Hello, Some first time tips that I learned the hard way are:Remember the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. So having your garden positioned to reign in the sunniest part of the day around noon to 2pm allows it to take in the most sun. After finding the right spot you need to clear the area. This is the most labor intensive part of making and maintaining a Vegetable Garden. You will need only a spade shovel, wheel barrel, garden shovel, and some elbow grease. To make it easier you can purchase or rent a tiller. Using a shovel, start making your boundaries by jamming the shovel into the ground going around the area for the size of garden you want. Make sure you go all the way down to the grass roots. For beginners a garden about 6 feet x 12 feet is a good size. As you get more experienced the sky is the limit on size assuming you have the room for it. Bit by bit shovel, tear, and rip off of the surface the grass and all it’s roots. You will want to make sure you get everything out because you do not want grass sprouting again when you have your prized vegetables growing in the garden. Leaving grass roots will make weeding a weekly chore throughout the growing season if not totally removed. After all the grass is removed you will need to buy some manure for fertilizer. Mix this in with the 2-3 inches of loose soil and dirt that you created to give your garden a kick start and keep it well fertilized throughout the season. Now to the fun part! Time to pick some vegetables. Tomatoes, peppers, and squash are good starter vegetables but there are dozens of fruits and vegetables you can add. Keep it fun the first year and try to plant at least 3 different kinds of Vegetables. Most vegetables can be planted in May and June. After running to the garden center and picking out your Vegetable Plants it’s time to plant. Dig about a 3 inch hole with a garden shovel and lay the vegetable roots in the ground and push down on the sides making the soil somewhat rigid. You want to space tomato plants at least 2 feet from each other because they grow pretty large. The rest of the vegetables only need about 1.5 feet. Don’t forget to buy Tomato cages. These go over top of the tomato plants to keep them upright when those heavy juicy tomatoes start growing. A great Vegetable Gardening Tip for making each watering session more effective is to make an earthen ring around the circumference of the vegetable plant. See source below for more tips. Good Luck!
