Vegetable Gardening For Beginners

This page is about vegetable gardening for beginners. Growing your own food can seem a bit overwhelming, especially when everyone is grabbing up all of the seeds they can find like they did starting in March of 2020 when Corona was everywhere. Most of the seed companies shut down and reopened, shut down again, reopened again during the spring of 2020. David's Garden Seeds® did not. We stayed open, serving our customers as best we could.

Now it is 2021 and once again, seed companies are getting overwhelmed with seed orders, shutting down and then reopening again.

David's Garden Seeds® is committed to staying open and shipping your orders as quickly as is possible. We also have a retail store where you can purchase seeds, home canned goods, and chicken eggs straight from our beautiful chickens.

Vegetable Gardening For Beginners
01/18/2021-01/24/2021

Our beautiful farm store makes vegetable gardening for beginners a bit easier by helping our customers find what will grow where they live.

Monday, January 18, 2021

Good morning. It is 44° here at 5:30am and I can hear my rooster crowing in the dark. I am in my home office and my window faces the chicken coop. Today and this week, we will be talking about vegetable gardening for beginners. Most of the walk in customers at David's Garden Seeds® Farm Store are beginners and have no idea what to do. My friends, that is why David and I wrote our website, David's Garden Seeds. On it, you can find our seeds, but also a wealth of information on how to successfully plant your garden.

Today is Martin Luther King Day so many of you have off from work. Why don't you plan a nice day out in the country and drive to our farm for a tour. While you are visiting, you can pick up some garden seeds for spring planting as well as some of our homemade canned goods. And what is a trip out to the farm without chicken eggs laid by our own hens out back?

David's Garden Seeds® Farm Store will be open from 9am to 5pm today and each weekday. We are also open on Saturdays now from 10am to 2pm. We are closed on Sundays. We are the perfect place to come with questions you have about vegetable gardening for beginners.

We put chicken peeper blinders on our chickens today so they will, hopefully, stop pecking each other. They can see on the sides but not directly in front of themselves. We tried many sprays and purple dyes prior to this and more and more feathers keep getting pecked off all of our chickens. This has been going on for several months, getting worse by the day. David saw this product on YouTube and decided to buy it and try the spectacles out on our chickens.

I figured they would pull them off right away but so far, the cute little red peeper glasses are all still on the chickens.

Our accountant came for an afternoon visit, bringing paystubs and W2s for us. He had not been out here since March of 2020 and was amazed at all that we have added to the farm in less than a year.

We have been talking about vegetable gardening for beginners most of the day since most of our customers today are new to gardening.

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Good Tuesday morning. It was another overcast day with no type of visible sunrise. I got up early again and started writing paychecks for our crew. I then updated some of our website listings.

After that, I cleaned up the chicken coop and added a few toy mirrors and a rocking horse for the chickens. I sprayed the bare spots on the chickens with some healing spray. Then I got to pick up the dog poo in the backyard. At that point, it got pretty warm out there and I was sweating. It is supposed to be up in the 70s here today. It was very warm at night last night, only getting down to 62°F.

It rained while I was eating lunch, just enough to get the ground muddy.

Would You Like To Work For David's Garden Seeds®?

Gardening season is upon us, which means we are getting tons of garden seed orders, many more than we normally get for the rest of the year. David decided we need one or two more people to help out with David's Garden Seeds®. This is not a management position. It is an entry level position where you will sit in a chair all day long, putting bags of seeds into envelopes and sealing the envelopes. That is all. You will not be using one of our computers. Our computer jobs are all taken.

David, Jay, and I do most of the company's computer work and we are not going anywhere unless we die. And when we do die, others already here at our company will fill our positions, not a brand new person off the streets. Anyway, if you would like to be interviewed for an entry level position, please bring your resume over tomorrow, January 20, 2021 and we will schedule an interview with you.

UPDATE: We have hired two people. We don't need anyone else right now. If you would like us to consider you in the future, bring your updated resume by our store. Ask for Juanita. We will keep them on file for when we need more employees. Right now, there are 20.

