How to I till the land for my small garden?

I am a first time gardener, and I'm really excited about starting my first real garden. I have a small (20x40 feet approx.) piece of land to cultivate, but I've never even used a tiller. I'm hoping someone can take me step-by-step as to what I need to do, from tilling to harvest. It's a big question, but I would really appreciate some good advice from an experienced gardener! I plan to grow mostly vegetables like onions, cucumbers, peppers, and some tomatoes and watermelons. Thank you in advance to all who answer! I'm on Spring Break, and I hope to get everything in order this week. Have a great one!

How to I till the land for my small garden?
http://www.cce.cornell.edu/
Reply:Till the ground about 12" add compost %26amp; till again or cultivate 2" to 4". For onions use a 50 to 50 mix of sand %26amp; dirt at least 8" deep. For melons start with plants or use a hot box not seeds unless you have long summers.

Send me a email if you have anymore questions %26amp; I will answer if I can.
Reply:First have a soil test done by the USDA agricultural extension. Every county has one. You will pay anywhere from 12 to 20 but it is worth it. Not only will you know what kind of soil you have, you will know what you can grow, what the Ph is, and you will receive recommendations as to how to amend (add stuff like lime) the soil to make it the most condusive to vegetable gardening.



Once you know what you need to add, you will be told whether to broadcast or til in the material. You can rent a small rototiller or buy one and you will have good instructions on how to use. Make certain that you have gone over the ground first to remove apparent sticks, rocks, etc. Dress well and use safety glasses. A tiller can kick up nasty things and drive them right into your face and legs. Experienced this myself. Till to about 6 inches.



When your soil is good and loose and enriched with whatever recommendations were made, you will be ready to plant. Tomatoes are best started indoors six weeks prior to planting because they need a long growing season to produce fruit. Most varieties are 65 to 120 days. Expect the same for onions..long growing season. Most plants should not go into the ground until all danger of frost is gone. Peppers do not want to go into the ground until the soil is consistently 60 degrees or warmer.



I know that you are in a hurry but the soil test is so critical for good results. And I mean the soil test from USDA. Home soil kits just do not give you information that the USDA will give you. If you dont have time for the test, do it in the fall. For now, without the test, make sure you do not put plants in until danger of frost is over. Heavily mulch around your plants as this will discourage bugs, will help retain water, and will add nutrients to the soil. Give plants plenty of room so that if a disease starts on a plant, it will not be readily transmitted to a close neighbor. Do not water at night...this contributes to molds an viruses. Try to avoid overhead watering as this also causes diseases and blights. Water over the ground with a hose at the base of the roots. Do not water hard because if you kick up soil unto the leaves of the plant, you may get blight, especially in tomatoes. Good luck
Reply:I learned a lot from a book I bought last summer called "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible". He starts with planning the garden in late winter, all the way up to what to do with it all after harvest. You can get it here:



http://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-Gardener...



I've run into a few snags this spring with knowing when to start various seeds I've never grown before, and this book even has an encyclopedia of many veggies and herbs in the back with a wealth of info about each one that really helped me out a lot.