Please help me plan and make a list

[alvysyngr]

I have never planted seeds and grown a garden. I have bought already growing basil from the green market and watered it until it died and I have an aerogarden but I don't think that counts and I have stopped using it as it is such a waste of electricity. Anyway, is there a 101 crash course to get me started? I posted in the introduce yourself section so please forgive me if I am repeating myself

I am renting a house and the backyard has a nice spot that gets all day sunlight (I am sure there was once a garden here years ago) so I wanted to jump in and get my feet wet. so, um, what do I need ? lol

I was thinking of getting a seed starter with a dome, potting soil, some varieties of seed of veggies and herbs and setting everything up with coming weekend. The problem is I don't know the basic steps and I need to learn them. Like, Once I plant the seeds in the seed starter what then? Inside or outside with the dome? what do I do when they 'start'? Plant in pots or build a raised bed? Can I plant anything right in the soil or are raised beds the way to go?

I am hoping there is a dummy guide on this site since I love the community feel here. I guess I can also visit the library

[sjohnson9206]

A couple quick comments... from what I've read here.. skip the seed starter tray and get one of the flat bottom watering trays (or scrounge an old sheet cake pan, etc) and use plastic dixie cups with holes in the bottom.

Use some clingwrap instead of the dome, and as soon as they sprout, ditch it. If you continue to use the domes you can encourage mold, and other bad stuff to happen to your babies.

Don't water too much as seedlings, and don't select a planting medium with loads of peat as they can be hard to either dry, or if it's too dry to start out with, getting it to accept moisture.

If you're renting I would stick with containers. If you're wanting to do it on the cheap, try and find a place that's getting rid of 5 gallon buckets (restaurants, food packaging companies), drill some holes, put them on some bricks or boards so they're not sitting on the ground, and use some mulch on the top of the soil. You'll have to water more, but this way when you eventually move, there's not a ton of work to return the property to original condition.

I've had good luck using underbed boxes for shallow root plants, like spinach and herbs. It can be tricky on the drainage part, but just don't overwater.

Last thing, don't make the same mistake that a lot of us did our first year and try too much. You'll get overwhelmed and burned out.

A few tomatoes, a few peppers, some herbs, onions and potatoes...

Ohhh... and good luck and have fun with this!!

[kimbledawn]

If I may make a suggestion. If this is your first time gardening, you should try with starter plants from a nursery. I suggest this because I jumped into gardening also! I was given 9 tomato seedings and decided to plant them, got excited and was buying plant all "willy nilly" you know I ended up with about 35 different vegetable seedlings planted together with no idea what to do. I had to learn everything by trial and error.

1. Pick the garden spot(get at least 10 hours of sun)
2. Prep the spot( soil test, get rid of grass( not with pioson), add amendments)
3. Plant seedlings
4. Try to keep them alive and get a crop.

[keskat]

I'd like to add, from my own first garden experience years back, don't forget critter control! I don't know what your area has as far as local wildlife - but either protect your new plants or prepare to share them. And share and share and... You get the point.

It was terribly frustrating for me to get my first garden all lovely and orderly and growing and then wake up one day to see that the bunnies and deer and raccoons all appreciated my efforts, as well. But luckily there is all sorts of netting and fencing available to keep unwanted munchers away. Its fairly inexpensive, depending on how much you need and what kind is best for you (fencing for deer, netting for birds, etc.)

[alvysyngr]

A couple quick comments... from what I've read here.. skip the seed starter tray and get one of the flat bottom watering trays (or scrounge an old sheet cake pan, etc) and use plastic dixie cups with holes in the bottom.

Use some clingwrap instead of the dome, and as soon as they sprout, ditch it. If you continue to use the domes you can encourage mold, and other bad stuff to happen to your babies.

Don't water too much as seedlings, and don't select a planting medium with loads of peat as they can be hard to either dry, or if it's too dry to start out with, getting it to accept moisture.