Nacho and his helper are making great progress on our new deck connecting the commercial kitchen to our farm store. They said they will finish today, except for the cover. They will be back in a few weeks to cover the deck and walkway.

I noticed that some lettuce is growing under the flower bed in front of the store.

I noticed that some lettuce is growing under the flowerbed in front of the store. Wild, isn't it?

Vegetable gardening for beginners is honestly not difficult. You just need some good information and you can get it from our website, a site that David and I write ourselves about our experiences in gardening over many years. Here is another helpful page from David's Garden Seeds® that is good for vegetable gardening for beginners. This page has links for growing specific veggies.

This afternoon, when I went to collect the eggs, I noticed that one barred rock was pecking three other chickens. Then I saw that the peepers were off of her. I found them in the dirt and we got them back on her. Hopefully, no more will come off so the feathers of all of them will grow back quickly.

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Good Wednesday morning. It is 49° F. as I type this. It is Inauguration Day. We will have our birthday luncheon at David's Garden Seeds® today. We will be having grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and celebrating four employee birthdays. Actually, one of them quit last week, but he is still invited.

It is a rainy, chilly morning with overcast skies.

Vegetable Gardening For Beginners

Vegetable gardening for beginners can include visual aids such as the 4.5 inch ruler that David's Garden Seeds® had made so beginners can see how shallow to plant seeds. We recommend that you plant the seeds no deeper than 1/4 to 1/2 inch. A seed is a living embryo with just enough energy to break the surface if it is not planted too deep.

Our David's Garden Seeds® 4.5 inch ruler is included in each seed order that we mail out. Our customers also receive one with each purchase from our store.

Also included is our Germination Tips sheet, taken from our website here. David wrote the tips about vegetable gardening for beginners on this page so it is in his own words. This is the page we hand out everytime we sell seeds in our store. It is placed inside of seed collections. Every online order that we fill here also contains a germination sheet to help with vegetable gardening for beginners.

You can see a lot of bare chicken bodies in this photo. It turns out, the guineas have been pecking them, trying to control them. Even the rooster has feathers missing from his bottom.

David went out to the chicken coop this morning to see how the chicks were doing with their spectacles on. He saw both of our guineas pecking at the chickens, plucking their feathers out. So he made the decision to remove them from the chickens. So now, our two guineas keep walking around the chicken coop, trying to find a way back inside. I put food and water outside of the coop for them. Their two guinea friends from across the street are enjoying it but our guineas are not interested. They just want back inside.

We did a job interview this morning with a young lady who seems like she will be a good fit. She is giving her two week notice today. Also, one of our former employees who quit about two years ago is starting with us again tomorrow! Welcome back, Stephen!

If Biden's wish to mandate a $15 minimum wage is made true, we will have to do some layoffs. We start most of our people out at $10.00 to $12.00 an hour, not $15. In that case, David and I will just put in more hours and get the job done ourselves. I don't care what anybody says. Nobody is worth $15 an hour to sit in a chair and stuff tiny bags of seeds into envelopes. That is ridiculous.

It has been raining on and off all day long. Despite the rain falling when the food was being grilled, we had a good birthday luncheon. Happy birthday to our son Matthew, to Rock, to Aaron, and to one of our former employees who quit last week, Garrett. The food was catered and grilled right here. I spent a lot of time after the meal packing it up and walking across the grounds with it. Most of the leftovers are now in our freezer. We will be having grilled chicken tonight for dinner.

The new deck was used by the caterers to grill our food, despite the rain. Next week, it will be covered.

The birthday cake should have had 4 names on it, but David forgot 2 when he ordered it from the caterer. We celebrated 4--Matthew, Rock, Aaron, and Garrett.

The weather has now given me a bad sinus headache so I am in my home office trying to work. I am going to take some Tylenol and prepare to go out to collect eggs.

I collected just 13 eggs. I noticed one of the black Ameracauna chickens took off her peeper and I could not find it in the dirt and hay. Of course, the bag of more than 20 new pairs was not given to me yesterday so I cannot put a new one on her. No one knows where it was put. The person who helped left early so I have no way of knowing what is going on. So I went on Amazon to order another new set but they won't get here until Friday. If it is anything chicken related, I should get the products but I was not given them...I just don't understand. Way too many hands in the pudding...

