready-to-plant. Depending on your location, it may be too late for you to start things like tomatoes and peppers from seeds, so find them at garden centers ready-to-plant.

4. Have your soil tested and amend it if necessary. I do that through our Cooperative Extension Service.

5. A trip to the library may be in order. STUDY, STUDY, STUDY.... The more information you are armed with, the more successful you will be. I'd suggest purchasing a copy of the book, All New SQUARE FOOD GARDENING - Grow More in Less Space - by Mel Bartholomew. I use a combination of Square Foot Gardening and container gardening. The combination works great for my small space. I loved the 4'x8' raised beds we had at our last home.

6. You can also Google a great deal of general information - such as how to plant and grow tomatoes - and anything else you want to grow. Depending on your location, it may be a little late for cool-season planting (potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, peas, green beans). But the good news, you may be able to plant them mid-summer for a fall crop of those same things. By the end of May I'm done with my spinach and leaf lettuce, which are planted in a couple large planters. I get several cuttings from these for several weeks. About the time the garden centers put their annuals on sale, I'll pull out the spinach and leaf lettuce, amend the soil in the pots, and plant some on-sale flowers in those pots and enjoy them until August. By August, the hot summer has taken it's toll on the flowers and I'll take them out, amend the soil, and plant some fall crops in them. It doesn't take very much space for things like lettuce and spinach for us.

7. Have a reality check! You probably won't be able to keep up with the production from more than 2 zucchini plants, and they take up a LOT of space in a garden. I grow as much vertically as I can to save space. Unless you plan on canning, dehydrating and freezing large quantities of tomatoes, 2-5 plants will be MORE than enough for a small family. I usually have 3 varieties of tomatoes - a slicing tomato, roma tomatoes and a small cherry variety.

8. Do you have a space that will get enough sunlight to grow a garden? Make sure you know which direction to plant your garden and which end of the garden to grow corn (or other tall plants) so that it doesn't shade the rest of the garden. Gardens don't grow in the shade of trees or in soil that doesn't drain well.

9. Have fun!!!

-Don't be afraid to try something new in your garden each year. I grew amaranth for the first time last year and got enough seeds from them for using for cooked cereal and milling into flour for the next 3 years out of about 12 plants (which were as high as the gutters on our house)!

-Not everything needs to be planted in a traditional garden setting. You can plant potatoes in black plastic lawn bags in "odd" areas of the yard.

-It seems like there's always something that does well one year and not-so-well another year.

-Keep in mind who else will be "enjoying" your garden (deer, racoons, rabbits, birds, cats and dogs...) and learn how to combat them.

[norcalmommy]

Great tips Grainlady!

Here are a few things I like to do:

-Keep a garden journal. Write down when you plant everything, be in the garden or inside. Write down when you plant everything outside, the temp, etc. This helps me the following year when deciding when to start plants inside, when to transplant outside, etc. Write down thoughts like, I should have planted the pepper seeds in early Feb instead of late Feb, etc. Make a garden diagram in your journal. Mark where you planted everything. This will help with planning next years garden.

-Don't over whelm yourself. Start your garden with some basics, then add more next year. Check out some herbs that will come back next year like chives, thyme, rosemary, etc.

-Check your local nursery to see if they offer gardening classes. We have a small nursery that offers classes on soil prep, general gardening, etc.

-Talk to other gardeners. If you are out on a walk and see a great garden, introduce yourself and see if that person is willing to share some tips on growing food in your area. I have found several retired people that LOVE to TALK about their gardens. See if there is a local garden club. Sometimes you can find info at the local park district or library on clubs. Also check the library and see if there are any garden books written about your area. I live in a very rural area and several people have written basic gardening guides for this area.

-See if any of your friends are gardening and visit each others gardens. Share info and swap veggies.

-Grainlady is right, try to grow things up. You will save a ton of valuable garden space. We use all kinds of things we have laying around to make tepees and A-frames to grow cukes, pumpkins, and squash up.

-Google gardening blogs for your area. I have found several for areas nearby. It is nice to see what that person is able to grow or has a hard time growing.

-Find out what you can plant in the fall for winter/spring crops. Every area is very different and you might find you can plant all kinds of things.

