PLAN AHEAD | My garden plan (above) helped me with every-

thing from how to space my plants to when to put them in the

ground and where. You could draw up a plan on graph paper or
generate one using an online garden planner like I did. I used
growveg.com, which lets you customize a large garden space from
scratch. Gardeners.com also offers a planner that is good for
smaller spaces and has preplanned gardens to keep it simple.
3 VEGETABLES TO START EARLY | These veggies love cool
weather (you can plant thema few weeks before the last frost) and
grow quickly. So plant them first and youll enjoy the rewards of
your work in a hurry.
Lettuce: I planteddifferent types of lettuceall over my garden, wher-
ever I could find room. Its forgiving and grows fast enough that
youll beharvestingyoungleaves for salads withinafewweeks. Plant
seeds every twoweeks inthespringsoyouhaveaconstant supply.
Turnips: I never thought of themas a spring vegetable so I was sur-
prised to harvest turnips before anything else. They take about a
month fromseed to harvest and have a peppery and sweet flavor
when theyre picked fresh.
Peas: We squeezed ours in close together and they yielded pounds
and pounds of sugary sweet snap peas. Pea plants produce more in
cooler weather than they do once it heats up. And by the heat of the
summer, theyre pretty much fizzled out so you can plant a late-sea-
son crop in their spot.
READING AND REFERENCES | The Vegetable Gardeners
Bible by Edward C. Smith (Storey, 2009) features his WORDsys-
temWide rows, Organic methods, Raised beds & Deep soil. Its
approachable for beginners and insightful even for experienced
gardeners. Detailed plant profiles are an easy reference.
If your idea of a vegetable garden is a beautiful, whimsical
space that not only provides food but is an oasis in your backyard,
youll find inspiration in gardening guru Ellen Ecker Ogdens latest
book The Complete Kitchen Garden (Stewart, Tabori & Chang,
March 2011). She includes 14 themed kitchen gardens, from a
salad lovers garden to a chefs garden, along with garden plans,
plant profiles and recipes to use up the harvest.
Connect with other gardeners. In EatingWells Gardening
Well online community you can meet and ask questions of other
gardeners, share your tips, photos and videos: eatingwell.com/go/
gardeningwell.
3 BASIC TOOLS
Trowel: Use to dig small holes for planting transplants.
Stirrup Hoe: Pull up young weeds at the root with just a gentle
back-and-forth motion.
Garden rake: Level beds and filter out large stones that may inter-
rupt seedling growth.
SEED SOURCES | One of our favorite organic seed companies,
High Mowing Seeds (highmowingseeds.com), now offers cus-
tomized EATINGWELL seed collections, such as the Garden Starter
Collection and the Kitchen Herbs Collection.
Specializing in Asian vegetables, Kitazawa Seed Company
(kitazawaseed.com) is a great place to find off-the-beaten-path
items like Chinese celery and Shiso leaves. The company was
started in 1917in San Jose, California.
The best reason to start your own garden: tomatoes. I love Gary
Ibsens Tomato Fest (tomatofest.com). He offers over 600organic
heirloomtomato seeds suitable to grow in almost any climate or
any space, including rooftops and patios. H.M.
SPRI NG I NTO GARDENI NG | All you need to get your garden growing, from the ground up
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CABBAGE (FALL) EGGPLANT
PEPPER
LEEK
SWISS CHARD BRUSSELS SPROUT
SUMMERSQUASH
ZUCCHINI
CUCUMBER
LETTUCE
BEETS
BEANS (BUSH) BEANS (DRY)
WATERMELON
MELON
POTATO
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CARROT
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TURNIPS
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