How does a garden grow?

[korafox]

I'm seriously trying to get on top of the idea of starting a garden, since I have a nice-sized backyard that gets a lot of sun and it seems like a prudent idea to have my own veggie source going forward this year.  The whole thing is super intimidating though--the internet has lots of advice but it is complicated and there are umpteen million choices to make.

Really what I want is someone to just tell me "buy things A, B, C then do things X, Y, Z" and then there are tomatoes.  Or bell peppers.  Or I don't even know, just the choice of what to grow is daunting.  Worrying about soil acidity is a several-years-from-now problem.

Probably the first step is get seeds and maybe some soil because our soil is crap? (Not really; it would be better if it were literal crap, I think.  It's shot through with rocks and very thin sandy dirt in the backyard.)

On the plus side, I already have my very own trowel!  : D 
And a lot of bricks from the stupid landscaping in my front yard that I was going to remove and could turn into edging for garden beds...raised beds?  I don't even know. 

Advice for a 100% beginner is welcome.  I live in Illinois, USA in what the internet tells me is hardiness zone 5b.

Comments

[cereta]

Honestly, I've always started with existing tomato plants, and sometime around early May. Do you have a plan for tilling? I usually hire someone to do it, but you can rent tillers from hardware stores. I'm happy to chat about it at some point.

[korafox]

Hm, I had not even thought about tilling. I am reading some things on the internet about it. I'm a little worried the rock situation would damage a motorized tiller...we definitely have golf-ball-sized rocks all through the soil. And the previous owners also put down this black plastic sheeting a couple inches under the dirt. I think it was meant to kill weeds but that clearly didn't work, and now we have annoying plastic in our soil too. :/

[grammarwoman]

If you can throw money at the problem, I highly recommend raised beds and/or grow boxes. They let you completely sidestep your existing condition, but you do have to buy dirt to fill them, in addition to the raised bed frame or box. The bricks could probably do for the bed, with some reinforcement to keep them stacked (mortar, rebar, whatever).

You could also do a bunch of plants in containers. Herbs love pots, and it's a good idea to keep invasive spreaders like dill and mint in their own controlled spaces anyway. Cherry tomatoes will do just fine in larger pots (though depending on how tall they get, they could blow over). You could even mimic a grow box in a tote, with drainage holes drilled in the bottom.

Other options are things like seeding lettuce directly in a bag of dirt.

Not to be a worrywart, but I've heard that supply might be an issue this year, with lots of people scrambling to get their own gardens in order, so getting started sooner rather than later is a good idea. You may want to look into starting seeds as well as buying seedlings.

If you want some practical advice, here are some YouTubers I think are helpful: MI Gardener, Roots and Refuge Farm, <a htre="https://www.youtube.com/user/WIsailorgirl>The Impatient Gardener</a>.

[korafox]

That is all great information, thanks for the advice! I am thinking I will probably go with some sort of raised bed at least for this year due to time constraints. Maybe I can work on de-rocking half of the yard that I am not using to grow things. I have some pots that were left behind by the previous owners too, so maybe some herbs and cherry tomatoes will work there.

I am also thinking about supply issues, so I was hoping to get things sorted out no later than this weekend. *fingers crossed*

I will check out those YouTubers too! Much appreciated.

[grammarwoman]

Glad to be helpful! Also, sorry that I messed up the link on the last one.

[korafox]

No worries, I can tell where it is pointing. :)