If you're renting I would stick with containers. If you're wanting to do it on the cheap, try and find a place that's getting rid of 5 gallon buckets (restaurants, food packaging companies), drill some holes, put them on some bricks or boards so they're not sitting on the ground, and use some mulch on the top of the soil. You'll have to water more, but this way when you eventually move, there's not a ton of work to return the property to original condition.

I've had good luck using underbed boxes for shallow root plants, like spinach and herbs. It can be tricky on the drainage part, but just don't overwater.

Last thing, don't make the same mistake that a lot of us did our first year and try too much. You'll get overwhelmed and burned out.

A few tomatoes, a few peppers, some herbs, onions and potatoes...

Ohhh... and good luck and have fun with this!!

Thanks for the response! In reference to the seedlings in the dixie cups, would this be indoors or outside or moving back and forth?

Also say I have a 5 gallon container, how much soil do I put the seedling in once it sprouts? I like the idea of containers and will probably use them as well as a small area that was previously used for gardening (like 4 ft wide by 1 ft surrounded by stones).

I see these 4 tier greenhouses on eBay for like $30 - would this be a good investment? I don't spending a little money but if I can use found items all the better Believe it or not I just want to grow tomatoes, peppers, some herbs - maybe some other stuff like cucumbers, leavy stuff, etc when I succeed.

[alvysyngr]

It would be best, this first year, to buy transplants of tomatoes, peppers, broccoli. Spend your time, effort, and money getting the soil tested and prepared (deep digging, adding compost and composted manure, then deep digging again). Your local agricultural extension agent can get your soil tested for you. He/she will also have a list of when to plant what, and the varieties that are best for your area.
Crops like beans, carrots, beets, lettuce, corn, etc. are best direct sown in the garden. The seed packets have information on how deep and how far apart to place the seed.
Think now about watering. It usually isn't necessary to water much in NY, but you'll at least need a good hose (forget the cheap ones, they are more trouble than they are worth) and a good watering can.
Also decide if you want to use organic pesticides/herbicides or chemical ones. Either way, go to the library and read up on diseases and bugs so you'll know if you have a problem. (I can't recommend a book because all mine are slanted toward southern gardening.) Of course you can always post a picture here and get advice!
Gardening is fun, and very delicious. You're in for a good summer, learning and getting extremely dirty!

Thank you for responding - I think I will take your advice but do half and half - buy transplants but also try to do my own. Perhaps I should ask the person who is selling the transplants about herbicides since they would be local and probably have experience. I am really excited for the coming warm months

[jal_ut]

You can make it as complicated or as easy as you want. The first thing I would do is take some tool and go dig down a bit in your spot to see what the soil is like. If it is crumbly soil and looks good for a depth of 6 to 8 inches deep, you can do very well to just plant in that soil.

You will need to dig it. Just take a digging fork and turn it over. Shake the dirt off any grass roots and discard the roots. Rake it smooth with the fork or a rake if you have one.

Now you can plant most things from seed directly where it will grow. This is the easiest and least expensive way to garden. You can foget all the other gadgets and gizmos that take your $. If you have some ground and some seed you can have a garden.

The first things to plant are spinach, peas, lettuce, onions, carrots, and all the cole crops (cabbage, kohlrabi, turnip, broccoli). I will warn you that bugs love the cole crops. Get some Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and dust the area where you plant the cole crops or the darned bugs will devour them, often before they even emerge. You can start planting these crops now as soon as your ground is bare and dry enough to do it without making mud pies.

You need to find out when the average last frost is there. This is an important date because you don't want to plant the tender plants before this date or they will get frozen.

Corn can be planted a week before this date.

Radish, beets and chard can be planted two weeks ahead of this date.

On the above mentioned date, you can plant beans, squash, melons, cucumbers and other tender crops.

I would wait until a week after that date to plant out tomatoes and peppers. (the only crops you will need nursery starts for)

Grow the things you like to eat.

Have a great garden.