New to Gardening In Oakland California...

I got into gardening when a friend told me about it. She rotatilled the soils, and we used chicken manure and steer manuer and compost and coffee grounds to till the soil. I have 6 tomato plants, but from reading this site I am learning they are too close together. They are like three inches apart can I transplant them? They were in pots and have been in the ground for two weeks.

i have enough space to move them I am going out now to dig a deep hole for four of them and I will put some manuer and hopefully I can replant them tomorrow.

I dont know anything about plant disease and now I am afraid of not doing this right. I am growing Beans, Tomatoes, Collard Greens, swiss chard , radish, cucumbers and squash. I plan to put green onions and garlic in as well.

My soil is horrible. Even after rotatillin, there are still rocks. So I work the soil about an hour a day to weed out rocks and then plant a row.

I will buy trellises for my plants tomorrow, but they are not tall enough yet. The tomatoes were already plants, the green onions and garlic I'm growing from whats' in my fridge. The rest are seeds that I planted according to the package. I have an orange tree that bears very tasty sweet oranges.

I will not give up! I have bees in my yard, a hummingbird moved into my orange tree and I saw two butterflies today! I am a hardcore city girl gong country so any advice would be most appreciated! Thank you!!

This message was edited May 15, 2009 12:46 AM

Tomatoes are tough just move them.

Your tomatoes can be moved--I'd suggest doing it in the evening to give them all night to adjust before being hit with sun. You might want to shade them for a day or two after moving them (and make sure you move a root ball, not bare-root).
Go easy with the manure--tomatoes that are over-fertilized develop lots of leaves and fewer tomatoes. Side-dress with composted manure when the tomatoe plants start to bloom.
Your squash, beans, etc. will do fine. Remember, gardening is an art, not a science and we all have failures (don't ask me about last year's cucumbers). Diseases happen, and so do bugs. Google a search on insecticidal soap which you can make and takes care of most soft-bodied insects and discourages some others! For diseases, usually a first-time garden bed has very few. Proper watering (at the soil level, not overhead, and preferably in the morning so any wet leaves have a chance to dry) and proper air circulation (don't plant too close) will keep most diseases at bay. Soil borne diseases can be treated by crop rotation. You will learn over the years!
Of course you aren't going to give up! You are just starting on a wonderful adventure, accompanied by bees, hummingbirds, and a host of wonderful aromas, tastes and sights.