New to Gardening

Question

I’m new to gardening, so I want to make sure I’m doing this right with all the work we’ve put in so far. We have a raised garden bed and then also a garden we want to plant below it. We’ve removed about 8 inches of native dirt from each bed and have replaced with Vigoro organic garden soil. We have bags of mulch ready for when the time comes and also organic fertilizer. I am looking to make sure that the timing to plant is right and also anything else that I need to know about planting. We are located in North Texas.

Right now, I have started regular sized tomato plants, cauliflower, and peppers indoors (about a week ago). I started them in the Burpee indoor growing system and have growing lights. I plan on planting these in the garden in 5 weeks (After 6 weeks of growing indoors, I will place them outside 1 week prior to planting to get them used to the weather.). When will I need to add the tomato cage around the plant? Is this for support? Or protection? I also have some basil I will be planting with it, as I was told this will protect from bugs. I was also told that planting with eggshells below the tomato plant will help with root rot. I have been saving my eggshells.

I would like to start these vegetables from seeds tomorrow: cantaloupe, sweet corn, winter squash mix, radish, garden beans, kohlrabi, watermelon, pumpkin, and cucumber. Are all these safe to start from seed tomorrow? Do the cucumbers need a cage? What does it mean for planting when on the back of the seed packet it says to plant in hills a certain distance apart? They will be receiving full sun, but how much water do they need? We are supposed to get rain tonight, will it still be good to plant tomorrow?

I also have some herbs that I bought as plants that I would like to replant. Any tips with planting herbs? I bought 2 pre-started strawberry plants. Can these be planted in the ground? Or do they need to go in pots? I don’t think I have the right sized pots, as I know they need to be about 12″ wide but only about 4-5 inches deep. They are Allstar strawberries and, if possible, I would like to plant them in the ground. I would also like to plant 2 blueberry bushes and two blackberry bushes in a different section of the yard. I know the blueberry bushes need to have acid soil and I bought stuff to make it acidic. Any tips for planting blueberry bushes? Or blackberry bushes? What type of soil do blackberry bushes need?

All help is appreciated!

Answer 1

Since you are new to gardening, the following articles may be of help to you: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/starting-vegetable-gardens-guide.htm , https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/strawberry , https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/blackberries , https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/blueberries