There are still four guineas running around the chicken coop. I thought they would rush the door when I opened it to get eggs, but they did not. Guineas are strange creatures. I sure hope they don't tear up the garden areas or go into the neighbor's yards.

In the evening as darkness approached, I got all of the chickens inside from their run and closed the door. Then I got them all in their nesting box area and closed that door. After that, I let the guineas back in to the middle run where the food and water are. I also brought in the food and water that I placed outside of the run area for them so no critters would come eat it in the night. The guineas were pleased to be back inside, but they cannot peck at the chickens.

Matt holding a Barred Rock chicken with a peeper on. The peepers are working. The chickens are not pecking each other and the feathers are starting to grow back in.

Thursday, January 21, 2021

It is another gloomy, rainy, chilly day. I had a rough night with nasal drainage going down my throat all night long. I had to be up on the couch for several hours as my nose was clogged. So I am up early again working on my websites.

Our two guineas are in the foreground by the food and water dishes. The neighbor guineas are on the other side of the coop. Our guineas, especially the male, wants back in but they peck, peck, peck.

I went out to take care of the chickens. First, I let the two guineas out into the yard. I had a hard time getting them to leave the coop. Once they were out, I closed the door and the male started flying into the wire, trying to find a way to get back into the coop to boss the chickens. He is not happy at all. His two guinea friends from across the street are there to play. So far our guineas and the neighbor guineas have just stayed right next to the coop, trying to find a way to get in.

One of our employees from San Antonio, who quit a few years ago is back with us today. He will be here three days a week and we are so happy about it. He is a good worker and we really don't have to do any training.

Vegetable Gardening For Beginners

Vegetable gardening for beginners means to know what grows well in your area. We live in South Central Texas where the winters are mild and the summers feel like you are close to Hell. It gets hot in April, hotter in May, then goes straight into miserable before June, and stays unbearable until October hits. Not much will grow when the unbearable heat is around. That means you start tomatoes in January in your greenhouse and get things in the ground in March. By July, nothing but okra will grow.

Then, you plant for the fall garden. At the very end of August to the first week of September, plant your fall crops directly into your garden beds and wait for it to cool down. Keep everything well watered as it comes up. Once the heat goes away, things flourish and do well until the first frost hits, usually some time in November. If you are lucky, some years the frost will wait until December. It is important to know what the weather is like in your area in vegetable gardening for beginners.

Heat Tolerant Vegetable Gardening For Beginners

There are some varieties of seeds to be used in vegetable gardening for beginners in hot climates. The following list is heat tolerant and right now, we have all of them in stock:

Juliet Plum Tomato
Sun Gold Cherry Tomato
Tendergreen Bush Bean
Red Noodle Pole Bean
Kentucky Blue Pole Bean
Kentucky Wonder Pole Bean
Scarlet Runner Pole Bean
Fordhook 242 Lima Bean
Detroit Dark Beet
Ruby Queen Beet
Red Ace Beet
Bull's Blood Beet
Belstar Broccoli
Castle Dome Broccoli
Imperial Broccoli
Green Magic Broccoli
Boston Pickling Cucumber
Little Leaf H-19 Pickling Cucumber
Diva Slicing Cucumber
Armenian Yard Long Cucumber
Marketmore Slicing Cucumber
Suyo Long Asian Cucumber
Adriana Butterhead Lettuce
Winter Density Romaine Lettuce
Sparx Romaine Lettuce
Muir Summer Crisp Lettuce
Tendergreen Mustard Greens
Mizuna Mustard Greens
Garnet Giant Mustard Greens
Green Wave Mustard Greens
Tokyo Long Bunching Onion
Nabechan Bunching Onion
Parade Bunching Onion
Beck's Big Buck Okra
Clemson Spineless Okra
Crimson Sweet Watermelon
Red Malabar Spinach
New Zealand Spinach
Tromboncino Summer Squash
Luffa Gourds (yes, the flesh is edible)
Black Beauty Eggplant
Ping Tung Long Eggplant
Pink Eye Purple Hull Southern Peas
Dagan Brussels Sprouts
Hestia Brussels Sprouts
Emerald Giant Bell Pepper
Ancho Poblano Hot Pepper
Pepperoncini Greek Hot Pepper
Bright Lights Swiss Chard
Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard

The weather continues to be cool and the sky is overcast. At least, the rain has stopped for now. There will be more information on vegetable gardening for beginners in tomorrow's post.

