When deciding what to grow, there are 2 main concerns-

(A) You should choose things that you like to eat. Growing is only half the fun of having a vegetable garden, eating what you've grown is the other half.

(B) Size/Space/Culture requirements for what you want to grow must also be considered. Corn is a great crop but it is not condusive to container gardening unless you have a LOT of containers. Other plants to strike off the list include trpoical plants like citrus fruits and pineapples. Your climate gets too cold to grow these things.

There are a couple methods for determining when to plant-

(A) The "most correct" way to determine when to plant would be to determine your average frost free date and plant at or after that date if the weather has warmed suficiently. To find your average FF date, you should be able to call your local Ag Extension office or ask the staff at your local garden center (not Wal-Mart, a REAL garden center) or maybe even try a Google search.

(B) Garden centers (again, not the garden department of your local big-box stores, I mean real freestanding garden centers) usually only sell what can be planted at the present time. Once they start stocking veggie plants, it is probably okay to put yours in the ground or in pots as the case may be. This method is not very scientific and may not work in all areas.

For reading materials you should check out your local library. Many of the books may be a little dated but it's free information. Book stores are also a great place to look because they tend to have newer books and if you find one you like you can buy it right away.

Good luck,
backwards

My first garden was in pots on the front steps of my garden apartment. That was 40 years ago. Get a beginner gardening book (softcover) at a garden center. It will have everything you should know to begin with. Don't expect your veggie plants to grow as huge in pots as they do in the ground, but it's a thrill anyway.

Staten Island should be ready to plant frost-free outdoors by April 15th. Tomatoes like it warm, though, above 75 degrees. Try lots of different plants and seeds to learn from. With gardening, experience is the best teacher after book basics. Have fun.

No matter where you live, wait until the nights are consistantly above 50º before planting heat loving plants outdoors. i.e tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc. Cold weather plants like peas, some lettuce, some onion, etc. can be put out now.