Cantillon said:
I guess it is important not to over reach yourself when you start gardening, and commit yourself to too many plants and too many beds. Have a little success with a finite manageable area, rather than a large amount of work that takes a couple of seasons to mature into anything.
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* Next consider the ground you are putting the plants into, and invest time in it improving it and making it a tremendous medium in which to plant. It makes the bed easier to work with every day you plant and weed.
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* Have a watering point nearby to the bed.
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so there aren't any mistakes you will make that we didn't all make, and there aren't any stupid questions.
I'm very glad that I started gardening with some very easy annuals (Zinnias and Marigolds) and a few vegetables that I liked. I forget what "difficult" plants I
tried to start from seed that first year, but the Zinnias and Bok Choy that came up despite rocks and clay still make me smile.
Improve your soil in a small area (raised bed) before buying expensive plants! Or grow in big pots with very well-draining potting soil. Maybe add some small bark nuggets to peat-based commercial potting soil that is too fine and holds too much water.
Or start plants from seeds, if you like fiddling and gadgets and deferred gratification. I guess it is harder than buying plants, but letting go of ten dollars is harder for me than nursing a tray of baby seedlings. it satisfies my maternal instincts AND my cheapness instincts.
First and unavoidably, you need good sun. Plan your beds for where the plants will have
enough sun. All too many plants do best only in full sun. If all you have is partial sun, pick your sunniest spots. I guess that will be less of an issue for you in FL than it is for me in the far-North, cloudy PNW.
Maybe drainage matters, but not for everyone. If you have good drainage, like sandy soil, there's no problem. In clay soil, or where there is a high water table, avoid low spots. Put beds up a slope, facing somewhat South if practical. You can impriove the drainage if you have some grade to work with, and can lead excess water away from your root zone, to a lower spot.
You can always make good soil, especially if you have access to raw materials for making compost, or sheet composting, or mulching. ESPECIALLY if you listen to Cantillon and start small. A few square yards is enough for you learn what methods are pleasing to you and seem easy to you. THEN, after you have A System, you can become the Army Corps of Jeson and implement the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
>> Have a watering point nearby to the bed.
YES, especially in hot climates, dry climates, and anywhere the soil does not retain water well (like sandy soil).
If your outdoor water spigot is far from the sunniest, well-drained locations, it's surprisingly cheap to run some 1/2" or 3/4" plastic irrigation mainline from the spigot to the bed, or all around the house. You can have a spigot every 50 feet if you want!
Once you trust the connectors, you can leave the mainline pressurized all the time, and run hoses and have sprinklers, sprayers, drippers, spinners and misters from plastic valves that you've installed wherever you want them.
http://garden.org/ideas/view/R...
