First Attempt Garden Questions

I have many, but the main one right now has to do with getting the ground dug / tilled. I was thinking that I am getting a late start . From a brief visit to "Gardening By The Moon" forum, I came to the conclusion that I should have already planted some things 2 weeks ago. I don't think that I will be following the moon phases to grow by ( yet ). With the big snowfall yesterday , would anything that was already planted survive? I was going to start the tilling / digging process this week, but now will have to wait for the snow to melt and soil to dry out. I am going to try to sow all my seeds in-ground and not use transplants. I would really appreciate someone from Zone 7 with suggestions based on what I have discussed above.
Thanks In Advance

First of all....a big ole Welcome to you!!! You'll find everyone friendly here as in other areas of DG...secondly I'm sure someone more knowledgeable then I will step in and help you out with your questions. I only have a townhouse so I don't have much to till...LOL

It's nowhere near too late in zone 7! I'm assuming you're talking about a vegetable garden? What types are you planning on growing? Different kinds of vegetables require all sorts of different planting and care.

The first thing you need to figure out is the last average frost date for your area. You say you want to sow your seeds in the ground, so for vegetables like squash, cucumber and beans you will want to wait until that date has passed to plant. Seeds such as broccoli, lettuce, cabbage may be sown earlier but you still want to wait until the bitterly cold nights have passed and you may want to start them in pots or flats because small seeds can be difficult to sow directly in the garden. I know you said you don't want transplants, but if you wait until the last frost date to sow tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers (which are difficult to direct sow, anyway) you will be getting a late start on those. You can either start the seeds indoors according to the planting instructions (normally 6-8 weeks before the last frost date) or you can buy transplants. Otherwise, you'll be a couple of months behind in harvesting.

Besides the DG Vegetable Forum, we have a thread for Mid-Atlantic vegetable gardening that you may want to join in on. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/957214/

Good luck and welcome!

I think we are going to have a lot of interest in Veggie growing this year. More people are going back to it. Good luck can't really add anything much as Kubileya covered it pretty well. Just want to add a big welcome to DG.

I would so love to grow veggies again - but, space and lack of space prevents me from doing so - unless it can grow UP - I have no more room - peas/beans are pretty much it ^_^

Welcome and good luck - don't forget one important thing - gardening is FUN, never let it stress you out!

Hi, bohmerjr- it is not too late at all. Like Kub said--just starting to think about early stuff now.