I would love advice from actual gardeners who put their hands in the same south central Texas soil I will be working with.

What grows well here? How much is too much? What veggies do well together in a shared bed? If you're in San Antonio, where's the best place to get starter plants? Are starter plants the best way to go? Or am I better off starting from seeds? What kind of time line should I follow? What should I be doing next weekend?

I'd eventually like to get a flowering garden going as well, but I figure one project at a time.

Thank you for all your help, I know there is much research that I must still do on my own, but I find that first hand experiences are always so valuable.

Depending on what part of town you're in, your soil could be different than others. North usually has a lot of rock, while other areas are great blackland. Either way, a raised bed is definitely the way to go. Personally, I don't think that I would grow herbs in pots (unless they are large) because our hot summers just seem to dry out the pots too quickly. That being said, I don't grow herbs, so I really can't say that firsthand. I do grow hundreds in pots though, and water constantly during the hot months.

What grows well here ? Well, I'm terribly fond of salvias, and natives. I venture to say that many here will agree with the native side of that. A good way to determine what will do well in your area is a drive around the neighborhood to see what plants are doing nicely in yards and public areas.

Starter plants -- one of my favorite nurseries is Rainbow Gardens. There are two locations in SA. Pretty soon (maybe March) they will start running a weekly ad in the Express News with great plants at great prices, and usually a freebie when you make a purchase. They have an awesome choice of herbs, as well. I also like the Antique Rose Emporium. Many of us also drop by Lowes clearance racks now and then for some really good deals ! Some stores are better than others. I prefer plants rather than seeds, just to get a headstart on things. But I don't usually buy large plants, because of the cost. Stick with 4" or 1-gallon and they'll get to that larger size soon enough at a fraction of the cost.

Something else you may want to consider is attending our plant swaps. You may find the San Antonio swap post on the first page of GardenWeb, or it may have gotten to the second page by now. Or look for it also listed on the Texas Exchange sub-forum. The spring swap is March 10. You will learn a lot by attending the swaps and no doubt will go home with some plants. I also attend the Buda swap, which is April 17. I've been going to these swaps since the first one for Central Texas was started over 12 years ago. They are awesome ! You go home with all kinds of plants you couldn't find in a local nursery, and you make the best friends ! Please feel free to contact me directly by email if you want more information.

Regarding your other questions, I'll let those with more knowledge about the timeline answer those for you. Mainly, you just need to watch out for those late freezes !

patty

Your county agricultural extension should have a growing schedule available for your county. You should be able to find it with a google search. That will give you good idea of what to start when. Also know your average last frost date as that marks the safe (generally speaking) date you can put warm weather crops in - tomatoes, peppers, etc.

Next weekend? Is your garden bed ready? Time to get the soil ready and add compost.

It's a little late to start tomatoes and peppers from seed, but you can always use starts. It's cheaper and there is more variety available if you start from seed - but starts from the nursery certainly aren't a wrong way to go about it.

How big will your raised bed be? No matter how big, it's easy to fill with things that grow well here. You might think about some common easy vegetables to start with - tomatoes, peppers, bush beans, zucchini, and cucumber (you would need a big bed for ALL of that). Tomatoes and peppers will need to be starts but you can just direct seed the other three.

Here's another question I thought of, how many plants of each veggie should I plant?

What I would love to grow veggie wise are:
Spinach
Asparagus
Broccoli
Tomatoes
Garlic
Egg Plant
Cucumber

Herbs:
Basil
Flat Leaf Parsley
Rosemary
Oregano
Chives
Cilantro
Dill
Sage
Thyme

I think I'll also try a lemon tree in a large container.

I only have 2 to feed here at home & then my parents & one aunt to give my harvest away too, so I don't want to over grow & be wasteful... Look at me, planning on having a huge crop that I might not be able to use... That's wishful thinking, huh?

But with all that said, how many of each plant do you recommend? I haven't built my raised bed yet, will be doing that next weekend, so I still have time to decide on the size on my initial bed.

Again, thanks for all the great info already, I really do appreciate it! I'm really excited to get started!

Most of the other herbs you mention are annuals and need to be replanted on a regular basis. Cilantro likes cool weather so get it in the ground soon and stagger your plantings every two weeks to get a continuous supply until the heat sets in. Plant it from seeds for best results. The same with Dill. Basil does well from spring to fall but you will need a new plant every few months. Basil and parsley take a long time from seed, so I combine some plants and seeds. I keep both in a pot for convenience of moving as the weather changes.

We've had some discussions about growing Thyme on this forum. It doesn't do that well in our climate but read through the thread I've attached and there are some varieties recommended.

There's a great Herb Market in the fall at Pearl Brewery. Antique Rose Emporium usually has a seminar or two on growing and using Herbs during the year.

Also if your able to, take a trip down to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. Youll get a feel for what works here in san antonio, xeriscape wise.

Please plan on joining us.
We can start setting up at 9:00 a.m.

Depending on how many vegetables you eat, one bed probably won't be enough to supply "enough" vegetables for two people. But it's a great start.

As you get started, you will read all sorts of philosophies on spacing - from intensive square foot gardening, to more extensive spacing. Pick a gardening style and dive in. Some of those vegetables you listed grow in different seasons - so you can rotate things through and keep something growing almost all year.

Where ever you build your raised bed, make sure it will look nice with two or three nearby next year when you get the itch to expand. This gardening thing tends to be addictive.

Cilantro needs to be planted very soon. Heat will bolt it. Same with parsley. They grow easily from seed. There is a slow bolt cilantro. Get your spinach and in the ground tomorrow. Dill is a good winter plant. Spinach , garlic dill, chives, broccoli are good winter plants. They say to get spring broccoli in now but I find that harlequin bugs hit in March on all those cabbage like plants. I rather grow them in winter and I kept a lot of these plants alive with a frost cloth through the freezes. I plant using the schedule put out by my county extension agency. It takes a lot of the guessing out of the game.

i think a soil test is a great idea

a small price to pay to get an idea what your working with

start smaller than you think

you can alway build more beds, always buy more seed, and
i believe a small neat, patch is more productive, AND more
fun for the beginner, than a huge weedy plot that you'll
hate to walk into come high summer

i'm just a beginner myself, i have 5 tomato plants (well,
thats what i'll have soon, i haven't purchased my transplants yet) and 5 4X4 foot beds, one bed i'm going to
use for strawberries. all my herbs are in a dedicated bed
all their own, and i have perennials and annuals

good luck and enjoy yourself

tesa