Too Much for a Newbie??

That will be to crowded in one 4x4 bed. It would be perfect for 3 beds. Watch your spacing. Plants can take up a lot of room. Myfolia.com can give you dimensions of full grown plants.

Is you box 6' x 3'?  Is row 1 the very back & north most row?

CC

Take a look at some of the stuff in the garden plans forum for a few more ideas about plant spacing.

Have you researched the concept of "companion planting?"

One thing that you want to keep in mind is what plants are next to each other. By planting certain plants next to others, you can create a advantageous/positive environment where either plants can help each other out, or one plant can help out the other(s). Likewise, by planting certain plants next to others, you can create a disadvantageous/negative environment where either plants can harm each other, or one plant can harm the other(s).

I see in row 1, you have both Tomatoes and Corn. Check out this list of Companion Plants... List of companion plants ... It says when planting Tomatoes, to avoid Corn, and even Brassicas (such as Cabbage, Broccoli, etc.) // there are numerous reasons why certain plants help other plants (nitrogen fixation, etc.), and there are numerous reasons why certain plants harm each other (susceptible to common diseases, etc.)

Keep us posted on your progress!!!

My best advice for a brand new gardener is start small. You have the list of what you want to grow. Do a bit of research on those plants. myfolia.com can give you some very good info. You want tall plants to the north side of the bed, the shortest plants on the south side.

I would skip the corn unless you had a dedicated bed for it. Quick growing are lettuce, spinach, radish. Don't transplant peppers, tomatoes or eggplants into the garden until the Mel's mix is above 50 degrees.

Being a novice, research is your best action at this point in the season...   

Companion planting can be difficult for a novice gardener.

RG, I quickly looked at your list and I see corn. You will need more than one square for corn so put that one aside for now.

Maybe a little 2' x 2' box on the ground to try this year. 4 per square = 16 plants!

I would strongly suggest planting, as long as it's the kind of stuff you like to eat, what costs the most at the store, especially if you tend to eat a lot of it and/or it's not so great when store-bought. That's probably a big reason tomatoes are so popular -- fresh organic ones are expensive at the store and don't taste anywhere near as good as when home-grown. So why pay more for less? Better to plant your own. They're something most people can eat a lot of, too, because they're so welcome versatile both eaten raw and for canning and putting in soups and sauces.

Others have favorite vegetables and plant those, and more power to them. Myself, I'm not likely to plant potatoes, for instance, because they cost next to nothing at the store and the taste is decent enough store-bought. But fresh peas and snap beans? Peas can be almost comically pricey at the store and I love how they taste fresh. Spinach? Pretty pricey too. Tomatillos? Ditto. This year I'm trying brussels sprouts because I love them and they're expensive at the store, too.

If the cost you spend feeding yourself or your family is trivial, or you prefer eating only a small amount of vegetables in your diet, then you can disregard price as a metric and turn more toward growing what tastes much better fresh than store-bought. There's also lots to be said for growing stuff that isn't available at stores. For some it might be hot peppers, for others okra. I'm trying to grow lambs quarters, which isn't available at all in local stores.

And of course, there's just growing stuff for fun and to learn more and see how you do. Thought it makes no sense to me, some people grow ornamentals. And I've never even had borage before, but will try it out this year for its value attracting bees, as food, and for any of the other companion-planting virtues it is said to have.

rabelgirls wrote:I am using an old metal hotel bed frame.  The size is 44 x 72.  I am going to situate it on the side of the house that gets sun most of the day.  It's the only place I have to put any sort of garden..

The bed sounds interesting.  That size will get you 18 full squares and 6 half squares.  Half squares are great for small plants, lettuce, spinach,  radish, or 2 of anything that grows 4 to a square.   I second the folks that say drop the corn and potatoes.  One square will not get you enough to be worth your time.  Save for later when you might find another sunny spot, although I grew potatoes in an 18 gal under the edge of a tree that gives light shade.  

Peas, tomatoes, and cucumbers will need to be on the north side and will need a trellis to climb.  I recommend at least 3- 4 squares  for a decent harvest.  BUT, peas also will die out as soon as really hot weather comes and can be replaced with tomatoes, pole beans and cucumbers which also need a trellis. I can see the following:
peas, peas, peas,peas,peas, peas planted about 2 weeks before last frost, followed by
toms, toms, pole beans, pole beans, cukes, cukes after the weather gets hot. If the peas are still producing and you need to get a tomato and a cuke in the ground, you can pull out just 2 squares and get started on the summer garden. Or if you have a cool summer zone 6 and peas keep producing, keep the middle squares and plant bush beans else where.
Cabbage and broccoli are big plants and need a square each. Consider planting one or the other and double your pleasure of your favorite. And remember, the leaves of broccoli make a tasty cabbage like dish so don't waste them.

Your bed sounds like just the size for a beginning garden. Plant early spring crops followed by mid summer crops to double your harvest. I also use lettuce and spinach starts in very early spring (they can take a light frost especially if you put a cover on them) 2 half squares each and at the same time seed 2 half squares each for succession growing. And that's one of the joys of SFG, plant 1 now and 1 later as you are only using a square at a time don't have to plant every single square at the same time. Oh, the possibilities of your garden.

Kay

Rabelgirls,  If you want to try potatoes, you might consider growing them in a container: As they grow taller, I keep adding 2-3" of MM. This is my first time so I don't know how it will turn out. But, that's half the fun. I have been cutting the leaves off as I add MM.


I planted a second bucket with 4 potato sections last week:  2" of MM, 4 small red potato sections, covered with 2" MM.

it looks like you will have 18 full squares with a few halves....start your full squares in the back if you are going to use a trellis put up in the middle of those squares so you can plant on both sides.....you then can use 6 full squares for that or you could put the trellis on the out side of the back of the bed and only use 1/2 squares to plant climbing veggies in and then start marking the full squares from that....this is if you are going to lay the frame 6x3....you could also turn the frame so its more like 3x6 meaning you have 3 square feet across and 6 feet down....

plant what you love to eat.....we look at each square as a side dish or half of a dinner/lunch/breakfast (family of 4).....some plants will give you more like onions, garlic, carrots, beets, radishes and then things like leaf lettuce, kale, swiss chard, spinach  you can pick and come again....tomatoes, beans, peas and cucumbers will continue to put out more as long as the weather permits and you keep harvesting....but for things like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and potatoes you harvest the entire square at one time....and then replant something else.....most of the time those kinds of veggies are planting in the spring and then harvest in the summer just in time to plant something for a fall harvest....

so depending on how you lay your frame would determine what and where I would plant things....  

hope this helps
rose