People with herb/veggie gardens...when and how did you start?!

I am really interested in starting one but I have a few obstacles

1) never planted a thing before

2) dirt is covered in 8 inches of ice and show

3) I have a BLACK thumb.

anyone have any advice/tips? thanks so much!

Re: People with herb/veggie gardens...when and how did you start?!

Re: People with herb/veggie gardens...when and how did you start?!

thank you!!

so, I should start NOW, indoors?

this is going to be good

Re: People with herb/veggie gardens...when and how did you start?!

I plan on starting mine in the next 2-3 weeks.

You will be amazed how well they grow. The scary part is planting them outside. Thats when you worry if it is too cold and which ones will make it.

Re: People with herb/veggie gardens...when and how did you start?!

search old threads on this topic, we've had great ones in years past.
I suggest getting the book
The Square foot Gardener, its very basic & useful.
Most herbs & veggies are easy to start from seed. Most veggies need alot of sun so you'll need to find a place in your yard, they also need frequent water.
Then there is pest control & fertilization, you'll need to decide if you want to go organic.
If you have more specific questions, let me know!

Re: People with herb/veggie gardens...when and how did you start?!

Last year I did a garden for the 1st time. I planted things we liked.

I picked the sunny spot in my backyard. I mixed my soil with organic soil and compost. I planted too late (mid June) so I did not get veggies until mid Summer. I felt I lost a lot of veggies because of it.

Our results:

- Eggplants: I bought the plants (not the seeds) and they did great. Again it took a long time even from seedlings to grow and give me eggplants. But we got great results and will do it again.

- Yellow squash: From "cheap" seeds I bought at Target. We had the best results from those squash but only 3 plants survived out of 9 that came out. Still we had a lot of veggies.

- zucchinis: Again bought the seeds at Target. The least successful for us. We had only a few of them. I was disappointed a bit.

- cucumber (from seeds also): I planted them the latest. A few weeks after the others. Yet, we had great results. They took the longest to germinate and give cucumbers. That being said, I loved them. I had a lot of them regardless and had to give some away. Just be careful with cucumbers they spread everywhere.

I will try again all of the one I mention above for this year. But this year, I won't have to do everything from scratch (it took me a while to clean that area of the yard!). I will plant after the last frost, probaby mid May. And see how it goes. I would like to add tomatoes though. I will probably buy the eggplants seedling from the same place I got them last year. They were good quality plants.

ETA: we had to water everyday, especially when it gets so hot.

Message edited 2/3/2009 7:55:03 AM.

Re: People with herb/veggie gardens...when and how did you start?!

I start my flower and veggie garden either the weekend before or of Memorial Day - my flowers start blooming heavily within 2-3 weeks of that time frame (have to fertilize and water weekly/daily depending on mother nature).

My veggie garden - I buy the tomato plants at the store and then plant, along with my peppers as they take 4-6 weeks to really sprout. I plant seeds for my other veggies and they start blooming by June.

You just have to weed continuously to avoid the plants from being overcome by them.

Good luck!