Beginner Vegetables

Hello,

I am a beginner in every sense of the word when it comes to gardening vegetables. I am wanting to plant a couple of vegetables this summer and was wondering what the best ones for beginners would be. My sister and I are going to be tilling the area next Sunday in order to begin planting. Right now the area is just very old dirt, etc. How do I begin?

I greatly appreciate everyone's suggestions!

I'm sure you'll get some great suggestions here, but you may also want to check out the Beginner Vegetables forum--there may already be some discussions there already about veggies for beginners, and you'll find some really knowledgeable veggie growers too who will be able to answer your questions. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/b_veggies/all/

Welcome to Daves garden, bspendleton.

I don't know what zone you are in, and I imagine gardening in Ks if very different than here in Ga. There are some basics though.

Start small, and only grow what you eat.
Tomatoes are usually easy for most people.
Call your local county extension agent
There are also a lot of good books, check out your local library for "Square Foot Gardening". It is full of great information even if you don't use his methods exactly.

I use raised beds that are about 1 1/2 feet deep. I only deep dig a bed once- after that I just add amendments when I plant- and NO ONE steps in the beds. I use the "Weedless Watering Wonder" from the carefreegardener.com on a couple of beds. It is basically landscape fabric with a soaker hose attached to it, and holes are pre cut into the fabric. It really cut down on weeding, and my garden was easy to keep watered during our drought.

Happy gardening!

Keep notes of your garden from year to year. It will help you learn from your mistakes and remember your successes.
Tomatoes and peppers are easy plants to grow. (Bought from the store, but it is not necessary to buy the full grown expensive plants- the smaller ones will do just fine). You will need a cage (or equivalent) for each tomato plant.
Most vegetable seeds are easy to grow- green beans, cucumbers (although they take up a lot of space), zucchini, carrots, radishes. When watering seeds, especially in really high heat, it's important to keep them moist. Just make sure they aren't watered too much or it will cause them to rot.
Start small this year and expand with experience; it's a little overwhelming to try to much the first year.
Try weeding a little every couple days; it helps to keep it from getting out of control.

Thank you all! I decided to start with just tomatoes and peppers in pots since it is my first year. I will try and keep notes and let you all know how it turns out :)