OK, here's a bit of advice. Don't turn your soil too early! If it's still too wet, you can damage the structure by trying to work it. Grab a handful of soil, and squeeze. If water comes out, it's definitely too wet. It should hold together, but if you poke it with your finger, it should fall apart. You can do lots of layout work on paper, or with a drawing program on your computer. Personally, I'm quite fond of laying out my garden according to intensive gardening techniques, but more based off of Small Space, Big Harvest than Square Foot Gardening. The idea here is that you lay out your plants like circles rather than like squares, and you can fit more in the space. You also think in terms of putting tall things along the northern edge of your garden, shading heat-intolerant plants with taller things, etc. If you're extra-clever, you can get multiple crops in one patch of dirt, by planting cool-weather crops early, then following them up either with something you plant late, or another round of cool-weather crops in the fall. This sort of juggling might not be the best goal for your first year, however! Good luck!

Although probably not what keeval is really looking for that is a good basic book on what is going on in the soil. Here is a link that might be useful: Soil Biology Primer

So....here is how I have digested all this info: (BTW, when I went three yrs without repotting, it was because I did not know any better and I have NO IDEA how I got so lucky with such hardy and healthy plants. They were all 7 bucks from Costco!!! All have been repotted since and most have lived on and bloomed.) Yes - light and root rot seem to be my issues. So, I am tracking the light and moving plants around. Was not ready for harsh autumn sun low in the sky. Watering...am "listening" to my orchids more now. The Yellow Boy that was in root rot crisis...had a nice little trim of his roots and potted him shallow in clean medium. Happy plant! Blooms are busting out all over now and the one scary, curly leaf is just ready to fall off. My sad Vanda that was under-watered for so long....drum roll please....has 2 new leaves AND 2 new spikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gee, amazing what some water can do :o) I love the idea of creating a monthly calendar and index cards for each plant to keep track...that is right up my alley and I think it will be important in assimilating information and making sure each has what it needs. I do not plan on mounting any of my orchids at this time. I have cats, so mounted orchids are just cats toys waiting to have their roots ripped off! I love having my vanda as a hanging orchid and will likely stik with Phals and Cids from here forward. Fertilizer and lights (artificial) still have me a bit stumped, but I know there is tons of info available here for me to search. I love the simple and basic stuff best and am happy to have the tip on peroxide. I have mostly clay pots but have plastic liners...considering removing the plastic as an aid to prevent root rot. Thanks for that tip. Water quality: well, I use the same water as the guy down the road who has prize winning orchids, so I am guessing it is OK, but I have learned to heat it in the microwave for a few seconds first and my plants really seem to like that. I will likely join the Cape Fear Orchid Society, but thanks for the tip on AOS...think I will look in to that too. I have reviewed the recommended books and added a couple to my christmas list. Light light light...that is where I am going to direct my focus next. THANK YOU...ALL of you! :o)

Congratulations on your herb garden. I've been growing several varieties of basil in a bay window in my kitchen for a little over a year now. It actually does well for me in terra cotta pots though they need daily watering in the summer heat. I now have some chives growing there as well but most of the window is taken over by plastic pots with various seedlings since things sprout good for me there. The basil has been manageable for me there cause I use a lot of it so am always pinching to keep the plant short and the variety of basils in terra cotta pots make the window look very nice. I found that plastic pots stay wet too long there and some plants don't like that. I do tend to overwater though and have to watch myself. Herbs are really fun to grow and your cooking will taste so much better than using dried herbs from the store. I'm still pretty new at this myself but growing herbs has been very rewarding for me. Ania