Beginner gardener

[sam19]

This is our first year owning a home and we really want to start a garden. We live in NW Ohio and I'm not sure what the best plants are to grow. We're not a fan of peppers so I really don't want to grow them. I think we are going to do lettuce, corn, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and carrots. Do you have any other suggestions or maybe a reason why some of these are a bad idea? I also want to get some blueberry and strawberry plants. We have a raised garden bed that I want to put those in.

I guess my first question is how to get started. I know I want to go to our local extension office and have the soil tested. When do I know to plant? Do I start everything off by seeds? I know for the blueberry plants I want to get some that are already started. Do you have any good resources I could check out? I downloaded gardening for dummies on my kindle so I plan to study that.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

[gumbo2176]

There are a lot of gardeners here from Ohio and I'm sure they will be around to help you out. In the meantime, check the web for your growing Zone and see what is recommended to plant and when it is best to be planted.

If you are new, let us know about the size of your proposed garden and then you will get suggestions as to how much it will produce without being too crowded.

Some plants need lots of space, some not so much. Some plants don't do well in the summer heat while others thrive.

[Northernfox]

I am not sure about the US specific stuff I can help with the strawberries and blueberries. Both require full sun 8-6 hours is usually good.

Strawberries are just soo good. one of our fellow members sells dormant plants. Seascape strawberries are refereed to as day neutral and will produce all summer right through until first frost. I have put a link to his ebay page as there is lots of good information that he has included.

There are two other general types of strawberries. Ever bearing and June Bearing. June bearing produce one crop a year typically after the summer solstice. in the fall you will want to clip the plants down to 1 inch above the soil.

everbearing strawberries produce two crops a year typically. they do not however require fall clipping as you may still have fruit when the first frost comes. I think you are supposed to clip the dead parts off in the spring.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/52-Seascape-Str ... 3a7f221bb2


Blueberries typically grow in bushes. you will need two varieties in order for you to have optimal fruit production. well drained acidic soil is a must! You can find blueberry bushes at your local garden shop that contain three different varieties.

[Marlingardener]

Sam, your list of vegetables is just fine. May I suggest that you get the lettuce and carrots in as soon as possible? They are basically cool weather plants. All can be started from seeds, except the grape tomatoes. You need to buy started plants for those. Next year, with a successful garden under your belt, you may want to start tomatoes from seed.
While you are at your extension agent's office, ask for a planting guide. Most have a guide for when to plant what. I have a gardening calendar that I have noted when to plant my veggies. For the first few years you may want to keep a garden calendar to determine when to plant.
Blueberries like acidic soil, so you may need to amend the soil you have, if it is alkaline.
Strawberries take a good bit of space. They bear on the plant, and then send out "runners" that can become next year's plants. I'm sure someone here with a lot more experience can explain this better.
As Gumbo suggested, let us know how much space you have and we can make better suggestions.
Don't worry--some things will do well and some won't. This is gardening. You will have so much satisfaction from eating your very own home-grown produce!

[Northernfox]

oh ya this book is good for beginners like us

http://www.amazon.ca/All-New-Square-Foo ... 1591862027

[jal_ut]

Welcome to gardening.

Planting

Garden tips

Here are a couple sites you can look at. The garden tips paper will give you a good idea of what needs to be planted first. My guess is that there you will be able to plant a week earlier that noted in this paper.

[rainbowgardener]

lettuce, corn, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and carrots.


As Mg said the lettuce and carrots are cool weather crops, generally direct seeded in the ground. I am planting them now (in Cincinnati), you may have to wait another week or two. But plant them "as soon as the ground can be worked" - i.e. unfrozen and dried out enough to be crumbly.

Tomato plants go in after all danger of frost is past. For me that is about mid- April, again probably a little later for you. It is easy to buy well started tomato plants. Cucumbers go in a couple weeks or so after that, after the soil has warmed up some.

Corn is usually direct seeded in the ground after the last frost date. But depending on how much space you have, you might want to think about that. Corn is big, you can't crowd it too much, and you can't grow just a few plants of it. You need to have at least something like a 4x4' block of corn plants so they can pollinate each other.

Might I suggest along with the lettuce, grow some swiss chard? I had never heard of it, until I started gardening, but it is the most productive thing in my garden. It is kind of like big spinach and you can use it any way you would use spinach, raw or cooked. But the lettuce and spinach are done as soon as it gets hot, but the chard just keeps on going, from before the last frost in the spring to after the first frost in the fall....

Congratulations on your new home and garden!

[tomf]

Most plants do not know you are a beginner and they will grow anyways, so relax and enjoy while you learn to do it better. As said before each plant needs so much room so figure this out. Some plants grow well with others. Read through the posts from here, I have been gardening for many years and I still am learning, I read lots of posts and learn some thing new all the time here.