First time with gardening.

Kkmom, I am an amateur gardener too. The thing you should do is find out what hardiness zone you live in

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

This will tell you when and what to plant, and also help you to make the most of your gardening efforts. The US is so vast, and encompasses so many different types of climates and soils, that you have to keep your zone in mind.

I find that my local landscape and gardening supply store is more than happy to advise me about what to buy and how to plant. I use an organic soil mix from them, and also take their recommendations. Even if you don't end up buying anything every time, they are usually helpful and chatty, being gardening enthusiasts themselves.

Of course, it depends on where you are. I tend to avoid the big box stores (like Lowe's and Menards) because personally, I don't think their service or products are as good as those offered by my local stores. The big box stores may be cheaper and more convenient, so it is personal preference and means that counts here.

My local food co-op also sells plants (mostly herbs, like you want to plant) and seeds. I trust them because they are devoted to local and organic/natural materials and processes. My favorite place for seeds and plants, though, is the Seed Savers Exchange

Seed Savers Exchange: Passing on our Garden Heritage

I must admit my preoccupation with them is largely romantic! What they offer is heirloom seeds (that is, non-hybrid seeds, passed on from generation to generation, usually from small-scale farming, and supposedly without any kind of interference from science, like Monsanto and the other big agricultural companies). I have bought seeds and plants from them before (they only offer pepper and tomato plants) and have been very pleased with all aspects of the plants/vegetables that have resulted.

If you live in a very cold place, as I do, you can start your seeds indoors, and transplant them once it warms up, to take advantage of the short growing season. I use this system

Amazon.com: Jiffy 5042 Windowsill Greenhouse 24-Plant Starter Kit With J7: Patio, Lawn & Garden

and simply plant seeds in each soil pellet, leave it in its tray on a sunny windowsill, and transplant outdoors after last frost.

I have a friend who has successfully planted great tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and chillies in containers on his porch, so you don't have to restrict yourself to herbs. Just get a big pot, and make sure you stake your plants (tie them gently to poles or sticks planted in the soil, for support), and you will be surprised at what a good yield you will get from such a "small" operation!

The same friend swears by some sort of seaweed or algae fertilizer, but I never fertilized my plants and they did just fine. If you get good quality soil, water the right amount (over-watering is just as bad as under-watering) and pay attention to sun exposure, you should be enjoying some great fresh produce in no time!

It's amazing how exciting gardening is, especially after a long, frigid winter (it was 7 deg F this morning, which is just ridiculous). Have fun!

 

i too just started gardening, and the first thing I did was planted mint and coriander seeds, and I think the soil should be fine. As I hav seen in one of the Geek Gardener website information about planting it from seeds.

Mint- there is no need of seeds, you can grow a bunch of mint by cutting it.

Corainder - this is can be grown from seeds.

Just refer to geek gardener website, and there is a lot of information about gardening to beginners like us

 

That is some very good information that Ansuya provided. Finding you zone and therefore planting times is very important.

I love gardening and have had only three years worth of experience (2 years of veggies). Started with some flowers and now expanded to vegetables. First year was not so succesful but the failures taught me a lot. Last year I expanded quite a bit from just totmoes and peppers of previous years and had pretty good success (I am in east coast). In addition to backyard, I got two raised bed installed and also stared container gardening on my deck.

Planted tomatoes, red, green, orange peppers, kale, mesculin mix, spinach, beans, green and yellow zuccini, tomatillos, jalapenos, swiss chard, cauliflower, radish, eggplant, okra and herbs like corainder, mint and basil. Except for cauliflower and radish, everything else did really great. I had more more veggies than I knew what to do with. Plenty to give to neighbours and friends It was really fun to grow them.... I will post some pictures later

As for container gardening- got my soil etc from a local garden store. Except for okra, beans, mesculin, corainder and spinach, I got plant for the rest. Got compost from our township (they make it from all the plant waste) plus managed to make some of my own from kitchen waste. I planted mesculin, spinach, chard, tomatoes, eggplant ,peppers and mint in pot to great success.

It is a fun, addictive and very rewarding hobby. I had fresh veggies from my garden well into fall. I even froze some of it like the peppers. Experiment and have fun!!!

 

Ansuya and sdiva gave wonderful ideas. I do not have much to add to their wonderful advise but one small thing; since you dont have a lot of space, you can start a raised bed 'square foot garden'.

1. Basically, you buy/make a square foot raised bed and divide the space into 9 small parts. That was my first attempt with veggie gardens as I had limited resources when I first started.

2. According to the zone you live in, choose the veggies to plant. If you go to a local nursery/landscapes, they can suggest you what type of plants should be placed next to each other.

3. Avoid plants which take a lot of space, like tomatoes.

4. Go for something like beans, zucchini, jalapenos, beets etc; your garden center would be best place to seek advise.

5. In the beginning, I went for triple mix potting soil as I had limited budget. Organic is the best but where I live, its expensive. So, I went for triple mix.

Hope this helps.

 

Ansuya, as always, you shared excellent advise. One question, where do you find time for indoor planting, out door transplants etc? I keep thinking about doing that but usually would end up buying the saplings around May.
I woud love to hear more about your time management!!! I ALWAYS fail to plant the seeds on time!!

 

Thank you, Rakhii. My "excellent" advice usually comes from having tried, failed, and learning a few lessons along the way!

The first year I tried my hand at gardening, I went all out. I spent all winter planning what and how I would plant, and even made a chart, based on recommended planting times. I got all my equipment ready (I also used a raised bed, because I was not confident enough in my own abilities to start digging up our backyard like a confused mole) and it went quite well.

The second year, my efforts were more haphazard (I planned a big birthday party for my daughter that summer, with grandparents flying in etc., so I was preoccupied - you will know how that is, I saw your lovely thread about your own daughter's party). I ended up doing a few hanging baskets (which I love for the front of the house) and flowers in pots. I largely neglected my vegetables.

So, I think if you live in a colder climate, lots of planning becomes necessary. Back home, we had a tropical climate and very fertile soil, where things would literally just grow if you accidentally dropped fruit/seeds somewhere. Gardening here takes way more thought, effort, and planning. So, you are not alone in the way you feel.

Here are the two best tools I used for planning/planting:

1) A vegetable planting guide from our local university (this is specific to Iowa)



2) This interactive online schedule

SpringPlanting - Calendar

that really helped, when synced with my own calendar. This way, I knew exactly when to plant what, indoors and outdoors. I still felt I didn't devote enough time and attention to my garden, so I can't claim to be an expert on time management (still barely hanging on most days), but at least I made good use of whatever little time I had.

I hope this helps

 

Ansuya- I too was looking into starting seeds indoors but I dont really have much knowledge or equipment. Gardening is addictive and one feels like being more and more ambitious

I got my husband interested in it too In 6 weeks I expect to go into labor but along with all that, I am also planning my 2013 veggie garden ....talking about ambitious projects.


Rakhii- In Canada the growing season must be shorter right? Good luck for this season.....I see in another thread that you started organic gardening too