Also keep in mind, the healthier your soil, the fewer pests you’ll have. Use lots of compost to keep nutrients and organic matter and beneficial microbes in the soil, and you’ll have far fewer bug problems.

FYI – I live in south Texas on the Gulf Coast

Sounds like you have a perfect gardening spot! I’d say prepare/get some good soil and jump right in. The process of experimentation is part of the fun. All the books on gardening – all the advice online – every word of “wisdom” written here…these are refinements.

Gardening is simple: seeds want to grow. Give them soil, light, and water and the seeds will do the rest! Want more instruction? Just this:

Start small. 8′x4′ is a great first garden size. I love raised beds for first gardens because you fill them with good soil, which really increases your harvests.
Find out when the last frost of your winter is likely to be. (Try this map). That’s the date to plant your first garden.
Plant big seeds directly into your garden. Peas, beans, and squash are really easy to grow!
Buy tomato and pepper plants at a nursery – one cherry tomato and three pepper plants should be plenty.
Water deeply about once per week. This can be rain, watering can, or with a hose with a sprayer attachment. Ideal dirt looks like moist chocolate cake.
Pull the weeds out when they are small.
At the end of the summer, make a note of what grew well, what you wish you had more of, and what was not worth the fuss.

Next year, you can try something new – early spring plants that go out before the danger of frost is past, improving the soil, starting your own seedlings…but you don’t have to do all these things right off the bat. Do the fun stuff first – planting and harvesting – to get a feel for it, and add other aspects later.

And remember – there’s never a garden where everything works perfectly every year! I generally have 2-3 thing that just bomb every year, or I give up or lose patience. Just celebrate the victories and enjoy the miracles each day in the garden brings!

Emily

I have a big back yard that gets lots of sun. I would love to start a garden, however I must say I am very intimidated by the whole possess. What words of encouragement do you have?