Hello Cameron --

I think it's great that there's a lot more gardeners getting into non-hybridized seeds, because it means there will be more resources for those of us who prefer the old-fashioned heirloom plants, which tend to get overlooked for their flashier, more disease-resistant cousins.

I just wanted to add that the number one mistake new gardeners make is to try to take on too much their first year, and they get overwhelmed. (I know -- I was one of those people!) The best thing is to contact your local agricultural extension, visit the GardenWeb forum for your area, ask a bunch of questions, and KEEP IT SIMPLE.



P.S. A book that really helped me out was Mel Bartholomew's "The Square Foot Garden". There are others, but his easygoing commonsense approach got me headed in the right direction. I live in an exposed Zone 4 area with wind, low rainfall, variable temperatures and poor soil, and everything still produced extremely well using his intensive/raised bed methodology.