Need Advice What are good/easy things to grow in first garden?

I'm hoping to have two small garden areas in my back "yard" this summer. Any recommendations for veggies/herbs/fruits to plant? Also, if I'm not starting from seeds where is a good place to purchase plants and what time of year should I plant them?

Thanks!

I'm a total novice but want to give this a try!

 

Wondering on this end if anyone has tried one of those Topsy Turvey tomato things? Did it work?

 

Tomatoes and peppers are good to start with - provided you'll eat the bounty. No use growing something you're not going to eat. Don't overdo it. 2 Tomato and 2 Pepper plants are plenty for a family of 4.

If you want a more contained and upright tomato - look at the plant description tag for "determinate" or "upright." Stay away from an "indeterminate" type if you don't have a lot of space for a vine-like plant to spread. "Better Boy" is a good choice for a nice 2" fruit (and does well in a container, too). If you like the little cherry tomatoes, "Cherry 100" is great, but it's "indeterminate" so you'll need a good sturdy tomato "cage" and/or lots of space. It will literally grow 100 or more cherry tomatoes if well tended.

For peppers, choose a color you like. The flavor does vary with color - I don't recommend the dark purple or "black" ones... I don't think they taste good.

For both veges, be sure you have well drained soil with a good soil prep - dig it up and turn it a bit, add some fertilizer (Miracle Grow is easy). For tomatoes, a good rule is to wait until Mother's Day to plant them outside. (I usually plant tomatoes and peppers at the same time.) Plant tomatoes deep - up to the first set of leaves (yes, really). Peppers should be planted at ground level.

You can buy plants at Home Depot, Lowes, or any nursery. Look for plants that are strong, upright and not wilted. If you buy them just before planting, the store will have already stored them outside, so you don't need to "harden" them outside before transplanting.

If you want to try veges from seeds, go with radishes (if you'll eat them). They sprout in only about 7 days and grow quickly. Plant seeds according to package about every 10 days - to keep harvesting most of the summer. (I often drop a new seed in the hole where I just picked one). An interested bit of trivia - the hotter the weather, the hotter the radish.

Sorry to go on and on - you've pinged a subject I'm passionate about!

 

We grow cucumbers from seed and they seem to do really well. I'm also a novice, but I've found you can't really mess these up. This last summer, I planted these seeds around a tomato hoop. You can find these at Home Depot. I would get a really tall one. The cucumbers like a vine that climbs up, but they're virtually care free. We had more cucumber than we knew what to do with.

The other thing I found to be fairly carefree are bush beans. These are beans that don't need to grow up a pole or something similar. They're green beans, not the other type. You just throw the seeds in and they grow. We'd pick beans almost every other day.

If you plant tomatoes, plant a basil plant or two.

Have fun with this. I've had many things over the last few years that didn't do so well. Like this last summer, I tried to grow cantalope. I got one the size of a large grapefruit and that was it. They kept falling off the vine before they would grow. It's been great to experiment.

 

I find these things easy:
1. lettuce
2. spinach
3. tomatoes
4. carrot
5. strawberries
6. basil, sage, thyme, scallion

You can grow lettuce and spinach in the spring and fall when the weather is cooler. I usually get a pack of mesclun mix and grow them in planter boxes on my deck. Clipping some for a quick salad is a cinch. I also grow my strawberries this way. The animals can't get to it. If you like strawberries grow at least one day neutral type so you'll have strawberries all summer long until frost.

Watch out for the bunnies. If you have bunnies in your yard and grow things other than tomatoes make sure you put a barrier around your plants. They do a lot of damage very quickly.

 

this is great - thanks!!!

 

thanks! this is very helpful!!!

 

Chives and Rosemary are very easy herbs to grow and mine come back every year so I don't have to buy new plants.

 

I've had great luck with cherry tomatoes - they grow with complete neglect, and if you neglect to clean them up at the end of the season you get free plants next year! I always try sugar snap peas but have mixed results with them. Strawberries are easy and also keep coming back. When I was a kid I had lettuce in my garden and it did well, but I wonder if all the bunnies around here would eat it. Good luck & have fun!

 

thanks so very much!!

 

A few years ago I bought one of the tiny plants at Home Depot for $2.99 or whatever they charge (not much) put it in the back yard (full sun) and today this thing is a HUGE rosemary plant. I have fresh rosemary year round... it's an evergreen here. Thyme, too. Way more than I'll ever need and I have to completely prune it back regularly.

Someone above mentioned peppers... I had no luck with peppers last summer, sadly. I got ONE. Bummer. I did have good luck with basil in a pot on the deck, english cucumbers grew nicely in the ground, also. I didn't have much luck with green beans, sadly. They were the pole type. Maybe I'll try the bush type this year.

 

Another great idea I got from somewhere this was to plant flowers that bees like in your veggie garden. It attracts them to pollinate those veggie plants that need pollinating. I think I used marigolds. They need no work and look nice too. I used 2 plants for my my 8 x 4 ft space and 1 each for my 4 x 4 foot space.

Another good resource for small area planting is http://www.squarefootgardening.com/. I used that for my 4 x 4 ft. space to maximize what I grow.

 

Great post and replys! I have an additional question. I've always had a pretty decent garden until last year--I could not grow a thing except snap peas and parsley. I got a few cucumbers.

The patch of yard that I was using is next to the house and very wet. I thought that this would be good for plants but maybe it was too wet--we had a lot of rain and water wasn't draining away.

I think I'll try pots this year.

My question is what is the best set-up for a backyard garden. Do I need to make raised planter boxes?