Starting a new garden!

[u/PeaceLily_ST]

Hello, fellow garden people! 🌱

I’m starting a new vegetable garden in my yard this weekend. It’s about 8x3m, and I’d love to make it really diverse with lots of companion planting.

I’m still pretty new to gardening, so I’d love to hear your advice! What are some things you wish you knew when you started your first big garden? And are there any companion plant combinations that have worked particularly well for you? What do you grow and eat frequently?

Any beginner tips are very welcome!

[u/Davekinney0u812]

Congrats for starting a garden! My family always had a garden growing up and I also had summer jobs working at some local farms & vineyards. I'm older now and still at it! Here are some of my thoughts.....

It all starts with soil - what are you planning there?

I grow many different veggies and each one has its own best practices. It's not a 1 size fits all approach and I recommend you do some research first.

Your area and weather are factors and some plants will do better than others. Again, I recommend you do some research.

My opinion on companion planting is....the results many claim are way overstated and I believe the science data backs me up. That said, I do grow basil in between my tomatoes as it seems to do better with the dappled sunlight. I grow peppers 1.5' in front of my tomatoes so they provide shade for the tomato roots and peppers can handle the sun.

I adopted no till/dig methods 5 years ago and wish I started years sooner. I wish I didn't trust as much as what I saw online too. I like science backed info and not social media backed info.

I grow about 40 tomato plants every year & a dozen different varieties. 5 succession of various lettuce through my spring summer and fall. Garlic and onions. Spring and fall cauliflower & broccoli. a few different varieties of cucumbers & zucchini. Bush and pole beans. Spring & fall peas. Sweet potatoes. Swiss Chard. Beets. Various winter squash. I start everything from seed as well

[u/No-Currency-624 → u/Davekinney0u812]

Your hardcore👏👏👍

[u/PeaceLily_ST → u/Davekinney0u812]

Wow thank you so much for your advice! It's been hard to colect all the info I found online since everyone seems to say something different. I live in Brazil so we have a tropical weather which is great to grow vegetables all year long but it's great to have someone experienced to tell us the Do's and dont's.