Starting a new garden

We just moved back to Myrtle Beach (from Maryland) in November. We lived here from '81 - '84, but I wasn't a terribly good gardener back then. (I kept wondering why my petunias in hanging baskets in full sun weren't thriving...) We moved into a new home (which we bought last spring) where the previous owners (definitely not gardeners) had pretty much clear cut the huge back yard so their kids could ride their ATVs back there. We find ourselves with a garden area approximately 75 ft X 100 feet behind our newly sodded lawn - all surrounded by a 6 foot fence. We brought in 3 dump trucks of black soil to add to the sandy soil. Wow - I can grow all those things I've always wanted but had no room for now. I am trying to plot out where we want our fruit trees (pear, apple, peach), our vegetables (plus watermelon, canteloupe, and maybe catawba grapes), our flowers - and a large herb garden. I brought lots of starts over the summer from my Maryland gardens and find all are in good shape. I have a dear friend here who has been hoarding starts of all kinds of plants for me as well. I know that I'm biting off a lot - but my farm boy hubby is also a gardener and will do a lot of the work. I would like to try all kinds of plants that seem to do well with the long, hot summers. Since I need a lot, I'd like to try seeds. I know that some will work, some won't. That's OK.

My question is when do I put out seeds down here? I am still unpacking - so can't think about starting anything inside. Everything will have to be outside.

If anyone has any advice about plants that do well here, I'd love to hear it.

You have to break that down. Trees should be planted now. If you have cuttings of many plants you need to hang on until the last frost is over which I don't know when exactly that is for you. Your county extension office can probably give you a good guide for when to plant veggies in your area.

What exactly do you have seeds for? Makes a difference. Some of them you can sow right now.

Thanks for the information. I finally did track down the extension links - and have had a great time following leads. I guess I have a little while to finish unpacking before I need to get going on the garden. I really am looking forward to the process. It certainly will be interesting to have the opportunity for both summer and fall gardens. I only have a few seeds right now - mostly for flowers. I am going through the SC extension files to look for varieties good for the Carolinas. I will certainly have to get out the spinach, lettuce - and other cool weather crops soon.