New to gardening in Southern California

[Tylergardener]

Hello, I am new to gardening and I am not sure on what I should first plant in my backyard. The mornings have been pretty chilly lately and the afternoons get warmer. I live in palmdale, California and I am looking to start some seeds soon (February). Preferably I am looking to grow vegetables but I am willing to plant anything viable during this cold month. My backyard is huge and has great sun coverage and I am going to plant it inside a pot. Any suggestions on what I plant here?

[imafan26]

Welcome to the forum. Please include your zone and location in your profile, that way people don't have to scroll through all of your posts to get basic information.
The farmers almanac puts out a calendar for planting dates around the country.
https://www.almanac.com/gardening/planti ... A/Palmdale
Sunset also puts out a guide for the the western states especially for California
https://www.sunset.com/garden/one-block- ... g-calendar
UC master gardener program should be available to you as a resource. They have this publication of planting times, recommended varieties.
https://ucanr.edu/sites/ucmgnapa/Gardeni ... _Calendar/

Now you can start seeds of eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, chard, onions. Herbs.

If you are planting in a pot. singular? You have to pick the plant that fits the pot.

It is better to get the biggest pot you can find and fill it with potting soil, make sure it is not garden soil. The bags look alike. You can plant more things in a large pot and it won't dry out as fast. If you have a fish market near you as them for the styrofoam boxes the fish come packed in. It makes a very good cheap planter. The bigger boxes are about 8 inches deep and three or four feet long. It is easy to make holes in them for drainage.

For a beginner, I suggest you plant herbs. They are relatively expensive to buy, adds so much more flavor fresh and take to pots well. Select something you really like. Basil, hot peppers, thyme, oregano, mints. Parsley from starts they are sometimes hard to grow from seeds. Cilantro is an annual. It is not the easiest thing to start from seeds but you can get starts. You have to pick them often and they will only last a couple of months and they will not do well in the heat of summer. Everyone likes to start off with tomatoes but they really are not a beginner plant. If you want to try it. Get a very large pot 16-20 inches wide and at least 12 inches or more deep. Use miracle grow potting soil. Add 1/2 cup of a complete fertilizer to the pot and mix it in well. Plant tomato deep; bury the stem take; off the lower leaves. New Big Dwarf and Husky are good tomatoes with fairly good disease resistance on short vines. You can use a commercial tomato cage with them since they will stay short. They will produce only one flush of tomatoes and then they are done.
Only one tomato per pot.

[jal_ut]

You say a large backyard? What is the soil on the yard like? Believe me when I say plants grown on the ground will have quite an advantage over plants grown in a pot. The roots of many garden plants go 4 feet to 10 feet deep in the ground.

Early cool weather plantings: carrots, spinach, onion, chard, beets.
Warm weather crops: corn, beans, squash, cucumbers, potatoes.

If you are really going after food, that is calories for energy, consider what I call the big four: Corn, potatoes, beans and squash.

[imafan26]

Southern California has had a long dry spell. I don't know if the rain has been enough to quell the drought. James is right plants in the ground will have deeper roots and won't be as susceptible to drought. If you have the space it is better to plant in the ground. If you are new to gardening it is better to start small a 4x4 plot if you are doing square foot gardening will yield enough greens for one person. Smaller plants are better in a square foot design, I put big plants in pots since they take up too much space. Unless you are into building plant supports and special needs, start with lettuce, greens, and herbs. Corn will take up a lot of space. Squash,and melons take up a lot of space. tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, some types of squash and gourds need some kind of trellis. Root vegetable need a deep rich soil. If the soil is too rocky or compacted, you will get ugly roots.

[Tylergardener]

Thanks so much for your help guys. As much as I want to plant in the ground, my backyard is perfect for it, it is not an option for me because 1. The soil is awful here 2. I have multiple dogs and I don't know how they will treat the plants. Anyways thanks for the input guys I will put this new information to good use.

[ccar2000]

Tyler,
You can check this link for a planting guide for our area, We are in USDA Zone 9

[imafan26]

You could do raised beds and a fence. If you have a greenwaste facility near you they may sell a planting mix. You put cardboard on the ground to kill the grass and block the weeds. If you have a truck, buy the planting mix. It is not that expensive if you have a truck. The delivery fee costs more than the material. Ask what is in the planting mix. Mine contains fertilizer so it is good to go once it is in the bed and watered.
You can build the bed out of rot resistant wood, but I am not that handy and hollow tile dry stacked 2 tiles high and reinforced with rebar lasts years and within my not many tools or carpentry skills category. Pet fence, fencing posts and a post driver works for me. All I needed after that was a few stakes, string to draw the lines. A lot of extra muscle to move the tiles and a shovel and long level to level the ground. If you level the first course of tiles the second course is easy. The gate for the pet fence took a little more skill. I made a diagonal corner and I used an accordian fence.

Then it is really training the dogs to stay on their side of the fence and it has to be consistent. I had to fence my plants off in the yard from my 76 lb dog or move the plants outside the gate. He was fond of bromeliads and oncidiums. He could have knocked the fence down or jumped over it. He was an irish setter mix. I trained him not to go past the fence. When I played ball with him and it went behind the fence he would look at me to retrieve the ball for him.

[Tylergardener]

I just got some seeds and planted them today. I picked up some thyme, basil, tomatoes, strawberries root (the ones in a bag), peppers, and some nasturtiums. I will create a thread in another topic and update it with the results throughout the seed's growth. Thanks for all the help everyone.