What has been your most successful crop so far?

Know where your sun /shade is, and pick the right plant for the right place.

Start small, read everything you can and ask other gardeners their advice to learn more.

Putting a single tomato plant in a big pot, with fresh soil (bagged, not from your garden) can be very successful--cherry or grape tomatoes are perfect for this. Pinch out the suckers so it grows tall, not wide (the suckers are the little leaves that start at the junction of an existing leaf).  Water daily, and feed every week two.

There are so many things that can help a beginner gardener.  Catsknit had some good suggestions.  The internet is a great source of help.  Know your Zone & learn which flowers, shrubs & trees are native to your area. 

If a beginner starts out with a vegetable crop that is really easy to grow then they might be more inclined to keep on gardening.  Beans and radishes are super easy to grow.

My most successful crop are the raspberries, but the strawberries and blueberries are really going gangbusters this year too! 

When you are first starting to garden start small. Maybe with a container garden with a few easy to grow plants. If it's a vegetable garden start with lettuce or peas. Know when is the correct time to plant for your zone. If you plant too early and there is a frost you'll be done before you begin. Do not scrimp on soil. Use the best soil that you can afford and don't over water. If you over water you will rot the roots. Let the soil get a little dry so that the roots will grow deep into the soil.

This is the first year that we have a raised garden with all brand new soil and the garden is doing amazing. I have already picked my first broccoli and there are two zucchinis that are almost ready. We have a ton of tomatoes that are just starting to turn colour. I can't wait!!! Gardening can be fun. Here's my blog so that you can see what I mean: http://howdebsgardengrows.blogspot.ca/

to kill off grass, cardboard topped with mulch right over the grass works great. do that in the fall and in the spring you can dig right threw the cardboard to plant your new garden.

Hey I've updated blog with photos of the huge zucchini I picked last night. http://howdebsgardengrows.blogspot.ca/

picking plants look around your neighbourhood and pick from those plants. If the plants are dong well on your neighbour’s property them most likely will do well on your property too. 

 

 

 

 There are books out there that are to gardeners as 'The Joy Of Cooking' is to food and kitchens. 
Taylor's Master book of gardening (and his Encyclopaedia) 
comes to mind for learning most anything worth learning about gardens and plants. We have a well used first edition- many more have come and gone and the author has branched out (pun intended) to specialized books (all taken from his Master book).
DH was a farmer and landscape garden and he swears by it. 
Can't comment on any crops this year as we cannot garden where we live.

I love getting tips from other gardeners.  I do learn quite a bit just by looking at gardens in my neighbourhood - they inspire me.  Thanks dolphingirl for sharing you great blog - your garden looks wonderful!

I would add not to over crowd what you plant - give the transplants plenty of space to get bigger.  Also, thin your carrots!  I always have a tough time with this because I don't want to pull out the tiny little carrot seedlings.  If you thin them you will end up with a crop of carrots that are a decent size.

One final suggestion - if you have a good source of manure (as we do!) then put a couple of shovels full of good rotted stuff into the bottom of your rain barrel.  Fill up the barrel and give it a good stir once in awhile.  Lay a piece of plywood or something else on for a lid and let it sit and steep in the sun.  Use this to water your plants.  Manure tea helps them grow like nothing else!

 

starting out, is to have several plants of the same type and color.  thats much more effective than many different plants of different colors...