PLAN AHEAD
My garden plan helped me with everything from how to space my plants to when to put them in the ground and where. You could draw up a plan on graph paper or generate one using an online garden planner like I did. I used Growveg.com, which lets you customize a large garden space from scratch. Gardeners.com also offers a planner that is good for smaller spaces and has preplanned gardens to keep it simple.

3 VEGETABLES TO START EARLY
These veggies love cool weather (you can plant Thoma few weeks before the last frost) and grow quickly. So plant them first and you’ll enjoy the rewards of your work in a hurry.

Lettuce: I planted different types of lettuce all over my garden, wherever I could find room. It’s forgiving and grows fast enough that you’ll be harvesting young leaves for salads within a few weeks. Plant seeds every two weeks in the spring so you have a constant supply.

Turnips: I never thought of themas a spring vegetable so I was surprised to harvest turnips before anything else. They take about a month from seed to harvest and have a peppery and sweet flavor when they’re picked fresh.

Peas: We squeezed ours in close together and they yielded pounds and pounds of sugary sweet snap peas. Pea plants produce more in cooler weather than they do once it heats up. And by the heat of the summer, they’re pretty much fizzled out so you can plant a late-season crop in their spot.

3 BASIC TOOLS
Trowel: Use to dig small holes for planting transplants.

Stirrup Hoe: Pull up young weeds at the root with just a gentle back-and-forth motion.

Garden rake: Level beds and filter out large stones that may interrupt seedling growth.

Of course if you need any help with your gardening you can find plenty of guides around my blog to help you with your gardening step by step. You can even print your guide and take it with you when you need it for reference out side in your garden.

In the photo above, in case you are wondering what the plants are, bottom row - purple scallions, Italian parsley, Dino kale, anise-flavored fennel, baby lettuce salad mix; top row - baby bok choi, sugar snap peas, sweet Japanese salad turnips and a cute little broccoli.




vegetables photo by pcutler