Newbie to gardening but here is some advice from what I've learned from past experience....
There are three numbers on a bag of fertilizer; they represent, N-P-K;
these are nitrogen, phosporus and potassium.
Root veggies and anything you grow for the fruit (tomatoes, squash, bell pepper, melons, okra,
any kind of bean, peas) prefer something high in potassium and phosphorus. Don't use a high nitrogen fertilizer or you will get no fruit,
and the root portion will be so small, thin, and spindly.
Any leafy green thing (lettuce, spinach, etc.) love a high nitrogen fertilizer as well as cabbage (Asian, Savoy, Red, and normal green) cauliflower and broccoli.
Pick a spot that is sunny; you'll need 6-8 hours minimum of sun per day.
Some things aren't as finicky with being grown closer together such as leafy green stuff and root veggies. Other things like tomatoes, eggplant,, bell pepper, squash, and melons really need their space.
There are warm weather crops, which are things that love hot weather,
any kind of frost, even a light one, will kill them. They are very touchy about cold weather; should wait until temperatures are 50+ degrees
at night for these crops.
the warm weather crops are:
*Any kind of tomato (grape, cherry, roma which is a paste variety,
slicers)
*Eggplant (Asian which is the long slender variety as well as
globe and Thai)
*Most beans (with the exceptiion of the fava bean which prefers cool weather)
*Okra
*Any kind of squash (acorn, spaghetti, zucchini, pattypan, buttercup,
butternut, pumpkin)
*Any kind of melon
*Cucumbers
*peppers (both sweet and hot)
NOTES: The fruit on things such as melons, cucumbers, and squash comes from the blossom; it's normal for the blossom to drop off.
If the plant sets immature fruit, but it shrivels up and dies (never becomes big enough to eat) then it's because of lack of pollination. This happens can happen when it becomes too hot, or too cool. The fruit comes from
the female blossom.
This requires insect pollination, such as from bees and butterflies. If the blossoms aren't adequately pollinated by the insects, you won't get fruit. You can set out flowers to attract bees, which will increase the possibility of them getting pollinated. If this still doesn't work, then you can self pollinate using a small paintbrush; dab it into the pollen on the male blossom, and transfer that pollen to the female flower using the paintbrush and dabbing it into the female blossom.
Things such as okra, beans, bell peppers, and tomatoes also set blossoms and this is where the fruit come from but they don't need to be pollinated by insects; they're self pollinating meaning they'll set fruit regardless of whether or not they're pollinated by insects.
WATER FREQUENTLY. If not you can get blossom end rot, which starts out as a small black dot, and then eventually turns into a big sunken black hole on the end of the fruit. The primary cause of this is temperature fluctuations as well as inconsisent watering.
There are a few varieties of zucchini and cucumber that are self pollinating, can let you know what they are if you're interested.
Cool weather crops:
*lettuce (romaine, bibb, leaf lettuce, iceberg; these are the varieties I know of)
*cabbage (your typical green, asian varieties such as bok choy,
savoy which is just a crinkly variety that has smaller heads in comparison to green cabbage and red;Asian cabbage is more tolerant of heat than
the other varieties)
*carrots
*beets (two varieties, normal red, and gold; gold supposedly has a milder flavor)
*parsnip
*turnips
*rutabagas
*onions (if you live in a cool climate they're typically started in the summer, as they take awhile to mature; sets are miniature onion bulbs; they are faster to mature but are more prone to disease; varieties are red, yellow, and white; you can harvest them about halfway thru the growing season, which is generally about 45-50 days for pearl onions)
*cauliflower; kind of finicky with the weather. It can't be too hot or too cold, has to be warm.
*Broccoli
*Broccoli Raab
*Celeriac (a root vegetable that tastes like celery)
*Celery
*red radishes (are very easy to grow, very quick to mature)
*Asian radishes (are longer in length and fatter than red radishes; take
longer to mature than red radishes)
*Spinach
*Swiss chard
*watercress
*arugula (both watercress and arugula have a sharp tangy bite to them; they have a kind of 'musty' taste that is also slightly tangy)
*Claytonia (also kown as miner's lettuce; another leafy green thing)
*Purslane (another leafy green thing)
*Mustard greens
*Collards (This is something that is not picky; it will grow well in summer and cold weather)
*Kale (Same as collards; will grow well in summer and cold weather too)
*Radicchio (have big purple heads; slightly bitter flavor)
*Endive (another leafy green thing; texture of leaf is more 'firm' compared to that of lettuce)
*Peas
*Pak Choi (miniature version of Bok Choi, essentially baby bok choi)
*Komatsuna (a Japanese leafy green thing)
*Mizuna (Japanese mustard green; when harvested it has very 'lacey'
greens)
*Misome, Mibuna (both are Japanese greens)
*Sorrel (another leafy green thing with a very tangy flavor)
*Mache/lamb's lettuce (another leafy green thing)
NOTES: Root veggies and swiss chard don't transplant well. You should direct sow them where they will grow for the whole season. Some cool weather veggies are hardier than other cool weather veggies. As the name implies, cool weather veggies like cool weather. There are some that are more tolerant of heat, but generally it's best to plant them in spring and for a fall harvest, mid to late summer (Late July to early to Mid August). By hardy I mean that the veggies can withstand frost without dying (light to moderate). Frost will improve the flavor of some veggies, such as parsnips, kale, and collards. You can start things such as onions and root veggies from seed, but be very careful with transplanting; they hate having their roots disturbed.
Sowing depth:
In general the smaller the seed, the more shallowly it is sown. The bigger the seed, the deeper it is sown.
Things that can be started as seedling transplants:
Seedling transplants are things you start indoors under grow lights. You typically do this to get a jump start on the growing season if you live in a place that has a short growing season.
The things that typically do well as transplants are cabbage, lettuce,
cauliflower, broccoli, any sort of tomato, any sort of pepper, any type of eggplant. Beans, cucumbers, melons, squash and cucumbers are typically best started direct sown where they're to grow.
They can be started as transplants indoors but you have to take caution with transplanting. None like to have their roots disturbed.
Hardening off; once they are big enough, they are taken outside. This is to gradually acclimate them to weather outdoors. Start in a sheltered area where there isn't full sun. Gradually increase the length of time they're left outside. First day you start with about a half hour, then bring them back indoors. Then you increase to an hour and bring indoors; keep doing this until they are strong enough to stay outside all day. If they are wilted, looking droopy bring indoors. Once they can stay outdoors without being droopy, they are ready to be transplanted.
Some seeds require light for germination, first one that comes to mind is lettuce.
I don't know if you plan to grow fruit but I know with berries they prefer a very acidic soil. Not sure about the other fruit. I'm no expert with growing berries, never done so myself. I do know that with young plants and with berries in general, you typically won't get your 1st good harvest until the 2nd year.
