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I know NOTHING about gardening. I grew up in high rise crowded apartments in crowded and dirty urban areas and was never familiar with plants or gardening. Now, it is the first time I am living in a condo, which has a small patio garden (about 10x2 feet). I am interested to do some gardening (mostly thinking of herbs, tomatoes and alike), but have no clue what to do. I just have cleaned it and pulled out the weeds. Could someone guide me to a website/book such as "gardening for dummies" :-), or give me some hints here what to do next...like do I need to buy soil? how much, where, what type and so on....Thanks a lot folks!

Welcome to gardening!! It's such fun and totally addictive. While there are literally millions of books out there on gardening, in my opinion the web is an even better resource for getting started.
The easiest way to start is to learn a bit about the various basics...for instance, the most important things to consider when starting your first garden are: light, soil, air/pollution, desired effect. You said you have a small patio area--is it enclosed/walled? If so, this will affect air circulation and could mean less light gets to the plants. In order to determine if your little patch of land is "full sun", "partial sun" or shade, you should know how many hours of sunlight it gets per day. This is harder to determine in the winter, of course, since in the summer a full sun spot would get at least 6 hours of sun per day. A partial sun spot would get 3-4 hours of sun per day. Another thing to consider is whether the spot gets morning or afternoon sun, if it's not an all day sunny spot--afternoon sun is much hotter and more intense than morning sun, and can scorch some more delicate plants. If you determine that your garden is actually in the shade, then you will have to grow your herbs and tomatoes in containers elsewhere (like in the house, or window boxes) since they require full sun.

Next up is your "Zone". This is really easy to determine, just google "garden zone lookup" and you will find a bunch of maps that tell you all sorts of info like your Zone number (numbers 1-10 basically, with 10 being the hottest tropical zones and 1 being, like, the Arctic); the maps also give a general temperature range for your zone, and often tell you the dates of the first and last frosts--important when thinking of growing annuals like tomatoes and most herbs.
Now on to soil; there are very inexpensive little soil test kits that will tell you the pH of your existing soil. They're about $5-$10 usually, and will help you understand whether you need to "amend" the soil with any extra nutrients or elements to change the pH for optimal plant growth. Most plants prefer a fairly neutral soil with a pH around 6.5 to 7. Do a little reading on this subject, as well, to fully understand what I'm talking about. It does make a difference! If you wish to add soil because your pH is screwy and you don't want to mess around with lime or whatever amendments, then make sure to use garden soil, not potting soil. This is available very cheaply at places like Lowe's, Home Depot, etc., as well as Wal Marts with a garden center, and of course, garden stores.

Another thing to think about as you plan out your first garden is how much time you have to spend on the project. If you want to grow tomatoes, for instance, and have good conditions for them, pay attention to the type of plants you buy--indeterminate tomato plants will grow very tall/large, and will need some light pruning as well as support (tomato cage) to grow properly. Determinate tomatoes are a much better choice for limited space like you have--you would probably have the best luck with a "patio tomato" bush since they are small, don't need cages, and are very very easy to grow! As for herbs, most of them are very easy to care for, depending on your zone. They basically all just need a lot of sun, and good drainage (they don't like "wet feet", or sitting in water). One note of caution about herbs: mint is a perennial herb which is well known to be very invasive, and will take over the world if you plant it in the ground! It's best kept in a container for that reason. It took me 4 years to get rid of a patch of mint planted by the former owner of my house! LOL

I could go on and on and on, obviously, but I hope this is a good start for you!!

2008-12-30 06:53:20 by Duped

I#39;ve decided to grow my own patio vegetable and fruit garden. My patio is not very large but with the right amount of planning I should be ...

The elevated patio is 9m by 2m and the lower garden is 17 by 10. The garden has a border of plants about 1/2 to a metre wide. We have two parks just across the road. I was wondering if this is sutible for a Golden Retriever.
Thanks

I personally believe that big dogs need a big amount of space. Retrievers are big and unless you plan on walking/running it every single day, I wouldn't consider getting one because it may end up obeise. You've got to think of the needs of the dog and whether you'd personally be happy if you were couped up in a space that size all the time. I know I wouldn't. I would reccommend getting a smaller dog or waining until you have more space.

2008-03-24 23:35:29 by Pete

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decking and raised flower beds because I am semi disabled. I now have water on the shed floor every time it rains. I thought the roof was leaking but it's not. There is a field behind my garden and it's about 12 inches higher then the garden.
I'm afraid I live in a local authority OAP bungalow and the shed is brick built.
There is no way i could raise the shed as it is brick built and has a cement floor and it is through this that the water raises.

you maybe able to have a trench built.this might take the overflow rain and you could run it into your garden for watering or redirect it to your neighbors.it may be cheaper than having your shed raised

2009-04-26 02:10:29 by Boudicca

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I want a small rose plant (yellow) to put in the sun the only place I have left. Does anyone know the name of a small rose bush that does not grow very tall? I don't want the minature rose plant or a crawling one for a fence.

There is a rose that falls in the shrub category called "Golden Celebration" that is beautiful. I saw it at a garden show, it has a wonderful citrusy fragrance.
Do you have your roses in containers or plant into the ground?

2008-05-11 10:30:47 by jalady

I have a small patio/garden space facing south east on the ground floor of my flat. I would like to make it come to bloom this year and would appreciate any suggestions for easy to care for plants and also if I can grow any kind of veg or herbs. I don't know much about gardening so nothing too complicated but I would very much like to grow some things in pots this year. What is best? When should I start germinating seeds and growing things?

Mint is easy to grow and virtually impossible to kill. It also smells fantastic and can be used in cooking. Philodendrons are also easy plants, as well as spider plants. Alyssum is good if you want something that flowers, especially if you want something strongly scented; it smells like honey. Tomatoes are pretty easy going, but are sensitive to frost and high temperatures; they like it when it's between seventy and one hundred. Radishes grow if you simply toss the seeds in soil; just make sure that you shield them from birds. If you are looking at bulb plants, try fairy lilies; they grow quickly and easily in pots, just keep them out of reach of rabbits.

2010-02-14 14:47:12 by pennylicker