A Beginner's Garden
Last year my wife and I bought our first house, built on a shady eighth acre plot in a fifties suburb of Minneapolis. Since my wife and I both grew up in rural Ohio with big gardens, we were excited to start one of our own. Wanting to give our new garden the best chance possible, I checked out a few books from the library and, of course, searched online. My most valuable advice came from family and friends who had been planting vegetable gardens for years. Talking to neighbors was also helpful, since they already knew the soil and climate from experience. It's still early in the growing season, but so far our garden seems to be pretty successful. Below are the basic steps most people seem to agree on, as well as my personal experience with them. Picking a spot for your new garden Sunshine, sunshine, and more sunshine. My yard is small with lots of shade trees, so this was tricky, but I managed to find a small plot on the east side of the house that gets full sun for abo...