Check out the FAQ here for beginners. Here is a link that might be useful: Growing from Seed FAQ's and How-To's

Hi there! Laguna Hills, I believe, is zone 10, maybe 9. At any rate, it should be pretty much like where I live (I'm up north on the coast outside San Francisco, and Laguna Hills is down south, if I remember correctly). As much stuff as I've collected and grown, believe it or not, I'm a container gardener also, because we live in a townhouse and only have a cement slab patio to work with. You can check out my slideshow for more ideas of what she can plant, but my favorites have been: poppies morning glories clematis anigozanthos (kangaroo paw) passionflower violets brugmansia (yes! I have (gasp) 30, but of course, they're all from recent cuttings) ferns amaryllis can stay outside yearround pink saucer magnolias are stunning, though mine died : ( all manner of bulbs (though we have to treat tulips as annuals, usually-- just doesn't get cold enough) clerodendrum bungeii (best in a pot anyway--it's very invasive, but gorgeous) wisteria (I have a 7 gallon-ish sized pot with wisteria) basically, anything! I even have a container water garden. You'd be surprised at what you can grow in a container. When you add the extra luck of being in California, those possiblities are basically limitless. Amanda 'romando'

I just spent considerable time trying to ascertain the effects of high temps on different peppers, both "hot" and "sweet". That thread is just below and is titled; "How will extreme heat and high humidity effect my peppers?" Most seem to agree that the bells are tough to grow in the hottest part of summer. I just purchased some seed of the "bell type" Keystone Giant. The feed-store guy was confident they would perform in the heat. It's only seeds-n-time! And water, fertilizer, compost,.. did I mention time? We're not supposed to discuss a whole lot about "Other Vegetables" here in pepper land. So here's the short version; These should do well for you; Cucumbers, melons, okra, peas, amaranth, collards, eggplant (the long, skinny oriental types are more productive in heat). Others include Jerusalem artichokes, Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, peanuts, hot peppers, and sweet peppers like Banana, Gypsy and Cubanelle should perform better than the bell types. Sweet potatoes enjoy the heat along with Swiss chard (with some shade), tomatillo and tomato. There are now many specific heat-tolerant tomatoes such as Heatwave, Solar Set and Sunleaper.... The Yardlong bean (asparagus bean) flourishes in the heat of summer and is as unusual as it is delicious. Of course, you should check with your local Cooperative Extention Service for more info. For more "other vegetable" questions, go to "Vegetable Gardening". Click on my username, then my "trade list" and email me with something you'd like to have, your address and, I'll send it to you New Guy. Ray

Azura, last year was my first real veggie garden, and I learned a lot. There were successes and failures, but I enjoyed it so much. Skybird is right about you wanting to make it bigger next year. I created a separate bed for the herbs this year, just so I could plant more veggies in veggie garden. So far, I planted onion sets and peas (twice). I also have five kinds of lettuce, and broccoli sprouts that were wintersown, that I might plant out as soon as the crazy winds die down. Plus there are tomatoes and peppers in my kitchen windowsill, and tomatoes that were wintersown but haven't germinated yet. I'm also direct sowing carrots maybe this week, but the cucumbers, canteloupes, and beans won't get planted for another month or so. My goal is for as much variety as possible, even if it means just one or two plants of each - 5 kinds of beans, 4 kinds of canteloupe, 5 kinds of carrots, 4 kinds of cukes, 7 kinds of peppers, and as many different tomatoes as I can cram into the space that's left, and the Earthbox I just bought. I'd rather have too many plants and have to give some away, than to realize I have empty space in the garden, and not enough time to start something else before the end of the season. The bed and soil look great, and I wish you a bountiful harvest. Bonnie