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How big is it?

The smaller, the better for a new gardener, as it is common to overestimate your energy and the time it takes to maintain a garden.

A garden that gets ahead of you, makes it into a chore instead of pleasing activity.

When I teach beginning gardeners, I suggest that initially they limit themselves to no more than one (preferable) or two times the size of the bed they sleep in.

You can go a surprising amount of food in a small space, especially if it is well-tended.

I have no idea where you are, but if it's north of the Mason Dixon line, you're not at all too late.

If you are in the deep South it might be better to sow a cover crop at this point (very good for the soil, is the universal cure for almost every soil and garden issue) and make plans to take up veggies again when it gets color.

What sorts of tools do you have? I strongly recommend getting a good spading fork, a comfortable hoe (there are various styles and kinds), a metal rake and an old-fashioned edging blade. A hand trowel may be useful, too. I don't use mine a lot because I like sticking my hands in the dirt, but some people like to preserve their manicures. I've never had a manicure to preserve!

What do you want to grow? There are all kinds of fun things. Be sure to leave some those fun things for next year, and don't think you have to try everything all at once.

HTH

L.

I am in southeast Iowa. Garden is approximately 20-25 feet in length by 4 feet. I have some tools. Just broke my hoe. I have a steel rake, a couple hand trowels, spade, lots of gloves. I don't have nicely manicured nails but also don't enjoy digging dirt out from under my short nails. I, too LIKE getting my hands in the dirt. I hope it isn't too big for me to manage. Thought I would take some pavers that I hadn't used for another project and put down the middle for a place to walk to tend my garden. I want to grow the typical things to start: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, ect.
Just looking for tips for weed control and success with my produce. I know I will learn from this year, and adapt for next year. But since it's so visible, I want it to be successful, not pitiful.

Here is a picture of my garden.

Thanks Daisychain. My daughter wants to help so I let her pick out some plants and seeds. We know that this year is going to be very experimental for veggies. I think you can see the former sandbox turned herb garden next to it. I have had lots of fun growing herbs and have found that it makes a huge difference in what and how I cook meals. I definitely want some edging to keep the grass and soil separate. The only critters I will have will be a few rabbits. With the yard being fenced in, I won't have deer or large critters.
I was surprised to hear about the bucket idea for tomatoes. I had not heard of that one before. I will definitely be trying some tomatoes. Thanks for the advice.

The first thing you want to do is pay attention to the sun and how its light will move around your garden. You want all the plants to get the maximum amount of sunlight each day, so place your plants so the taller ones will not put shade on the smaller ones.

Cucumbers, squash and pole beans will take up a lot of space ,so put some kind of support for them in your garden that will allow them to grow up and not spread out.

Your seeds will need moisture in order to germinate and you should check to make sure the new plants don't dry out, but once the plants are established it's not necessary to water everyday. A good soaking once or twice a week depending on the weather should be enough. You want the roots to grow down deep in the soil. I don't like to water too late in the day because the wet leaves at night tend to encourage all sorts of problems.

From my reading it seems that those with the most successful gardens have their soil tested and amend it if it's found lacking in nitrogen, etc. I read that those cheap kits you buy aren't as good as sending it to your county's extension service or something like that.

Here are a few videos on growing tomatoes that I think are good. Watch the one I linked to and the 2 on the right for early pruning of tomato plants and the other one on later pruning. I read that if you spread some broken egg shells in the bottom of the hole when you plant the tomato plant, the calcium in the shells prevents blossom end rot.

I haven't had much luck with heirloom tomato plants. They barely produced so weren't worth the real estate. We had 2 varieties of tomatoes that we liked last year. One was a yellow cherry type tomato called 'sun gold' that was super sweet and really put out, and the other was called 'big beef'.
Perhaps liriodendron can suggest other varieties that are good producers and not susceptible to every disease that comes down the pike. Maybe the hybrids are better for that.

Good luck with your garden. There's nothing like eating something you're grown yourself. Bon appetit!

Here is a link that might be useful: tomatoes

Joanie,

Four feet wide is the perfect width for a small garden.

You have no need of an aisle with pavers in the middle, since you can easily reach in from both sides to tend your stuff.

This is great because it maximises the utlity of the tilled area, w/o wasting much space in aisles (which need weeding, etc.) Less work to do!.

