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Gardening has issues. There’s always something wrong — unless you’re in some kind of plant paradise, you’ve either got bad soil, no sun, no precipitation, locusts, bunnies, squirrels, aphids, or mysterious plant diseases.

Every time I’ve looked up starting a vegetable garden, there always seemed like an excessive number of questions to answer. There were just too many variables to get my head around. Even growing a simple vegetable and herb garden seemed like nothing but a big mess of putting out fires, a constant adjustment of soil, moisture, and chemicals.

While I like the idea of working outdoors and getting sun, I’m mainly after the garden’s harvest, not the activity of gardening. Like a lot of people, I have a limited amount of time. I don’t want to do a lot of work for nothing, so I’m reluctant to try a major do-it-yourself project unless I have a reasonable chance of success. The complexity of setting up even a small garden seemed to outweigh the potential results, considering I’m a beginner and probably couldn’t identify a tomato worm until it was too late.

But this year, I’ve found some good advice and resources that have simplified the process enough for me to feel confident enough to do it. Here’s what I have learned:

Get a book, ebook, or guide specifically about what you want to do, specific for beginners.
A generic book about gardening can cover everything from ornamental plants to growing grapes. It’s not that helpful, and will probably give you a lot of information you don’t need, while skimping on the specific topics you do.

I recommend looking for a book or manual specifically for your situation, whether it’s growing herbs in containers, companion planting for pest reduction, planting tomatoes, or shade gardening. Gardening is a lot of common sense, but beginners need all the help and assurance they can get. The more specific to your situation, the more the author will cover the topics that will help you.

If possible, follow a specific plan.
How can you plan a good garden if you’re a beginner? You don’t know what you don’t know, and that leads to trouble. I advise using someone else’s plan. The gardening guide I have recommends ten easy, nutritious vegetables that grow pretty well in indirect sun. This is perfect! It’s like a recipe for a garden — all you have to do is follow the instructions.

Deciding what to plant is probably the biggest issue that causes stalling, and you can’t usually afford to stall, since you’re following nature’s timetable. Next year, when you know more, you can experiment with more exotic plants. This year, leverage someone else’s expertise and follow their plan and recommendations for a solid start.

Choose something easy.
Don’t get too ambitious in size of your plot or variety of vegetables. Keep it simple and easy, because if this is your first vegetable garden, you just don’t know what’s going to come up that needs your attention. Be realistic and do a manageable garden, one that is easy to oversee and tend. If it works out, you can always expand next year.

Research any predators and potential problems before you plant.
I’m in the city. I already know there are aggressive birds and squirrels who eat anything, and so it’s my responsibility to come up with a plan. I also know that I have terrible hard and nutrient-weak soil, but my gardening guide resolves that easily. Pay attention to the wildlife around you, examine at your soil, and be realistic about the amount of sun you get. You don’t want bad surprises, but you do want to get as much data as possible to incorporate into your garden strategy.

Do your research before you start. Though I’ve never planted a garden before, I have done a lot of other projects, and it always pays to arm yourself with knowledge before you go into battle.

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