Oh so much to learn! First time EVER gardening!

[Jared77]

One other friendly bit of advice keep your eyes peeled for the post memorial day sales on transplants. Memorial Day around here is the typical time for most folks to start their gardens.

So the big box stores, (Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot etc) will put their transplants on clearance to get them out. Ive seen tomatoes, peppers both sweet and hot, and a variety of herbs and squash in 4" pots for 99 cents or sometimes even 2 for 99 cents per pot because they know most folks have what they want and they want those plants gone to make room for something else.

You can get some SUPER deals this way. You may not find exactly what your after (sometimes you can only find peppers of a certain color, or tomatoes of a certain variety) but at that price I manage. I always go cruise the clearance shelves to find a deal. Do I need them? No, but at that price Ill find room for them and once the canners out whats a few more jars of sauce anyway?

 

[so lucky]

If you buy tall, lanky tomato plants, you can plant them really really deep, to ensure a good root system, and make them much stronger. Most folks say to pinch off the leaves that will be underground. The plants will send out roots all along the buried stem. That will help them remain healthy in dry weather and won't suffer from drouth so quickly. Instead of really deep planting, some gardeners will lay a lanky tomato plant down in a trench, with just a few inches of the top sticking above the soil. This works, too, but your plant will take a few days to start growing upward toward the sun. Good luck on your first garden. Gardening is a fantastic family project. Remember that keeping weeds out will be a big issue. You might want to plan now on how you will handle that.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

AnnK From one Maine'ah to another, this weekend is perfect! I put mine in last weekend, but traditionally, Memorial Day weekend is the weekend. As some of the other folks have said here, tomato and pepper plants are probably your best bet instead of seeds. I am just happy that the rain has stopped and the sun is out! :coolsun Best wishes for your first garden.