Table Of Contents.

1 GARDENING BASICS 5
THE BONES OF THE GARDEN 6
PLANTING ZONES 6
MULCH 6
WATERING GUIDELINES 7
A QUICK OVERVIEW OF FERTILIZERS 8
DEAD HEADING 8

2 PLANNING, PREPARATION, PLANTING AND MAINTENANCE: 4 STEPS TO EASY, SUCCESSFUL GARDENING 10
PLANNING 10
PREPARATION 11
PLANTING 14
MAINTENANCE 16
INSECTICIDES 17

3 ORGANIC GARDENING 18
ORGANIC FERTILIZERS AND COMPOST 18
ORGANIC INSECTICIDES AND PEST CONTROL 19

4 VEGETABLE GARDENING 22
WHAT TO PLANT – EASY VEGETABLES FOR BEGINNING GARDENERS 23
WHEN TO PLANT – FROM SPRING TO FALL, HAVE FRESH VEGETABLES ALL THROUGH THE GROWING SEASON 23
SUN EXPOSURE, WATERING AND FERTILIZING 24

5 FLOWER GARDENING 25
ANNUALS 26
PERENNIALS 27
BULBS, RHIZOMES AND TUBERS 29

6 ROSE GARDENING 31
HOW TO PLANT ROSES 31
MAINTAINING YOUR ROSES 33

7 TREE GARDENING 36
CHOOSING THE RIGHT TREE FOR YOUR YARD 37
PLANTING YOUR TREE 38

8 XERISCAPE GARDENING 39
THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF XERISCAPE GARDENING 40

9 HYDROPONIC GARDENING 43
HYDROPONIC GARDEN1NG METHODS 44

10 GARDEN1NG TOOLS 45
BASIC HAND TOOLS – MORE THAN JUST HOES AND SHOVELS 46
POWER GARDEN TOOLS 47

CONCLUSION 48
SOME MORE LAST TIPS TO MAKE YOUR GARDENING EXPERIENCE EVEN MORE SUCCESSFUL

Here is an excerpt of our book

Vegetable Gardning

Preparing for a vegetable gardening is almost the same as for a flower garden with two exceptions. Irrigation watering is the best method for watering a vegetable garden, unlike the flower garden. A vegetable garden must have exceptional drainage. Root vegetables, especially, will rot in the ground with poor drainage.

A raised bed is the easiest and most effective way to guarantee reallygood drainage and for creating irrigation channels. Building a raised bed is quite simple to do and can be accomplished in just two or three hours.

The first step is to remove all the grass and weeds from the garden spot. Then, instead of tilling the existing soil, you will need to add seven to twelve inches of material on top of the existing soil. You could add a combination of compost and top soil or just compost. While a combination of top soil and compost is adequate and effective, filling in the garden spot with all compost will give your vegetables the very best growing environment.

Measure out rows for your vegetables making sure you will have enough room to move between the rows to weed out and harvest your vegetables. Next to each row, cut an irrigation channel approximately seven inches wide and six inches deep. Tamp the soil down firmly on all the sides and bottom of the channels. When watering, you will just fill the irrigation channels with water.

As easy as that, you have created raised beds and irrigation channels for your vegetable garden. You are now ready to plant your garden.

WHAT TO PLANT – EASY VEGETABLES FOR BEGINNING GARDENERS

As a general rule, the simplest vegetables to grow are: tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, carrots, squash, green beans, spinach and green lettuce. These vegetables will give you fresh salads and vegetables all summer long and most are easily started from a seed. However, for the beginning gardener, it is easier to purchase the established plants from your local garden center.

In addition to making it easier to get the garden established, purchasing established plants also makes it easier to resist planting too much. You should remember that you will need to faithfully water and weed your garden all summer long, especially during the hottest months. Weeding is especially important, as weeds will rob your vegetables of essential nutrients and water. Therefore, when deciding how much to plant, keep in mind the maintenance needs of your garden. Be careful also not to plant too much of a perishable vegetable, like lettuce, at one time so that you do not have a large portion of your crop going to waste.