Welcome! A lot of good questions here. My number one best piece of advice for you is take a trip up to Austin and go visit the Natural Gardener nursery. Ask to talk to John Dromgoole (the owner), and just tell him that you are starting your first veggie garden and would love to hear any tips he might have. He is an amazing wealth of info, and he's a super nice guy. The nursery is worth an entire day trip, as there is a ton to see with multiple gardens. They even have a veggie display garden that you can learn a lot from.

1. Earthworms are always a good sign. I have one lasagna bed that I started in the fall/winter of 2012. In Spring of 2013, I topped it with about 4" of finished compost and planted it with peppers, zucchini, and beans, and everything grew pretty well. I think my results this year will be better though. It does take a little while to break down, and I think some of the nitrogen was tied up by the decomp process. your length of time to good results could vary, and it will greatly depend on the depth of the bed. If you can build up at least 9-12 inches with your layers, you should get results quickly.

2. Grubs are bad. Whenever I find them, I toss them onto the concrete for the birds to find. If you have the means, buy some beneficial nematodes to get the grubs under control.

3a) It's still pretty early in the season, at least it is up here in Dallas. I have not started my squash yet, and I ALWAYS start squash from seed. If your plant was root bound in the container, it could be suffering from transplant shock. The problem could also be from the weather, over watering, nutrient deficiency... lots of possibilities. A picture would help. Next time, try seed. Most of mine sprout in less than a week (some in 24-48 hours) and grow very quickly. Also, be on the lookout for the dreaded squash vine borer. They are not fun to deal with. Because of SVB, I almost exclusively plant Tatume squash now, which holds up better than most others.

3b) again, pictures will help. Are you noticing any bugs on your plants? Even little itty bitty tiny ones on the under sides of the leaves? Aphids can do a lot of damage...

3c) Pictures! It really does sound like you have a watering issue though... how often are you watering?

4) I use cages. Depending on which varieties you are growing, tomatoes get BIG and HEAVY. Mine tower over my 6 foot privacy fence by the end of the season. If your support system isn't strong enough and a bad storm or heavy wind comes through, your plants are gonners. those standard wimpy cages at most of the garden centers are typically good for peppers and eggplant, but not tomatoes. Do a youtube search for galvanized fence tomato cage.

In the garden, you will quickly get over the creepy crawlies. It's a part of gardening life. Just wait till you encounter your first tomato hornworm. :) You will also need to quickly figure out how to differentiate between good bug and bad bug. Baby ladybugs look really scary, but you should NEVER EVER EVER kill them. They are your best defense against aphids. Baby lacewings also look really creepy, but they eat all those nasty whiteflies.

5. I'm not a peat moss fan. I know a lot of people use it, but there are some issues that you should be aware of. Peat is not a renewable resource, and once it dries out, it is difficult to re-wet, so it doesn't really maintain the moisture levels in our Texas summers. Better options (IMO) are coconut coir and expanded shale. However, I have gotten to a point where I don't use either in my beds. I now just use compost, decomposed granite, lava sand, green sand, dry molasses, and zeolite. Find a local dirt source that sells compost in bulk, and you will save a ton. I use Soil Building Systems in Dallas. There is a good raised bed mix on the dirtdoctor website. The only miracle grow product I ever use is their organic potting soil, and even that is a rare occasion.

6) Herbs do great here. Dill, fennel, parsley, and cilantro are cool season herbs that die back during the summer, but if you let them go to seed, they will come back. I think chamomile falls in this category as well. Basil is a summer herb that loves the heat, and it will die once the fall temps are regularly at or below 40. It is easy to root though, so just take a cutting in early fall to overwinter. Oregano, sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, and germander are all evergreen for me in Dallas, and they all do fine in full sun. Mint is one of those things that you have to be 100% sure that you want before you plant it. It will invade every bit of soil that it can, and it's very difficult to get rid of. It's best planted in pots, and not in your veggie beds. If the herbs have been in pots indoors, be sure to harden them off by slowly acclimating them to the outside temps and sun exposure.

The best resources I can think of will be John Dromgoole (Natural Gardener), Howard Garrett (DirtDoctor), and you local county extension office and/or master gardener association. You can grow a ton of stuff in Texas. Just don't try to grow lettuce in the summer or tomatoes in the winter. Oh, and don't forget to plant stuff for the bees!!!!

