Before you buy the jean overalls and have a dump truck of manure dropped on your driveway, you need to figure out just what it is you’d like to plant in your first garden.

Your garden may have roses, cutting flowers, or herbs. You'll most certainly want to try some vegetables such as tomatoes, green beans, or squash. Don't forget to consider fruit trees such as lemons and yard-perfect, columnar apples - not to mention blueberries! There are plants for crafts like bird house gourds or sunflowers. The possibilites are endless but before you jump in with both feet, you should have a plan. Even if it’s a rough sketch on the back of your third-grader’s homework.

Here are some good questions to ask yourself:

• What is the first vegetable, fruit, or herb that immediately comes to mind when you think of your own farm? This is the crop you should start with.
• What kinds of foods do you and your family eat often?
• Are you going to have help from family members? Think about how much you can feasibly do by yourself vurses if you have backup.
• What areas in your yard can you reasonably give to raising food crops? You can always mix flowers in with your produce, you know.
• Would you be willing to give up some of your lawn? Nice raised beds look lovely with a green lawn path for walking rows.
• Think about your specific growing and garden zone. Do you have a long growing season or a short one?
• Do you get heavy snow or none at all?
• What plants do you see at your local nursery? In your neighbor’s yard?
• Do you want crops you can store for some months like potatoes, onions and carrots?
• Do you like to can fruits or berries?
• Do you like caring for animals? Rabbit and chicken manures are top notch for gardens. Not to mention the fresh eggs.
• Do you enjoy cut flowers in the house?
• If you’re a crafter, you may want to consider gourds or sunflowers.

There are some distinct advantages to growing produce in your backyard verses a full blown farm with acreage such as:

1. It’s a growing endeavor that is quite manageable by nearly everyone. It doesn’t take a crew of workers to plant, maintain or bring in a crop in a typical backyard.
2. Another incredibly cool thing about small land farming is that depending on where and how you intend to garden, if a crop isn’t working in one area, it is possible to simply move that crop in the same season. This is the case of container gardening. If you’re growing carrots in big plastic pots and you find they are not getting enough sunshine, just drag the planted container to another location.
3. If you are using raised beds, you can sometimes squeeze another harvest out in the same season because raised beds stay warmer than beds dug into the ground. This isn’t something large farm operations can often enjoy.
4. Raised beds can be created in any fashion your little heart desires. They can be built on a long stretch of side yard, or several shorter rows out back. They can be L – shaped or a kidney-shaped island in the middle of the yard. You can have container boxes on your back porch by the kitchen door; perfect for an herb garden.
5. The tools is inexpensive and minimal (by far) compared to traditional farming. There’s not only less of it to purchase, but the price can range down to nearly nonexistent if you receive some as gifts, hit the garage sales, or buy from Craig’s List ads. Anything with a motor attached is just a luxury.
6. Apartment and condominium dwellers can take heart; you can grow your fair share of crops on your decks, balconies and window boxes. They even have a new upside down tomato plant grower so small spaces can take advantage of every square inch; even upside down hanging from the eaves.
7. Home grown produce is less inclined to be attacked by garden pests in great numbers. Home gardeners grow distinctly smaller quantities of vegetables and it's easy to tuck companion plants into the garden beds to both attract beneficial insects and to repel undesirable ones. If pests insist on hanging around, they are easily removed in a backyard garden.

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Gokemon - when & what to plant for a fal   | Editor | 2009-07-27 14:10:59 I would love to hear your thoughts about when to plant and what to plant for a fall garden? I have a separate space that someone wants to garden in. What shall we plant and when? Around Atlanta, GA.

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