Which way does your garden run in relation to the sun? Does it run east/west or north/south, or some other way? This question matters because taller plants can shade lower plants ( a good or bad thing, depending). You can use this to plan out what toout where.

Think of planting short rows across the four foot width, rather than long rows. You get to try many more things, this way. If four feet of something isn't enough, you can plant double rows next to each other.

Succession planting (planting something more than once, lettuce for instance) allows you to have crops over a long period, and also allows you to re-use the same ground more than once in a season.

If you are thinking of tomatoes and peppers and eggplant, it might to a good idea to buy a few plants this weekend as the choice of varieties will become limited soom. Don't waste money on big plants. Little ones in 6-cell packs, or up to 3 or 4" wide single plant pots are the way to go. Look for good green ones, with thick, slightly furry stems about 4 to 7 inches tall

If you like them buy one or two cherry or pear tomatoes (red or yellow) [plants. Sweet 100 or Gardener's Delight are both easy red cherries; Sungold is a deliscious little yellow pear. For big slicing tomatoes Big Boy, Better Boy, Park's Whopper are widely available and have good disease resistance. There are tastier heirloom varieties, but I'd stick with standard odern hybrid ones your first year. (Any homegrown tomato is so far superior to store ones, that you will be amazed!) Buy a 3 to 4 big slicing varieties. They can be all different varieties. (It's perfectly OK to try heirloom ones, if you like, though they can sometimes be more challenging due to tomato diseases. If you're OK with the risk, go for a couple of those along with a couple modern hybrids for safety's sake.) If you want to try canning some tomatoes, pick up 2-4 of those. Romas are good, so is Opalka, if you can find it. Try to buy locally grown ones from a local nursery, rather than imported from the South plants at the big box stores.

If you want peppers, buy 3 to 4 plants; eggplants are trickier to grow in some places, unless you love them madly, I'd save them for next year.

While you're at the garden store, but some green or yellow wax bean seed if you like them. Buy bush beans. Buy at least two kinds.

It's too late for peas this year. You can sometimes get a crop in the fall, but save those for early next spring.

Buy carrot seed (but not parsnips, too late and warm for them already).

Buy beet seed.

Buy radish seed (if you love them, buy several packets they will yield your quickest crop. Sown today, you could eat them by the 4th of July.)

Buy a couple of summer squash plants, if you like. But you could also start those from seed for the next couple of weeks, directly in your garden, so buy seed for that instead of plants. Bush varieties are better for a small garden.

Buy a variety of BUSH winter squash (acorn, butternut, or baby hubbard).

Buy some onion sets if you like (1/2 lb)

Buy some seed potatos if you can find them (it's late but they will still mature and they are fun, fun, fun to grow. 1 lb will be fine for a small trialcrop.

Corn takes a lot of space for the yield, but if you are keen, buy 1 variety to test it.

Lettuce: buy several kinds of leaf lettuce ( 5 or 6 wouldn't be too many as you will be sowing it often). Choose ones noted for summer production. Iceberg lettuse is a pain.

Spinach, if you like it, buy a packet, but save it for planting later in the summer when it will mature in the fall.

In you area it may be too late to try for the cabbage family to harvest during the summer (cabbage, broccoli, cabbage & cauliflower), but there should be plants ready soon for fall harvest of these ( or perhaps they are started from seed in early July. ) Ask locally. Also what is the pattern for brussels sprouts? Up here in the north we plant them now for harvest in the mid-fall. But in your area you may plant them later for harvest through late fall and early winter.

Also ask about chard and kale; when can the late crop of those be planted from seed in your area (if you like them, that is)>

Buy some bush cucumber seed. Or buy 2 or 3 plants. Do you like to pickle? If so buy some bush pickling cuke plants ( 3 to 4)

Buy some basil pants of you like them (you can also grow this from seed started now.) Buy a chive plant (your first perennial addition to your garden!). Buy a six-pack of parsely. Buy some dill seed, if you like to pickle, or like fresh dill in your food. Buy a tarragon plant if you like it..

Skip this first year: Strawberries, raspberries, asparagus, rhubarb. These are permanent plants; you need to kno more about your interest and soil before investing in them.