Take a look at the seed exchange forum too. You will frequently see posts by people looking to get rid of older seeds. You just have to send them postage.

Last thing - be sure to remove any grass from the area BEFORE you fill your beds. If there is any Bermuda grass in the area, it will grow up through your beds and eventually take over.

Big white grub-like things are cutworms. Get rid of them. That's a sign of life you don't want to see.

Good luck on the squash. Squash vine borers are pretty bad in Central Texas. Takes some real effort to avoid/prevent them. That's not what you're seeing now, but they will appear in May and or June.

Rope-type trellis should work OK with tomatoes, but you'll have to tie them up as they grow. Make sure the trellis is anchored at the base, or the wind could pull up your plants. For vining (e.g. cherry) tomatoes, trellising is a much better choice than cages IMHO.

Your strategy for soil improvement seems good, but I would still turn the soil under the beds if you can. At least once, and ideally turn some organic matter into it. If you've got lots of leaves, dig those in. Get someone with a tiller, or a strong back. Hardpan at the base of a raised bed is no fun.

I don't do many herbs, but I have a lot of rosemary. For me, it's an evergreen perennial. It's tough stuff. Hot summers and lots of sun won't faze it. Freezes won't either. Just make sure it gets some water. Cuttings are easy to make, so one plant can turn into lots, if you want. I do basil every year, and it is wonderful. Plant it now, and you'll be making pesto in July. Loves heat and sun. Just keep picking off the buds, until that's all that's growing. Then pull the plant. For me, mint has always been a moisture loving spring plant. Keep it WET. In my experience, it dries up in the summer, and resprouts the spring.

If you're looking for other things to grow, I'd consider peppers. You didn't mention those. They thrive in the Texas heat. Again, squash is going to be hard. If you have a very sunny place, and no rodents around eating things, you might consider melons. I've been surprised at how well canteloupes do. They seem fairly resistant to vine borers, in my experience.

You can get too much organic material in a bed. Some of the stuff you're using is intended as a soil amendment, not a growing medium. It can easily lose 50% or more of its volume, over the course of a year or so, and may not retain moisture well. What you want to do is strike a happy balance between adequate drainage and moisture retention. You may need a little plain topsoil. I avoid peat moss, because it will eventually compact down and stop draining. I don't use sand, either. Fine textured bark mulch, if you can find it, works well as a soil conditioner.

I live north of austin, so you're south of me.

Sounds like you've done good on the beds, but i agree with getting someone in w/ a dumptruck for dirt. Don't try to buy bags. But you'll need help w/ that option. Compost you have to watch with. I bought a load of compost from Mr. Dromgoole, and it wasn't composted enough, and i planted too soon, and it killed all my plants. It was too hot. And i was too much of a beginner to know that. Also, after my last 2 experiences at the Natural Gardner, i'd be wary. i have now brought home root knot nematodes (in a tomato plant from last year), and, literally, 17,000 baby grasshoppers that hatched off of 5 mint plants i bought for Valentines day and had in the house. The only plants i had in the house. If i buy anything more from them, i may very well spray the plants before planting them. And look carefully at their roots. Of course, this is good advice on a plant you buy from anywhere. They do have fabulous display gardens, and a vast variety of plants tho. I have rarely been disappointed in that. Wednesdays are double stamp days.

#3a and b- are they planted too close to still-hot compost? This could be a factor, along w/ water.
#3c- i think it's a little late for strawberries, particularly south of me, but i've never tried them. However, the strawberry farms near me have been open for 3 weeks or so now. Maybe try a you pick place this year, and make better plans for next year?

#4 I have not tried a trellis type, i buy the long cattle fence panels, and then as they grow up those, i tie them onto the fence with old pantyhose strips. Works great for me, and it eventually serves as a windbreak for the other plants i plant later on. I agree tho- if you do a trellis thing, make sure it is very well supported. Tomato plants get very big, and are strong, and will catch the wind.

#5- ever since my first compost experience, i tend to go light on that. However, i agree with the peat moss- it dries out horribly, and is terrible to try to rewet. I wouldn't go with too much that. Too much compost would be better.

