My husband and I are in our first house and next year we want to plant a garden. When we lived in appartments my kids and I always grew a few veggies in pots next to the front door, our only sunny spot. Now with a huge yard we wanted to have a nice sized garden. Now to the problems..... What do we need to do to get the ground ready? What equipment do we need? Is getting a garden started expensive? How do we know what to plant and when to plant it? Should I do anything now to get ready for next year? How much should I plant?

cyn

 I would ask people that live near you about what grows best in your area. Also ask about when they plant which food. Your growing season should start very early. When we lived in NC, my dad would plant peas, potatoes in late Feb. Babs

I wish I could help more but my experience gardening in Iowa would not help you in Florida.  If you know anyone who gardens be sure to ask questions.  I also use www.davesgarden.com  They have forums for beginning gardeners and I know they have people from all over the country post so you'd be able to ask questions of people from your area.  You may have to rent a tiller or look in the newspaper classified to see if there is anyone who would come do it for you.  Around here there are always people advertising to roto-till in the spring.

Good luck with your garden and have fun.  I love my big vegetable garden.  We get such healthy, fresh food and it's good exercise too.  And kids are more open to try different veggies when they've helped grow them.

Nancy

Last spring, I decided I wanted to start my first garden. (I ended up planting in pots, but you know. You start where you are!) I found my state's cooperative extension website to be an absolute treasure trove for local information about what to do, what varieties grow best, frost dates, and the like. I highly recommend visiting your state's cooperative extension website. Just google "cooperative extension" and your state's name and see what what you turn up. :-)

Joyous:

Last spring, I decided I wanted to start my first garden. (I ended up planting in pots, but you know. You start where you are!) I found my state's cooperative extension website to be an absolute treasure trove for local information about what to do, what varieties grow best, frost dates, and the like. I highly recommend visiting your state's cooperative extension website. Just google "cooperative extension" and your state's name and see what what you turn up. :-)

This was going to be my recommendation too - but Joyous beat me to it!  In addition to helping you plan your garden, you can get information about composting, fertilizing, weed control, and much more from your state's cooperative extension website.

If your state has an agricultural college, that's also a good place to get this type of information.

Enjoy!

I adore browsing all the different states' cooperative extension websites. I can get really great ideas on topics as wide as machine repair to food preservation. I tend to print out information on interesting topics, put the sheet in a plastic cover, and put it in a binder. I must have 6 different themed binders. I might not be able to put the ideas into use right away, but it's handier for me to consult a binder than to go hunting around for a webpage which may or may not exist anymore. Our internet is a little spotty at home, so it's doubly good to have it in print. Also I can take a binder with me just to browse!

My very first garden was thanks to our next door neighbor in Richmond. She bought miniature vegetables (the seeds)for me to grow at my grandmother's summer place. I was 6 years old, I think.

I'd get in touch with your local ag agent. He or she would know what does well in your neck of the woods.

I'd also start a compost pile.

Best of luck to you !

Virginia Needlewoman:

I'd also start a compost pile.

That's very good advice. No matter how you wind up gardening or what you grow, compost is invaluble.  

 thanks guys, im still reading through the websites.

cyn

Have you come to any conclusions yet?

I wanted to add one more thought: while the ph of your soil isn't as critical as they'd have you believe, still you don't want overly acid soil or overly alkaline. Find out if your soil is balanced by a couple of simple tests. I wrote about them for Dollar Stretcher here: Natural Soil Tests