Matthew put a new spectacle aka peepers on the chicken who lost her pair yesterday. Then he took the chicken wound blankets that David ordered from Amazon out to the chicken shed and put them on the barred rock chickens with the biggest feather losses. The blankets slip over the wings to hold them on. They look so cute. See below.

I collected eggs and then, an hour later, I put the chickens away for the night. Meanwhile the male guinea was up on the chicken coop roof. We had to get him down and then he came right on in to the outer chicken coop for the night, trying to get into the nesting area...He really misses pecking on the chickens.

Friday, January 22, 2021

Good morning! It is finally Friday and it is raining again. I won't be in the store for the full day because I have to cover the Saturday store shift. So I will be trying to get some things in the house done before I head over. There is always something to do in here with never ending dishes and never ending laundry, not to mention the dust and sand all over the floor and furniture.

This morning started out at 55° but it is now 73° and it is supposed to get up to 79°. The snapdragons outside of the store are blooming and they look gorgeous.

Our Chicken Eggs

I started the day on the computer after 5am and then around 7:30am, I brought fresh eggs over to our farm store. There are just five dozen left right now (it is 12:44pm) so if you want some pretty tasty eggs for this weekend, stop by this afternoon for them. A bargain for farm fresh eggs--just $3.25 a dozen from our own beautiful hens, straight off the farm.

We feed our chickens the more expensive feed, supplemented with mealy worms (the chicken's favorite treat) and healthy greens, so the eggs are nutritious for you, not like the eggs you buy at your local grocery store. And these are not weeks old before you even see them at the store. Our eggs are collected every single day, cleaned, packaged and dated and placed for sale in our commercial refrigerator just for you.

Hens are so funny. Everyone wants to lay their pretty eggs in the same nest. Here we have five colored eggs in the same nest, laid by five different hens.

More On Vegetable Gardening For Beginners

See below for all of the cool weather vegetable gardening for beginners seeds when you plan for your fall garden. See above on yesterday's post for all of the heat tolerant vegetable gardening for beginners seeds. Make note of them or print this page out so you choose the right varieties for spring and again for fall. A few of the seeds are on both lists and that is because they do well in heat and in cool weather. Herbs can be grown in both but if you are smart, put your herbs in large pots and when frost is coming, put them inside overnight.

Fruits like a warmer climate to thrive for the most part, although we have strawberries growing right now. We live in the strawberry capital of Texas and the strawberries here are ready in March. The Strawberry Festival is held on the first weekend of April, almost every year.

Strawberries are difficult to germinate so I would not recommend growing from seed to those learning about vegetable gardening for beginners.

Cool Weather Vegetable Gardening For Beginners

There are some varieties of seeds to be used in vegetable gardening for beginners in cool weather. When the summer heat goes away but the temperatures are not yet in the 30s and 40s, you can grow vegetables. The following list is cold tolerant and right now, we have most of them in stock:

Blue Lake Bush Bean
Royal Burgundy Bush Bean
Fordhook Lima Bean
Detroit Dark Beet
Red Acre Cabbage
Imperator Carrot
Snow Crown Cauliflower
Bright Lights Swiss Chard
Vates Collards
Diva Cucumber
Black Beauty Eggplant
Giant of Italy Parsley
Azur Star Kohlrabi
Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce
Red Sails Lettuce
Tendergreen Mustard Greens
Texas 1015Y Yellow Onion
Aladdin Ornamental Pepper
Anaheim Chili Hot Pepper
Cayenne Hot Pepper
Big Jim Hot Pepper
Habanero Hot Pepper
TAM Jalapeno Pepper
Serrano Hot Pepper
New England Pie Pumpkin
Champion Radish
Texas Cream Southern Pea
Crookneck Summer Squash
Acorn Autumn Mix Winter Squash
Waltham Butternut Winter Squash
Spaghetti Winter Squash
7-Top Turnip
Toyko Cross Turnip
Black Beauty Zucchini

