Starting a Garden and Totally Lost!

[AlyciaMarie]

Hello! As the title says, I am starting a garden and totally lost on almost all aspects. I am starting a garden for a few reasons: to add some fresh, home-grown ingredients to my kitchen, for therapeutic reasons, and because I have a young son that I would love to share something with as he grows. I have purchased a few books, but in full transparency, the information in them is very extensive and overwhelming. I’m hoping this community may be able to point me in the right direction.

The only thing I have at this point is some raised garden beds. I currently am renting, so digging up the yard/building boxes weren’t realistic choices. I’ll add the type/dimensions of the raised beds below. They are small and may not be ideal for big gardens, but I’m just looking to start small and learn for now.

Here is the dimensions of my raised beds (I have two): 48×18×30in. I will also add that I live in extreme northwest GA and they will be placed in an area that gets sun at least 75% of the day.

I know these are small, but as I stated before, I just wanted to start small as to not be overwhelmed and to learn.

Here are my questions:
- What would be some ideal starter plants for something like this? I’d like whatever I plant to be edible. Fruits, veggies, and herbs if space allows.
- What type of tools and items are essential for beginners?

Please share your advice!

 

[Martin Mikulcik]

Get some mustard spinach seeds and throw them in the dirt
A couple cherry tomatoes
A few green beans
Basil would do well

If you're interested in something specific you might ask because you won't do well with cool season crops at this point or ones that take a lot of space, you can't grow 1 cob of corn for example. A sweet potato would fill your whole space, but they grow excellent in Georgia

 

[Ruderunner]

Heat is a factor that you're going to have to deal with and raised beds will get hotter faster. You'll need to water more often.

Alternatively, see about putting wheels on the stands and roll the beds under shade if needed.

Watermelon might work if you can let it sprawl from the bed.

 

[Meadowlark]

...Here are my questions:
- What would be some ideal starter plants for something like this? I’d like whatever I plant to be edible. Fruits, veggies, and herbs if space allows.
- What type of tools and items are essential for beginners?

Please share your advice!

Welcome @AlyciaMarie

Plants:
1) Radish...possibly the easiest to grow of all veggies but it does prefer cool weather which is rapidly diminishing...most varieties 30 days to maturity so get going immediately on this one

2) Bush green beans...delicious and easy. If you could trellis, grow vertically you could get more space and then use pole beans ( Blue Lake Bush is a good one)

3) pink eye purple hull peas...easy to grow, nutritious for you and your soil, and delicious...a Georgia favorite (Pinkeye Purple Hull BVR cultivar was selected at the University of Georgia (Athens) in 1984 for its resistance to Blackeye Cowpea Mosaic Virus (BVR)

4) peppers...pick up plants at your favorite box store, bells, jalapeno, whatever you like. Prime growing season for them now and easy to grow.

5) one (or more) super sweet 100s cherry tomato plant...easiest of the tomato varieties to grow and start with. Start with a plant from box store at this point and hurry.

6) Cucumber a vining plant that likes to grow vertically if you can support it. (Straight 8 is my favorite and also a favorite all across the South)

7) I couldn't stop without including Okra...if you like it, you could get a great harvest off two or three plants. They do get tall so you will need to limit the number of plants.


Each of the above are excellent choices heading into the heat of summer, with the exception of radish which I included because it is so quick rewarding, but you would need to get them going immediately.

 

[Meadowlark]

Tools:

1) the best hoe...


2) maybe a rake

3) maybe some hand garden tools like trowel, claw etc.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I am a different part of the world, so not that informed on what to grow there, but Meadowlark's advice is generally good, and he has given you a good list. I am not sure about his hoe, I use one with a flat end, I can make grooves to plant i, even dig holes with it, but a hoe is a good tool. I would add a small hand fork. Don't worry about the beds being small, this is good because it means you can reach every part of them easily without having to tread on them. I wouldn't guarantee you will interest a child in joining you, but even so they will see what you do and it is likely to influence them later. Good luck, and enjoy the outside.
PS. looking at hoes on line I found some are up to five times dearer than others for essentially the same thing, I actually buy tools at our local market, I recently had a lovely, old fashioned, second hand border fork for £10 and saw the same thing, but not as attractive, for £50 new two days later.

 

[Sluggy]

These planting suggestions look great but do not worry if some do not grow just do not plant them again. I have lived in several houses and I am still unable to grow carrots. They just do not like me.

 

[Martin Mikulcik]

These planting suggestions look great but do not worry if some do not grow just do not plant them again. I have lived in several houses and I am still unable to grow carrots. They just do not like me.

Direct sow them in deep well drained soil and weed them good a couple weeks later when they're up. They don't love heat but i didn't think there was heat in England

 

[Sluggy]

Direct sow them in deep well drained soil and weed them good a couple weeks later when they're up. They don't love heat but i didn't think there was heat in England

Unfortunately we have heat with long periods of no rain in the Summer.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Did everything I was supposed to, but my carrots took several weeks before germinating this year. It is often worth giving things a bit more time.