-Pick up seeds at the end of the season when they are on clearance for the next year.

-In the fall evaluate what you learned, what you liked or didn't like. I do this every year and it really helps me decide what I need to improve on. Set your goals for next year and work towards making that happen during the late fall-early spring.

-Check into canning and dehydrating. You can put away alot of food for the winter in a very short time.

-Start a compost bin. We are lazy and just have a pile. It works very well. You will have alot of vegetable scraps this summer, so make them work for you. At the end of the season you can tear up all the dead plants in your garden and compost those over the winter.

-Have fun! Gardening can be a chore, but if it is miserable you are less likely to do it again. So start small then add a little here and there. If you have kids include them. My kids LOVE the garden. We have mint growing for teas and treats. The kids get to pick something new to grow every year. We made a sunflower forest, that is always amazing. My mom made a fairy garden with whimisical statues and pretty flowers.

[LastDragonfly]

I agree with the above posters....start small, work yourself up, check out a local nursery...privately owned nurseries really know what grows in your area...WM, and Lowes carry what their truck driver delivers.

There are wonderful books out there as Grainlady suggested....I love Jerry Baker books as well as the Lasagna gardening book of course the square foot gardening book!

And most of all....have fun.....

[frugalfranny]

Some great advice posted. I agree, have fun and make it enjoyable and relaxing.

There is tons of free info out there from lots of stuff on-line to ESPECIALLY talk to other gardeners in your area. Then take the advice that will be 'right for you'. I have learned that you can talk to three different gardeners and they will all do things three different ways but still love to hear the advice and use what I can.

The one thing I didn't see mentioned....and you didn't say how big your family was...but don't forget your food banks if you end up with extra. One of mine will even come get it if you call them. That is if you don't want to toss up a handwritten sign in front of your house and sell the stuff yourself. The neighbors around you that don't have/don't take the time to garden will appreciate some local fresh produce.

[Saydee]

Good luck with your garden.

[pinetree]

Just start with what makes you comfortable, then you can add as you want. We keep adding on to our garden every year. I'm still learning how many to plant or what to plant.

We planted a tumbling Tom in a bucket last year. We had so much fun watching & waiting for him to put out tomatoes, we were sorry to see the frost come.

Good Luck and Happy Gardening!

[nancy70364]

Oh wow! I wasnt expecting this much help in a short amount of time!Just wanted to say thanks to all for taking the time out to give me some great tips. We're a family of 5 but wanted to do a fairly large garden because my DH has alot of older relatives that we help out with food and other necessities as much as we can.We have alot of room with good ground we've been told.I signed up for a gardening class at my local Home Depot and Its something my girls want to actually participate in as well.Once again thanks to everyone.I'll try and keep ya'll posted on my outcome.

[Siebrie]

Can you ask the older relatives that will benefit from your garden to come and lend a hand? Even if they come once a fortnight to help weeding, it'll save you lots of time. And maybe you can organise a day or two where they all help digging or planting stuff? And several afternoons where they help harvesting and preserving/getting the food freezer ready? It'll be fun for them to be out in the garden and for you / your children to chat with them.

[nancy70364]

Can you ask the older relatives that will benefit from your garden to come and lend a hand? Even if they come once a fortnight to help weeding, it'll save you lots of time. And maybe you can organise a day or two where they all help digging or planting stuff? And several afternoons where they help harvesting and preserving/getting the food freezer ready? It'll be fun for them to be out in the garden and for you / your children to chat with them.

Thats what we all agreed upon.I think it will benefit us all.The kids especially because they love hearing stories about the elder relatives and How things were different when they were growing up.I think its gonna be alot of hard work but Its going to be well worth it for all the quality time we'll be alble to share

[pat in east texas]

The first year, just plant a few things you like to eat. And think about how long it takes to prepare things, peas, for instance. They have to be shelled and you'll end up with more pods than peas!!
Go online and google a lot of gardening sites, especially ones in your growing zone. Lotta good advice there!

[Debbie-cat]

Great ideas listed! Nothing more to add except to have fun!

[missyali]

Don't start your plants President's Day Weekend inside. It's way too early! Have fun!