I put out two newsletters today, one from this website, Mrs. David's Garden Seeds® and one from David's Garden Seeds®. It is time to start your tomato seeds in your greenhouse if you are in Texas.

I have to man the farm store tomorrow from 10am to 2pm so I have been doing things in the yard and in the house all morning but now I am at the farm store so come on by and shop for your spring planting needs and get some of my incredible farm eggs. You will love them.

This evening, we had a hard time getting the guineas back into the cage after we put the chickens away. I am afraid we waited too long. It was dark and they just couldn't see where they were running to. Matt caught the male and got him safely inside but the female just ran all over the property. So I went back to the coop and turned on my phone and the coop light and just called "here guinea guinea" while Matthew guided her. She headed my way and finally ran in. We will be building them their own coop in a few weeks.

Our male guinea sat on the roof of the chicken coop for a while when we would not let him into the chicken coop. He has been pecking our chickens. He will soon get a new coop for him and his bride.

Saturday, January 23, 2021

Here is a different looking sunset taken from my side porch. The clouds were spectacular.

Good Saturday morning. I am in our Farm Store and it is open from 10am until 2pm today so come on by and get your fresh chicken eggs and spring seeds!

It is overcast again today so there was no gorgeous sunrise to post. I have been doing business computer work since early this morning, although I did manage to feed animals and make egg Mcmuffins in my kitchen for breakfast. They were delicious. I forgot to take a photo.

I also changed the sheets and started laundry before I had to open our store. I got a lot of computer work done in the store.

We had several customers come in today. One nice family in particular really enjoyed the store and loved the farm tour.

Then after we closed, we headed into San Antonio to take Matthew to Salt Grass for a nice dinner because tomorrow is his birthday. I had steak and shrimp. It was delicious.

There are so many resources available that are about vegetable gardening for beginners. Contact your local county extension agent for information on which seed varieties grow well in your area, watering, etc.

Sunday, January 24, 2021

This morning it was foggy and raining. It started warming up in the afternoon and did not get down below 62° in the night. Tonight we made homemade pizza. Matthew asked if I could make him whole wheat pizza dough because he is not eating white flour right now. It was my first time to make it. It came out good but whole wheat pizza dough is very hard to spread out across the pizza pan. We had to use a rolling pin and even then it was difficult. I forgot to take photos of the pizzas but they were tasty.

Happy Birthday to Matthew. He is a great son who helps us out so much with work and our farm. We appreciate him so much.

Matthew opening a birthday card.

Vegetable Gardening For Beginners

Vegetable gardening for beginners is really all about planning out what you want to grow and then doing some research on how best to make your dream garden become a reality. Read good websites that are for beginners like David's Garden Seeds® and get some good gardening books.

If you are interested in vegetable gardening for beginners, there is a wealth of good garden books.

If you are interested in vegetable gardening for beginners, ask successful gardeners for tips. Many would be happy to share the knowledge they have built up over years of gardening.

If you are interested in vegetable gardening for beginners, buy good quality seeds from companies that specialize in selling seeds, not the old seeds at the big box stores and hardware stores. Expect to pay more than a dollar for a pack of seeds. You pay more than a dollar for many food products that will feed you just once.

Return from Vegetable Gardening For Beginners to Farm And Business Life

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Since 2009, over 1,500,000 home gardeners, all across the USA, have relied on David's Garden Seeds® to grow beautiful gardens. Trust is at the heart of it. Our customers know David's Garden Seeds® stocks only the highest quality seeds available. Our mission is to become your lifetime supplier of quality seeds. It isn't just to serve you once; we want to earn your trust as your primary supplier.

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