I'm planting a garden (stop laughing)?

Please Mr frosted don't make me stop laughing.

All of the information you probably will need to know I've included I think for beginners it helps to see how it's done. Most people now days are going into raised beds. If they are no more than 3' or 31/2'

wide then you don't have to compact the soil by walking thrrough it.

Remember as a beginner start small don't plant more than you can take care of and don't plant things you don't like to eat and in my case I never waste my space with things that are usually not that pricy in the store. For example radishes I won't use more than a few bags each year so my space has to count for better uses. Like tomatoes- beans- cucumbers- strawberries - Italian blend lettuce seed and romaine- watermelon and cantaloupes. Each year I add to the list.

Also you need to know about companion planting some vegetables grow better side by side with other vegetables. I know this seems like a lot but once you learn it it's as easy as eating a candy bar. lol!

Book mark some of these thing for future use

Good Luck! I'm almost 71 if I can build my garden at 69 then a youngster should be able to, of course my grandparents taught me.

Man you can save some money,,,I went all out and planted 5 fruit trees

plus a blueberry patch. I'll beat inflation yet.

Scroll down page in link below.

Table 1. COMPANION PLANTING CHART FOR HOME & MARKET GARDENING (compiled from traditional literature on companion planting)

http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/complant.html

One of the things your need to know is this

Average First and Last Frost Dates by State

http://www.victoryseeds.com/frost/index.html

Click on your state then look for the city nearest you to determine your frost dates.

Then you'll need to know this for certain information from a Master Gardner email /all for free

Cooperative Extensions for each state

http://www.greenhousecatalog.com/cooperative_exten...

You also need to know your hardiness zone

Click on your State abbreviation below to go to that region

http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html

Videos/Full Length Episodes - Fruit and Vegetable Gardening

Navigate all of the available videos in this DIY Website

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/pac_ctnt_988/text/0,...

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/49116_gardening...

Photos of garden building

http://jeffnet.org/~hgpf/howto.htm

keep out the snakes

http://www.pestproducts.com/snakeinfo.htm

scroll down page for recipe for pests in the garden

I buy my fels naptha soap at a true value or ace hardware

Cheap mouthwash at $ store

http://www.soapsgonebuy.com/ProductDetails.asp?Pro...

"Short of shooting him"...I hope you were kidding. Still in bad taste though! Supervise him outside and tell him "no" when he does it- he'll get it eventually. In the mean time, put up a tall enough fencing (even just chicken wire and posts will do for now) that he can't get in the garden if he's left outside when you're away. My neighbours had a similar problem with their young lab, and they left that fence up until Aspen was about 2-2.5 years old and he'd stopped digging. He's a puppy, and he'll start to settle down in the next 10 months or so, both of my lab girls were nightmares when they were younger but they mellowed out nicely around 2 years old. I didn't think about this before, I just assumed it was done, but it would probably help to neuter him if he's not already.

Start small. The biggest mistake that novice gardeners make is that they go overboard on the size at first. Gardening is a lot of work and the bigger the garden, the more work.

You don't say whether you are planning to grow flowers, vegies or both.For your first year, I would recommend that you limit your selection of seeds or plants to not more than two or three different things. If you are wanting to grow vegies, remember that in addition to weeding and watering, you will also have to harvest and store....so be prepared for some work. It is worth it though. There is nothing that tastes as good as home grown vegies.

Start by checking out this website:

www.squarefootgardening.com

This is a method of making planting beds that are four foot square, and planting them with a variety of vegies (or flowers if you do not want vegie garden) to get the most produce out of the smallest space.

My beds have a mixture of peat, aged manure, compost and top soil. I water the plants by filling 5 gallon buckets with the water, and using a large cup or empty pop bottle to pour the water at the base of each plant. It is a little more work, but I have found that it saves on the amount of water that I need to use which is important if you are paying for city water.

I get climbing peas and pole beans and grow them on fences at the back (North side) of the beds. I also grow my cucumbers on a fence. I have found that squash, melons and pumpkins will grow on trellises. Tomatoes can also be tied to a fence, but I usually just use a cage for them. Every thing else is planted in front of the fence or trellis where it will get the most sun.

All vegies and most flowers need full sun, which means your garden beds need to be located where they receive at least 6 hours of sunlight daily. Try to locate your garden so that the sunlight is morning to early afternoon. The mid- to late-afternoon sun is the hottest, and will cause your plants more stress.

Good luck to you.

You'll need:

space: whether you just dig a square, or use containers, you'll need a good amount of space.

6-8 hours of direct sun for most vegetables and flowers.

soil: good soil is needed: compost, etc.

water: to get started, you will need to water the plants until established.

Tools: a good, sharp shovel, a hoe, some hand held implements to put in the plants

Plants: for your first time, I'd go with things from a discount garden center like Lowes or Home depot. Buy a few things and put them in the ground, have fun dude! Experiment. But, you can't go wrong with good soil, water, and sunshine.

I just started my first garden, depending on how much space you have, its much less work to build a raised garden. Less weeding. there is alot of information on the web on how to start a raised garden bed.

Hope that helps

Have fun!

No one is laughing! Start small experiment, and have fun.