starting a garden

[red ace]

So, I've decided this is the year that I start a vegetable garden. I moved into a duplex with a giant, sunny backyard. I think I'll need to clear a bit of brush out, before I can really get started.

But I don't know what I'm doing. I know I need to till the soil (and probably buy better soil to plant in--I'm in Florida and it's really sandy). Are there certain plants that will be harder to grow in Florida? easier? How do I know which plants to grow when? Also, my neighbors have two dogs that play outside a lot. How can I keep them out of my garden?

Is there a good book to read? Help me, glitter!

[Chiquita]

You can do a raised bed so you don't have to till first but you will need to bring in lots of soil for the bed. My SIL has great luck with raised beds using the square foot gardening idea; they plant in a mix specifically designed for maximum veggie production if I understand this correctly. I know our local agricultural extension agency has great info on what grows well in our climate.

Also, doing a raised bed helps keep dogs out of the garden, maybe a simple low wire fence around might be needed. Our little fence is sold at the hardware store as a decorative element but it gives the dogs a visual boundary. I'd make sure to talk to the neighbor first, to give them a heads up.

Good luck. (oh, no books to recommend about square foot gardening, but I am sure you would find them at the library).

[red ace]

ooh, good point chiquita! Square foot gardening totally sounds like a good plan. And I'd totally forgotten about the extension office--thanks!

[red ace]

I just wanted to let you all know--I have seeeeeedlings! I went down to the local garden store and bought a bunch of seeds and started them inside. And now there are all these tiny sprouts gently poking up out of the soil! I'm so happy!

[letsdothings]

Exciting! What veg did you choose?

[killr]

Yay! Garden!

Im not in Florida, Im not sure what and when to grow in that climate but its helpful to know your zone. map

Its also helpful to read as much as you can about what you want to grow. On the back of the seed package is helpful information on how deep to plant the seed and when and how to fertilize. Dont stop there. There are TONS of resources on the web for gardening wisdom.

Once you start your seeds start documenting. Date, size, variety, location...anything you may want to know in the future. Its helpful to look over notes at the end of a season. Did you plant to early? Was the variety something you enjoyed growing and eating? did it get enough sun, too much sun? Did you have disease or pest problems that can be amended before next season. Did you not get enough harvest and want to dedicate more garden space next season? Too much harvest? Did the plant get wildly out of control and need pruning or better staking? I really need to get better about documenting, I take a lot of pictures which helps capture the date (my camera has datestamp) and germination rate and such.

The most important thing is getting out there every day. Even if its for 10 minutes, check things over, catch problem before they get too huge, notice all the tiny changes over time.

[lookleft]

One reasonably helpful site I recently found is the Weekend Gardener. It has information on when and how to start all kinds of seeds and a growing guide that let's you plug in your last and first frosts (or not, in the case of Florida) and it tells you what you should be doing in a given week.

I wish it would show you several weeks at a time, but I used that plus this chart, which automatically calculates your planting dates for some common things to get a better sense of what I should be doing.

[IrmaVep]

My biggest piece of advice, is to straight away start a compost heap! Making your own compost means buying a lot less soil! And if your soil isn't great, digging in compost will make a huge difference to plant health.

[tiggycat]

IrmaVep said just what I was going to say! Compost is a miracle, totally. You may even check with your local gov if you haven't already started a compost heap. Our city collects yard waste and composts it. You can pick up a truckload for free.
Also, I would say you should start small. My first garden was really way too big for us and was a lot of work! I didn't really know what I was doing, so I wasted a lot of time, money and potential. The second year was a lot easier/more productive.

[mindshare]

The GardenWeb community is a great resource! It's huge and a bit overwhelming at first, but there's so much there. There's regional sections, and stuff about any kind of gardening you could think of. I also really like their "Harvest" fora; it's great for if you'd like to can/freeze/dry/etc. any of what you produce!
http://www.gardenweb.com/

[Chiquita]

I used to be a part of a CSA (community supported agriculture) program. The farm ended up going under which was really sad but one of the owners passed out a guide for planting in our area. She listed everything they planted, when they planted, how to harvest etc. I have shared that with many backyard gardeners. Maybe one of the farms in your area has similar resources to share.

And congrats on starting seeds!

[cinderelly]