(Crops to think about for next year: Leeks, peas, parsnips, early cabbage, swiss chard in spring, kale.

Get your soil tested. Call your local cooperative extension office to find out how and where to to that. They also may have Master Gardeners to talk to on the phone to answer questions on local gardening practices.

Take a bar of plain soap and soak it in a recloseable plastic tub to get it softer (not at all dissolved, but defintely soft). Before you go out to garden dig the tips of your fingers down in the soap to get it under your nails. Quickly rinse and dry your hands on a paper towel. Let the soap stay under your nails. It will keep a good deal of the dirt from under there.

Do you have bunnies, deer or woodchucks in your yard now? You may need to fence.

Don't buy anything listed above you don't already like to eat. Save the food adventures for other years.

I may have missed something you wanted to try. Just ask and I'll make more suggestions.

HTH

L.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! for your very thoughtful responses! I have picked up a few plants and seed, and want to get them in the ground this morning. I've added some compose and my teenage boys have helped me work the soil. My daughter is excited to plant as well, and I have given a section of the garden to her. Thanks for the info about the egg shells and tomatoes. I did not know that. And thank you for specific names of tomatoes to try and seeds. Some of what I have bought already may not be those brands, but I will file it away for next time. Yes I love home-grown tomatoes and know there is NOTHING like them. That is why our farmer's market gets so much of my money. I would love to try canning, I did not grow up doing that but it doesn't seem to hard. I do other things, (make home-made wine, make candles, make bath salts and creams, bake and cook) canning can't be THAT hard. But maybe not this year. We will see. I already grow some herbs and LOVE that. It makes such a difference in my cooking and I love that many are perennials.
Garden runs east to west, so it will get full sun.
I already grow strawberries in the corner of my yard and they are a lot of fun. I may make my growing area bigger to accomodate them. They seem to be very happy where they are. Where I live was once a cornfield long ago, so I figured the existing soil isn't too bad.
I guess my biggest concern right now is the quality of my soil and weed/grass control since I just had a grassy area tilled. I figured I would cover the area with plastic after the garden has been harvested for the winter, to kill off any existing weeds/grass for next year. Then work with and test the soil in the spring. I still think the garden is probably too large, but what is done is done. Any other thoughts?
Thank you again.

You've received very good advice from liriodendron so will do well!

I would recommend amending individual planting holes with compost for plants such as tomatoes. Google how to grow tomatoes for more info. One thing I always did with tomatoes was to dig a hole about 8-10" deep, plant the small plant but only cover to existing level. As it grows pinch off the bottom leaves and add soil. Continue to do this until the soil is level with the rest of the garden. The tomato plant will have developed roots all along the stem where the leaves were and have a large root system. I would not limit the root development with a bucket.

One very important thing to do with plants you buy. If they appear 'root-bound' (which is when the roots start to grow in a circle as they don't have enough room in the pot) you must loosen those roots gently before planting. If you don't do this the roots may continue to circle and the plant will not do well.

In between plants you can use an organic mulch to discourage weed growth and improve the soil. Grass clippings if they are chemical-free are good. Finely shredded bark is always available in bags at garden centers. Check out the Soil forum on GW for info on amending and composting. I very much believe in composting and it's something you can start early even without a compost bin by burying your veggie kitchen peelings/scraps in between rows. They will quickly decompose and enrich the soil. They also encourage earthworms which is a very good thing as they provide 'castings' which are one of the best natural fertilizers.

Please avoid synthetic fertilizers and other chemicals if possible for the sake of your family's health.

If you think you have too much area tilled you might sow some annual flower seeds and have a cuttting garden for bouquets indoors. It might be late for some but there are quite a few that should do well. Cosmos, Coleus (likes shade so plant behind a taller plant), Four o'clocks, Marigolds, and Zinnias are some on the list. Nasturtiums and pansies are both edible and a nice garnish for salads and drinks.

Herbs are also plants you can buy as starts or grow from seed. Whatever you like and use to cook with and many are perennial.

Ways to learn more about gardening - visit your local library, google questions, look at various online sites, perhaps eventually buy books or magazines, and join your local garden club.

Have fun gardening and I wish you much success!

Do try to find some of those seed potatoes. They're so much fun to harvest - like mining for gold. You find them at places like Agway and other farm supply stores.