#6 I'm glad that no one has told my dill and parsley that they are supposed to be cool weather. Matter of fact, i have never been able to get dill to grow anytime other than the hot summer. The cilantro will not grow in summer, and i didn't know about chamomile- i have a bunch to plant now, so i guess i'll learn! Mint i absolutely cannot keep alive anywhere, so i know everyone says it'll take over, but i can't imagine having that problem. I don't think it likes full sun, but i'm not the person to ask on mint. The herbs you listed all like full sun, and should do fine in the summer, but don't wait till then to plant them.

A very good guide should be available from your county extension agent- they should have a website. I like them, because they suggest plants and dates that work for each specific area.

I also agree with peppers- i think i have 19 varieties this year. However, both the peppers and the tomatoes will stop producing in the hottest weeks. Nurse them thru, and they'll produce again when it gets a little cooler. I think it has something to do with too high of a nighttime temp- when the nights don't get any lower than 85, it's hard for the fruit to set on the plants. So they may keep blooming, but you may not get any fruit on it.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for all the replies! I took the advice to ditch the peat moss - thank you for that. The remaining peat moss I had was bone dry and you were right about it not being very easy to work with once it gets like that. Luckily I did not use much of this in the beds I already planted.

Good news, though, I'm watering just right - got a moisture probe thing and poked it around near the roots of my plantimals (yes, that's what I call my garden veggies :p) and except for a couple of spots the beds seem to be holding moisture well-enough without holding too much. I was watering every other day, but may hold up for the next few days as we've got some wet and cold weather in the forecast.

The squash keep getting paler and looking dry on the leaves - no bugs or evidence of them, yet, so I'm suspecting a nutrient deficiency at this point. I did add some fish emulsion but only at half the concentration it called for since I've never used that stuff before and didn't want to assume it would take well. I'll post some photos in my next reply - sorry, did not think of that before you all mentioned it.

Strawberries are doing quite well now - I pruned out all the leaves that were looking poorly and the remaining leaves continue to look healthy and vibrant. I am hoping I caught whatever it was early enough to keep it from spreading, but I'll be watching that section of my garden very closely.

I think you guys are right about it being too early for the squash, probably the cucumbers also. If these don't do well, I'll start some seeds inside and just try to container grow them so I can move them inside if the fall weather begins to take a toll.

I'll be picking up some tomato cages today - I suspect the beans will work well on the rope net, but based on your advice I think the cages are a better option for the tomatoes. I've planted the mint away from my garden beds in a part of the yard that has partial shade. It has had very poor cover growth over the years - so even if it does take over that area it will provide a visual improvement. :p

Herbs went into large containers where I can move it in or out of shade if I need to.

I do have some peppers - sweet peppers, yellow peppers, and some hot peppers! I have 2 Thai hybrid peppers in the garden beds, if they've grown any I can't tell, but they seem to be healthy. The sweet and yellow peppers I planted directly from seed and they are just starting to sprout. The last 2 peppers are cayenne and I'm going to container those so my dogs don't go walking by and burn themselves with their oil.

Thanks again, I'll post some photos tonight when I'm done with all my garden work.

Also - I appreciate the information on the guides and the Austin person to go talk to, I'll try to get out there next weekend to learn as much as I can!

I totally forgot to post photos. Ugh. Sorry! I've learned so much the hard-way these past weeks - but a lot of really good things.

1 - tomato cages only. Nets are not strong enough for the tomatoes large enough to need them. Seems so obvious in retrospect...

2 - nutrients are not optional. Fish emulsion watering a few times as well as side-dressing with compost and time-release fertilizer fixed up all the yellowing everywhere and the garden is thriving.

3 - Cucumber beetles are the cause of all homicidal rage in the U.S. - I am 100% sure of this.

;)

Anyway, I'm keeping photos as I go now, so should an issue arise again I'll be able to post one with my questions. Thanks again everyone!

-M

Nets should work (I've used them successfully), but there are all kinds of netting. Use strong netting. Netting gives a lot of surface area to absorb sunlight. In cages, plants tend to get buried.

As to whether nutrients are optional, it entirely depends on your soil, and what you call nutrients. I've been building my soil for almost a decade with compost only, and things thrive.

I've never seen a cucumber beetle, but around here the homicidal rage is from squash vine borers.