First Timer - Garden Location?

Ok, I've decided to take the plunge and start a garden. I have a nice backyard and I'm not doing anything with it, and I love fresh veggies... so it just made sense. I want my focus to be tomatoes. I want so many tomatoes I can't find enough people to give them away to. I also plan to include some squash and herbs (mostly basil). Thanks to Google Maps I attached an aerial photo of my yard, and highlighted some notable features. There are two crape myrtles I drew a blue circle around since they weren't very visible. And the back left corner of the yard is facing due north, for sunlight / shadow considerations. I'm in Marietta, GA which I believe is zone 8.

The interesting thing is that the yard has two very different areas in regards to drainage and moisture. The area indicated by the yellow box seems to retain a LOT more moisture in the soil than the rest of the yard. The weeds absolutely go wild in the yellow zone. My initial thinking was that if the weeds thrive here, maybe veggies would too... but now I read that high moisture isn't as desirable for tomatoes. The rest of the yard drains exceptionally well, which is bad news for my grass during drought conditions / restricted watering! So, my seasoned dirt-ninjas, where do I unleash my tiller?

Garden placement aside, my current progress is that I have some Brandywine red tomato seedlings under grow lights. I'll post some pictures when I get home later. They're looking really nice though! I'm scheduled to get some Stupice, Lillian's Yellow, Cherokee Chocolate, and Aunt Ruby's German Green seeds in this week. I realize I'm a bit late to the game as far as starting my seeds, but the only thing I could find at local nurseries were better boy hybrids, which didn't interest me terribly much. Will I be ok? Or should I just save the seeds for next year, suck it up and buy some plants?

You will be better off staying away from the spot that holds lots of water for the vegetables that you mentioned, in my opinion. The well-drained soil is the best bet. I would test the soil to make sure the nutrients are there. You could still possibly start some tomatoes and have them more for a later crop when they come in. I know Stupice is an early producer. I can't comment on the herbs. Good luck, you will enjoy the garden.

What is your yard used for - playing, soccer games, bbq parties, lounging? I would place the garden as close to the back (or even better- kitchen) door as possible without interfering with your other activities. Other than that, give it full sun. Get on the "Square Foot Gardening" website by Mel Bartholomew. Order his book from the library - get the newest edition and DO use raised beds. Mine are a dream to work in. I've got 4x8 raised beds with 2' paths all around. The paths are covered with chipped wood - free from a local tree trimming company and the boxes are filled with aged manure - free from a few local farms. The 2"x6" wood for the boxes cost me about $9 each (three 8' lengths) to make but I scavenged most of my wood. I plan to add another 6" of compost and another 6" high box next spring to make them a full foot off the ground, delightful. I'll do my gardening from a padded stool......

Google the site "Wintersown Seeds" and they have a SASE heritage tomato seed program where you can send away a SASE and a few bucks (I think) and they will send you a pack of at least 6 varieties of different tomato, very clean and well labeled. I got thirteen types of tomato, and 11 other freebee seed packets from them. All my tomatoes are growing well in the basement this spring, great germination rates from the seeds they gave me.

Different tomato varieties have different days to maturity/harvest. You have a long growing season so you may very well get two or even three tomato harvests in before the end of your eason. Some tomatoes mature in as short as 55 to 70 days--others require 80 to 100 days. So do a plan on paper to continually use your space through the growing season. You have enough time to do two crops for sure.

cfed - try growing your tomatoes in 10 gallon or larger pots, then you could move them around if necessary. I would probably experiment with digging a shallow hole in the wettest area you mentioned and placing the pots there in the hopes that moisture would be drawn-up through the holes in the bottom of the pots. I buy my pots here:

http://www.growersupply.com/

Thanks for the advice, guys. Pretty much every male (except me!) in my family is involved in the landscaping industry, so getting pots and supplies should be easy. I'm definitely up for some experimentation. I'll definitely try the "pot in the moist earth" thing. You know, in the name of science. :)

drea_kat, thanks for the suggestions. I've heard a lot of people advocating the raised beds, but I'm doubtful about my access to large quantities of manure, and I'm not sure how I would transport it. Are the advantages over just tilling the soil and planting directly that pronounced? If it'll give my plants a huge edge, I may see what I can pull off.

And finally, it's great to know that there's still time to make use of my new seeds. Just got them in. Straight into peat pellets with them! I'm definitely excited at the prospect of experiencing some unique tomatoes. I promised some pics of my baby Brandywines... here they are: