First of all, welcome to the forum! You've come to the right place. Before the day is over, you will have received quite a bit of advice.

First of all, consider what you like to eat. If, for instance, you really like tomatoes, then, I'd probably suggest that you start out with them. A 6X4' bed would work well for one or two large tomato plants. If it were me, and I was limited to 6X4' I'd probably plant a black cherry tomato plant, which would grow quite large and give me an avalanche of tasty cherry tomatoes.

Another idea would be to plant pole beans. You can put up a trellis in that spot and produce oodles of green beans.

Unless the soil is really bad, I suspect you can dig out the grass roots and plant, as is. Yet, I'd recommend that, once your plants are in, you mulch with leaves or grass clippings (newspaper or cardboard underneath). This will cut down on weeds, conserve moisture, and improve the soil, all at the same time. A 6X4' garden can bring much pleasure and produce, with not much work.

George
Tahlequah, OK

I second George's suggestion that you start out with something that you like. If you like tomatoes, Black Cherry is a great one to start with because its flavor is outstanding, it is a heavy producer and it is relatively fast--you'll get ripe tomatoes within about 55 to 57 days of transplanting it into the garden. Sungold is another wonderful one with those same qualities, but it produces golden-orange tomatoes and takes about 60-63 days. Both of those are cherry types. If you want a larger slicing type, there are many hybrids that have some disease-resistance, produce well and produce heavily, including Jet Star, Better Boy, Whopper, Goliath, Celebrity, and Supersonic.

If I were planting a 6' x 4' bed for a first garden, I'd put a trellis across the back of it and raise pole beans or something else that climbs on the trellis. The trellis would be simple...a couple of fence posts and either woven wire fencing, twine that you've run back and forth (pull it tightly between poles because with time it will sag) or lattice. On your trellis you could grow any of the following: pole beans, vining cucumbers, black-eyed peas (don't plant until the soil is really warm), a small-fruited vining winter squash or mini-pumpkin like Jack-B-Little (ornamental, but fun for kids), gourds (ornamental), luffa gourd (make your own sponge) or relatively small-fruited cantaloupe (muskmelon). You eve could have pole beans on most of the trellis and a couple of vining cukes at one end of the trellis.

In front of the trellis, you could plant one tomato plant, using a tomato cage to support it. Divide you bed in half, and plant that tomato plant and its cage in the middle of one half of the bed so it won't be too crowded. That would leave you three more feet of space beside the tomato, and in that space you could plant any of the following: two pepper plants (one sweet, one hot, for example) or a couple of small eggplant plants, like Hansel and Gretel, or a bush cucumber like Saladbush or any combination of 2 of these 3: pepper plant, eggplant, cucumber or bush-type summer squash (like zucchini, yellow crookneck or straightnect squash or a pattypan squash). In the very front of the bed, you could plant a single row of radishes, or one of the short carrots like Short 'N Sweet, Petite 'N Sweet, Parmex, Tom Thumb, or Little Finger or a half-row of radishes and a half-row of carrots.

You'd be surprised how much you can cram into a small space and the plants will shade the ground beneath their roots and help keep their own space cool. Mulching will help keep weeds down and make it a very low-maintenance bed.

Above all else, have fun with it.

Dawn

Welcome! You've found a wonderful resource to help you get off to the right start. Not only are the previous posts incredibly helpful but so are the very experienced gardeners who frequently post here. Never fear, there are plenty of newbies as well, myself included. I've learned so much from the generosity of the regulars who post on this forum and have saved myself countless headaches just by following their recommendations.

I'm so jealous that you live near the Tomato Man's place in Tulsa. If you're a tomato lover, you might want to add this stop on your "to-do" list. I plan to make a trip when they open next month. This is my first year to start things from seed so if I manage to totally bungle that up, I'll have a plan B so to speak. I've enclosed a link for you to check out.

Good luck with your gardening this year and let us know how things go.

Lynn

Here is a link that might be useful: The Tomato Man's Daughter

Welcome! You have indeed come to a great place. You've been given great advice already. I'd like to add philosophical advice. Keep in mind that gardening is a learning process. Knowing everything you need to know about gardening would be like eating once and for all. Even the most experienced gardeners face challenges and disappointments, and have opportunities to keep learning.

Start by reading old threads here. If there is a particular topic, try using the search function because there really is a wealth of knowledge here waitng for you to find it. In addition, check out the gardening section at your library.

Best wishes!

Seedmama

For my raised beds, I do Square Foot Gardening. You can google it. It will help you maximize your space. For a 6x4 foot area, that is 24 square feet or 24 squares to plant your plants. Some plant you can only plant one per square, some 2, others 9. Its great for small spaces. I have trellis on the back of mine for indeterminate tomatoes. They were awesome producers last year. Good luck. :)

I second the square foot gardening! that is what I am doing this year on three of my beds, then I am doing some in ground. This is my first year to garden and happen to like bitting off more then I can chew, so you may want to stick with your 4 x 6. In my 4 x 4 with the square foot method I am getting 16 different spots to plant. So don't be shy, start by looking at what is easy to grow (radish, carrot, lettuce, herbs are all pretty basic) to gain confidence then move on to the harder stuff, (heirloom tomatoes, for instance). And go with what you currently eat. A plant you will love to take care of is a plant you are excited to grow. Read what you can, but beware, you can over think things and get overwhelmed with all the information that is out there. The back of a seed packet will tell you a lot on how to grow the plant. It is a blessing for newbies, like us. Same with seed catalog, I have learned more from them than I have some books I have read! Don't be scared to ask in nurseries and plant shops if you don't know something. And certainly come here...this forum has been a god send for me!

One more thing, the OSU county extension, is wonderful! Call them and ask for a master gardener if you get stuck, it's free and I find the advice is extremely good. Their website has "pods" with all kinds of information.

If you think you might like the square foot gardening method, watch "Donna's Square Foot Garden" videos on youtube. they are great!

lilokiegardener,
I'm in the same boat, getting ready to start a new vegetable garden. I think we found the right place for information because I've never found so many knowledgeable people who are so willing to share what they know. Did you see Dawn's recommendation for the book 'Starter Vegetable Gardens' by Barbara Pleasant? I bought it and am finding it to be a great resource. Good luck with your garden.

Suzie

thanks to you all! I think were going to go with green beans and tomatoes. I started oregano and basil a few weeks ago and will be adding that in there too when they are big enough. Im still debating on a third veggie.. But dunno what! Maybe bell pepper? Thanks again for all the info!

I looked up square foot gardening and might try that, too :)

ill update soon about everything and let you all know :)