Some questions that will help us help you -

1) How much experience do you have? What about tools?

2) What crops are you planning to grow?

3) How big will your garden be?

Last advice - don't disappear (lots do).

This really is a confusing and complicated world to dive into, but I think it's going to be a lot of fun, and it looks like there's a lot of people who are into this to connect with :)

I removed the grass before I planted my garden a few years ago. I know that some folks just cover their lawn with cardboard and/or newspaper instead.

Another tip: start your compost pile now :-) You probably won't have enough time to create compost for this growing season, but next year you'll be glad you started it this year.

Karen

2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains� too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up.

3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart.

4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell.

5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.

In addition, as bil suggested have a good, reliable soil test done by your UCONN Cooperative Extension Service.

Whether to remove the sod in the garden area depends on what you need to do. The grass, as it dies if left in place and covered, can supply needed organic matter and plant nutrients to the soil. Some of use have created new planting beds simply by covering the area with newspaper and a mulch material to hold and hide the paper. That however can take several months. Others will remove the sod, and most of the topsoil, and then add a lot of organic matter to replace what they threw away by removing the sod. Some people will build raised beds over the sod and bring in some soil from somewhere else. If you do that it becomes even more important to take a good, in depth, look because all kinds of "Stuff" is sold as garden soil or "topsoil".

2) What crops are you planning to grow?
The seeds that I went out and bought I tried to ensure they all require the same climate/lighting to flourish. I was hoping to do cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, peppers in one area. Then blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries in another section. Then I was contemplating whether its smarter to have the herbs in the actual garden or to plant them in planters.

3) How big will your garden be?
I basically can do whatever size I think I'd be able to handle since I have a fairly large backyard that almost entirely gets good sunlight. I was thinking something around 12'x24'.

In response to Donna: I definitely agree but I'm totally game to the challenge and can't wait to finally have a garden of my own!!!

In response to kimmsr: I'll definitely do the simple soil test that you recommend! Thanks!

Thanks for everyone's advice so far!!!

The vegetables you list are all good candidates for lasagna culture, which will save you some digging. Allow adequate spacing, all of these do best with some elbow room. For the amount of space you suggest, you may be best off buying plants, because most seed packets will have far more than you need.

The berries should be in separate beds for best care. It is generally good practice to have some distance between raspberries and blackberries, because they can share diseases. Strawberries are best rotated on a 4 year cycle in my system for optimum yield. You will want to remove the grass from these beds, leave them alone for a few weeks, then go back and clear out any new growth, wait a few weeks more, then plant your berry crops. Be careful when choosing varieties - nurseries will have better choices than what is offered at hardware stores. Berry crops do best with thick mulch.Blackberries and raspberries do best with a sturdy trellising system, so bear that in mind. It's makes managing the beds much easier, and gives better quality fruit. Don;t expect much the first year, but once they're established you'll be picking twice a week or more.

Generally it is good to have herbs in the garden, whether they are in pots or not, because they can attract and repel insects. Basil, chives, and oregano do well in the ground. Marjoram, thyme, and rosemary are good in pots because you can bring them in for the winter.

I design based on the size of my tools to make things efficient. When I weed my beds, I just let the weeds wilt in the path. When I'm done in the row, my rake is the same width as the path, so I can collect them with one quick trip. Good design now will save time and money later.

kimmsrs suggestions for doing your own soil test are spot-on, with one caveat - you generally don't see many worms in the upper parts of the soil at this point in the year, even though you may well be able to dig in February