Learn Vegetable Gardening
Twelve modules that take a first garden from a patch of yard or a few containers to a planted, watered and recorded season, with a planting calendar built from your own frost dates.
Describe your garden. Tell us the space, the sun, your frost dates and the crops you are thinking about. Every green box, the planting calendar and the calculators then speak to your garden. It stays in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How this course is organized
The modules follow the decisions a season forces, in the order it forces them: how much garden your week can hold, what your light and frost dates allow, what your soil contains, where to grow, what to plant and when, then water, feeding, problems and harvest. Each module ends with a practice task and a green box that reads your setup. The tools keep your plan, your planting dates and your records in this browser, and the last module turns those records into next season's plan.
Each module has the same parts:
- Start here: the three to five steps that are the minimum for a first pass, fitted to your setup. Sections marked Go deeper are optional, and a switch on each module hides them.
- Understand: the concept and the judgment behind it, explained from fundamentals outward.
- See it: a worked example, and free demonstrations chosen so you see it done well before you try it.
- Practice: an exercise you can run with what you have, usually producing something you keep.
- Your garden: a green box that translates the lesson to the garden you described in setup.
- Check your work: criteria, a worked example, common mistakes, and what is still unresolved.
- A short knowledge check and a scenario with feedback on each path.
Mark it up as you read. Beside every heading there is a flag to bookmark the section and a Note button; select any passage to highlight it or attach a note. Everything you mark collects on My notes & bookmarks, grouped by module and printable, saved only in this browser and carried in your garden notebook export.
The modules
Size your first garden to the time you have
How big a first vegetable garden should be: what it asks of a week, how goals and household size change the plan, and how to pick five to eight first crops.
Read your site: sun, frost dates and climate
Measure the direct sun on a garden spot, look up your last and first frost dates, read them as probabilities, and learn what a hardiness zone does not tell you.
Know your soil before you plant in it
How to take a garden soil sample, read the lab report, estimate texture with a jar test, and act on a lead result before you plant vegetables in it.
Choose and prepare the growing space
Compare in-ground beds, raised beds and containers for vegetables: bed width and depth, safe lumber, fill ratios, container sizes and how much soil to buy.
Plan what goes where
Plan a vegetable bed: read variety codes, set equidistant spacing, count plants per bed, size plantings to a household and group crops by family to rotate them.
Time the season from your frost dates
When to plant each vegetable: frost tolerance classes, soil temperature, counting back to seed-starting dates, succession sowing and the fall planting formula.
Start seeds, buy transplants and plant them out
Read a seed packet, run a germination test on old seed, start seedlings under lights, pick healthy transplants, harden them off and plant them out well.
Water deeply and mulch
How much water a vegetable garden needs in gallons, how to check soil moisture, time a hose, set drip run times, use rain barrels and mulch at the right depth.
Feed the soil and the plants
Read a fertilizer label, turn a soil-test recommendation into pounds of product for your beds, time side-dressing, add compost at sensible rates, avoid excess.
Diagnose problems before you treat them
Identify vegetable garden pests, diseases and wildlife damage before treating: a weekly scouting walk, IPM thresholds, row covers, fences and diagnostic labs.
Harvest, store and handle produce safely
Know when common vegetables are ready to pick, store each at the right temperature and humidity, cure onions and potatoes, and handle garden produce safely.
Close the season and plan the next one
End a vegetable garden season well: row covers and cold frames, fall cleanup, cover crops, garlic, a review of your records and next year's rotation plan.
Common questions
How do I start a vegetable garden as a beginner?
Start small enough to keep up with in July: measure the sun on your spot, look up your frost dates, test the soil, and pick five to eight crops your household eats. Module 1 sizes the garden to your weekly hours, and the modules after it follow the season in order.
When should I plant tomatoes outside?
Colorado State University Extension classes tomatoes as very tender: plant out about two weeks or more after your average last spring frost, once days stay above 55 °F and the soil is at least 50 °F at planting depth. The planting calendar counts the dates from your own frost date; this year's weather still decides.
How many hours of sun does a vegetable garden need?
Extension guides give 6 to 8 or more hours of direct sun for fruiting crops such as tomatoes, peppers and squash, and 4 to 6 hours for many leafy greens and root crops. Module 2 shows how to measure the sun on your spot across a day and a season.
How do I find my last frost date?
Ask your county extension office or use NOAA's freeze-date data for a station near you. The commonly published date is the 50 percent date: half of past years had a later frost. Module 2 explains the 10 percent date and how to choose your level of risk.
Do I need to test my garden soil for lead?
Test before growing food if a building near the garden was built before 1978, if the garden is near a busy road, or if the soil is fill of unknown origin. EPA ties specific gardening practices to specific lead levels. Module 3 covers sampling and the levels; your health department answers health questions.
How deep should a raised bed be for vegetables?
University of Maryland Extension suggests about 8 inches for greens and beans and 12 to 24 inches for tomatoes and squash when a bed sits on a hard surface. Over loosened soil, roots can go below the bed. Module 4 covers width, height and fill.
Is pressure-treated wood safe for a vegetable garden?
CCA-treated lumber was withdrawn from residential use. An Oregon State University study of beds built with current copper-based treated wood found soil copper rose only within about an inch of the boards and found no increase in the vegetables. Avoid railroad ties and old lumber. Module 4 has the detail.
How much soil do I need to fill a raised bed?
Multiply length by width by depth in feet to get cubic feet; divide by 27 for cubic yards. A 4 by 8 foot bed 12 inches deep holds 32 cubic feet, about 1.2 cubic yards, before settling. The bed calculator does the math and the bag count.
How much water does a vegetable garden need per week?
About 1 inch a week is the usual starting convention, which is roughly 62 gallons per 100 square feet. Sandy soil, heat, wind and containers need more. Check the soil two inches down before you water. The water calculator turns inches into gallons and hose minutes.
What vegetables can I grow in containers on a balcony?
Lettuce, radishes, herbs such as basil, peppers and compact tomatoes all grow in containers sized to the crop: University of Maryland Extension gives 1 to 3 gallons for small crops and 8 to 10 gallons for large ones. Ask your building owner about weight first. Module 4 covers sizes and mix.
Suggested path
- This week: fill in setup, read Modules 1 and 2, and start the sun map.
- Before the ground thaws, or about three months before your last frost: Modules 3 to 6. Send a soil sample, choose the growing space, draw the plan, and print the planting calendar.
- Six to ten weeks before your last frost: Module 7, and start seeds or line up transplants.
- Through the growing season: Modules 8 to 11, one each time the garden calls for it, with the weekly checklist.
- After the first fall frost: Module 12. Close the season and export the garden notebook.