Basil is good stuff! There are lots of types but the big leaf varieties are the most often grown. Genovese is excellent, I like one that's called "lettuce leaf basil".

Garlic Chives really do have a garlic flavor. They make very pretty white flowers which butterflies seem to like. Garlic Chives, like any Chives, is a pain in the butt reseeder, so if you want to limit the amount of new plants cut off the flower blossoms. You can cook with the buds or toss them into salad.

Lettuce is an easy crop, stick with the leaf lettuces and mesclun blends and you can't go wrong. I like Renee's Garden for her lettuce blends--just awesome and oh so yummy!

Cukes are totally easy. Put up a trellis and sow the seeds--they come up and grow. Some varieties are self-pollinating. Cukes need to be picked frequently or they slow down in production.

Sweet Green Peppers--you have choices of bells or frying peppers, there's even something new called "Fooled You" jalapeno which has the flavor without the heat. Bells seem to be fussy in my own garden but I can always get a nice crop with frying peppers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Renee's Garden Veggies, scroll down for lettuces.

Thanks for the info trudi.
I found Holy basil, is says has a clove scent.

What about stevia, can one use it for sweetening foods, and how? I know health food stores have this in a liquid form.

Parsley: flat or curled for flavor?

What about pole beans such as Kentucky Wonder?

I just want to put in a very small garden, hopefully potager now that I found out what it is.
Tammy

Plant romas and basil in the same space. They help each other. It's called companion planting. The bugs that attack tomatoes don't like the smell of basil. Scatter some marigolds around as well.

Pole beans are good. Kentucky Wonder is a good variety. Blue lake is another. Grow them on a trellis with cucumbers. If you like squash, two or three plants at the base of the trellis will work well too.

Plant the lettuce behind the trellis. In spring, the sun will hit the lettuce. By mid summer, it'll need shade and the cukes will do that as they grow up the trellis. Pole beans too.

All these things can also be wintersown, but be sure you have a tomato with a short DTM (Days to maturity). Determinates take up more horizontal space and ripen within about 2 weeks. Indeterminate varieties take more vertical space and need staking, but can produce all summer long. Be sure you deadhead the basil if you see flowers. Just whack it back and it'll regrow new leaves.

Plant cosmos to bring in pollinator bees and insects. Plant nasturtiums with the cuke/squash seeds. They'll ward off squash bugs.

Thanks token, lots of great ideas for mall spaces.I dont think I have tried any kind of squash other than spaghetti squash once.
token you may know this since you live in a woody area, but if I put in a short,say 4 ft fence, around a small say 18ft x 24ft garden area, would deer be likely to jump in? I know they could easily jump 4 ft , but would they jump into an enclosed area?
Tammy

Deer haven't bothered by garden when I use the repellant spray you can buy at a farm/feed store. It is very stinky.

Holy basil has a wonderful scent but it is mostly used in Thai cooking not Italian. I also grow Thai basil since I like that cuisine. But I also grow several other kinds of basil because you can never have too much basil esp if you make pestos.

I know people say the flavor of flat leaf parsley is better than curly but I don't think it matters. Parsley is a biennal. This year's plants will return next spring but try to make seed heads. I kept cutting out the seed heads and got some decent parsley when I just needed a bit.

Agreed with nasturtiums all over the place. They are edible. Taste very peppery. I also grow pot marigolds or calendula which is still blooming near my porch here in NH. It is also edible but I grow it for show. I self seeds.

Thyme is a perennial. I also grow Greek oregano (it has a white flower, you don't want the tall, wild variety that self seeds all over the place). I wasn't using them too much for cooking until I discovered a wonderful zucchini and potato gratin.

In your area, rosemary might winter over. It's a tender perennial here. I grow both variety of chives plus a broad leaved variety for its bloom. Keep chives dead headed or they will seed all over the place. It's best as standard procedure to snip off flower buds because once a plant flowers it usually figures its job is done and will get scraggly.

Cilantro and fresh dill are also nice to have in the summer. Dill weed and fresh cucumbers are yummy. Cilantro for Thai or Mexican dishes including your own salsa.

I have had good luck with peppers planted on the south side of my house for 2 years. I plan to grow them in the main vegetable garden next summer (rotate crops) and use a stone mulch for warmth. We had a cold, rainy summer so I didn't get as many red peppers but what we had was wonderful. To freeze, simple cut out the stem and seeds, slice and put into freezer bags. I enjoy diced peppers in my morning eggs. I am able to get some heirloom varieties from a local grower who takes orders.
I have been growing lettuce mixtures which gives you a nice variety but I think next year I will grow more romaine and try some red butterheads. I think lettuce is a very generous crop until it bolts on the first hot day.
Best wishes for 2010.

Flat parsley has, I think, a stronger flavor--which I don't mind and actually like. However my son can't stand it--he much prefers the milder taste of curly parsley. If someone in your family isn't keen on intense herbs then the curly parsley might be a better choice for your garden.

Tammy, you've gotten some great advice so far! One thing I wanted to add, was that you should decide how you plan to use your cucumbers before you decide which kinds to plant. Some are called slicers, which are great for salads, but if you plan to make homemade pickles, be sure to select a variety that is listed for that purpose.

Also, if I was going to the trouble to build a fence to keep out the deer, I'd go ahead and make it 6'. Otherwise, you may have spent all of that time and money, and still have the frustration of losing all of your hard work to the deer. Just my 2 cents : )

Bonnie

Tammy -

You should grow both sorts of chives. The flavor is different, but they are both just beautiful in the garden.

Here"s the regular chives in flower:
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And here's the garlic chives:
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I grow mine right out in the flower garden. The regular chives bloom in early spring, the garlic chives later.

Lynda

I cut the flowers off of my regular chives this spring, and used them in salads. They add a nice onion flavor without the bite. The bonus was that I got a second flush of flowers in late summer, so I was still able to harvest a few seeds to share.

Lynda, you are right about them being ornamental enough for the flower beds too!

defrost, thank for the info on the herbs, I am taking notes.
trudi, I prob would agree with your son on the parsley. Although I cook with store bought dried herbs, and usually use quite a bit of the italian herbs when I fix anything. And a ton of chili powder in chili, but that doesnt count,lol.
Bonnie, i ahdnt thoght about that with the cukes, but we will be eatng them fresh.
Lynda I agree, the whie is espcially pretty.
highalttransplant,thats a great tip on the flowers.
Lots of fantastic ideas.
tmmy

What do you think of these lettuce varieties?
Buttercrunch
Cimmaron Romaine
Green Salad bowl
we are used to eating Iceburg from the store, so prefer a crunchy leaf.
Tammy

You might want to try some other varieties of lettuce from the store to get used to a different taste. I buy romaine in winter. I like the taste and that it keeps well. I find Iceburg to be tasteless. Some of the leaf lettuces are a little on the bitter side but I haven't found the right variety for us yet. Also, I find that leaves are crisper if I wash the lettuce, pull off individual leaves, spin dry (love a salad spinner), wrap loosely in paper towels and then put in a plastic bag. (I take a length of paper towels, lay out the leaves in somewhat of a single layer and then roll up.) The leaves seem crisper after being refrigerated.