Begin at the beginning...

And continue on right to the end. Alice was advised to do this during her sojourn to Wonderland. And that would be a good place for you to start, if you’re thinking about wading into a vegetable or herb garden for the first time. Aside from gardening being good for your physical and mental health, the veggies you grow yourself are way healthier for you. If you have children, getting the to eat their veggies is MUCH more easy to do when it’s something they have helped grow! There’s something magical about your first garden and every day is a learning experience. Who among us couldn’t use a little bit of that kind of magic?

Take courage! With a little reading and research, you can be really successful and have a garden worth crowing about!

If you think you’re ready to think about beginning, remember this: It’s better to be proud of a small garden, than frustrated by a big one. You don’t want to get out there, rotor till a quarter of an acre and then find out that you just can’t manage something that size. If you don’t want to dig up your yard or make a garden in the ground or don’t have a yard to dig up, there are lots of things you can grow in containers. Cherry tomatoes spring to mind, but I’m wandering. More on containers later…

One of the common errors for beginners is planting too much too soon and way more than anybody could eat or want. Unless you want to have zucchini taking up residence in your attic or your neighbors to hide when they see you coming with your brown bag of veggies, plan carefully. By the way, if you wind up in the situation of having way too much of anything, I’m sure the folks over at the community center can help you find someone who would be interested in some surplus fresh veggies. Wandering again…moving on…Start small and then – if you choose to – you can expand with the years and experience. For example, one tomato plant per person is really sufficient, unless you plan on being the supplier for your neighborhood or want to sell them in your front yard. I have to admit to a fondness for tomatoes and frequently have more than we can use. I like the heirloom tomatoes and the ones in interesting colors. But really, one plant per person works well, perhaps with a cherry tomato plant for salads.

Here are some very basic concepts you’ll want to explore further as you become a vegetable gardener supreme:

Vegetables love the sun! They require six hours of sunlight each day, at least. Continuous sun would be best, if possible.

Vegetables must have good, loamy, well-drained soil. Most backyard soil is not perfect and needs a helping hand. Unfortunately, many people have a truly astounding combination of rocks and clay that can sometimes seem nearly invulnerable to shovels, picks and hoes. It’s a good reason to start small, because improving the soil is the toughest part of gardening. Check with your local nursery or county extension about soil testing. Working quantities of composted manure into your soil is, in my opinion, the best way to make sure that your veggies get what they need and you’re making your soil better as well. I tend to shy away from chemical fertilizers and pesticides; so composted manure is always my first choice. There are so many horses, cows and goats around about; there’s got to be local sources for composted manure. Rabbit manure is really great fertilizer as well.

You can always construct a frame, line the bottom with chicken wire (to keep burrowing critters out) and fill it with soil from your yard, blended with composted manure, composted leaves or peat moss.

Placement is everything. Like people, vegetables need the right nutrition to grow healthy produce. Place your garden too near a tree and it will lose its nutrients to the tree’s greedy roots. On the other hand, a garden closer to your house will help discourage rabbits, raccoons, deer, mice and opossums from chowing down on your potential harvest.

Vegetables need lots of water. At least one inch per week. Did you notice where the snow was melting first in your yard a few weeks ago when we all had a white coating in our yards? That’s where the sun catches in warm pockets and will make a difference in how well you vegetables will grow.

If you receive the seed catalogs, study them and order early. If you don’t, you can check locally for seeds or go into town to a home center or nursery. Later in the season, you can get plants that are already started which are also a great way to set out your garden. Tomatoes and peppers are among the few vegetables that aren’t direct seeded into the garden. They should be started indoors in April, then planted in the garden with the seeds of beans and zucchini in mid-May. Or you can always purchase pre-started plants locally. Peas, lettuces, spinach and radishes like cool temperatures and they should be started as soon as the chances for frost have passed.

A good-sized beginner garden is 10 x 16 feet and features crops that are easy to grow. A plot this size, planted as suggested, can feed a family of four for one summer, with a little extra for canning and freezing and giving away. Adjust proportionately to your family size, don’t be afraid to do less and definitely feel free to adjust quantities to what you and your family are likely to enjoy eating! If you think you can manage more than what’s listed here, consider a couple of barrels or wooden containers with some extras or salad greens. These will be easy to maintain. Cherry tomatoes are a great choice for a container and are very easy. Vegetables that may yield more than one crop per season are beans, beets, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, radishes and spinach. To plan for a second crop, check the days to maturity in the seed catalogs or on the packets.

For the plan below, your rows should run north and south to take full advantage of the sun. Make your garden eleven rows of 10-feet each of the following: tomatoes – 5 plants – staked or caged, squash – 4 plants, peppers – 6 plants, cabbage, bush beans, lettuce – leaf and/or bib, beets, carrots, chard, radish, garlic and marigolds (to discourage rabbits and other garden-munching visitors). Leave two feet between bush beans, one half foot between bush beans and lettuce and one foot between all the rest.

When to plant? If you’re setting out pre-started plants, pick a day that is overcast. If you have to plant on a sunny day, wait until the sun is low in the sky. It makes the transition from pot to the ground much easier on the plant.

Dig a whole twice the size of the pot and loosen the soil as deep as your trowel will go. Turn the pot upside down and tap out the plant. Place the plant in the hole and give it a good soaking. Carry the watering can with you when you plant and give each plant a drink as it’s planted. Don’t plant the whole bed and then come back to water it later.

Seeds need a finely raked bed. Be sure to just barely cover them and keep them moist until they germinate. It’s really nice to do your planting in a light rain. The plants love it although your neighbors might think you’re nuts. Keep ‘em guessing, I say. Keep the new plants watered well the first couple of weeks, then water as needed. Remember, your garden will need one inch of water per week, either from the hose or from Mother Nature.

Once everything is growing, weeding is the main task left. The best tip I ever read about weeding was to use just mulch over the weeds throughout the season. Eventually, you will smother even the most persistent and invasive weeds and turn them into something that will benefit your soil.

Let’s talk for a minute about pests. There are a variety of insects that may try to take up residence in your garden. Aphids, tomato hornworms, cut worms – all kinds of things. There are two things that I like for pest control – ladybugs and praying mantis. You can purchase containers of ladybugs and mantid egg cases at the nursery, hardware store and most home centers. If you really don’t want them, Ivory soap and water will deter most garden pests. Unfortunately, the only foolproof way to keep hornworms off of your tomatoes is to pick them off by hand. If you must, there are pesticides available to control bugs in the garden. The local hardware store has a selection and knowledgeable folks to help you out in that area.

You can always grow your lettuces or salad mix and radishes in containers. One great way to get your kids or grandkids to eat salad is to purchase the seeds for a nice salad blend. Plant it in a container and when the plants are four inches high or so, send the kidlets out with some safety scissors to harvest the salad for dinner. Rinse it and toss it with some of those cherry tomatoes you grew on your deck and you have a very healthful meal, packed with nutrients and flavor. You will notice that veggies you grow yourself, taste a lot better than store-bought!

Gardening is fun and – really – it’s good for your soul. There’s something primitively satisfying about digging in the dirt – maybe a throwback to a time when our parents told us not to. So get up, step away from the TV and get outside! I’m sure you will be pleasantly surprised by the fruits of your labor.