Gardening Steps
1st Step: You need to plan out your garden.
The best way to plan out your garden is to get some graph paper and draw out a map of your garden area. Don�t forget to draw your house and any other structures that are on the property. You will want to add a key somewhere on the map. If room is tight, you may want to utilize your house for your key. Example: 
2nd Step: Determine sun exposure to areas.
To determine the sun exposure to the areas you want to plant, you will have to watch the sun. At the crack of dawn where is the sun? Check the sun every 2 hours in relation to your garden areas to see if they are shaded or not. Try to do this on a bright sunny day and evaluate all the way until dusk. On your map, you will want to use your color pencils to shade the areas of your garden to represent the sunlight. Example: 
3rd Step: Determine your zone.
Determining your zone of hardiness is simple! Just type your zip code in the Hardiness Zone Search Engine and the map will tell you in which zone your property is located. This will be helpful in determining which plants will grow better where or even if they will grow in your area at all! For instance, if you live in Zone 7, it would be silly to plant a something that is hardy to Zone 10. Your plant wouldn't live due to the temperature and climate differences. It could certainly be frustrating to spend the time, money and energy to invest in plants that won't last in your area! This is better thought out ahead.
Next on your map, perhaps somewhere near your key, add Zone: and the number(s) you are in.
4th Step: Soil Test. 5th Step: Irrigation. 6th Step: Picking Out Plants. 7th Step: Soil Test Results. 8th Step: Preparing to plant. 9th Step: Buying your plants & planting them.
Step by Step Gardening: When you are ready to plant your seeds or bulbs, read on the package to see what the recommended depth and spacing is to planting them. Follow the directions on the package. Depending on what kind of seeds you are planting such as, flower, vegetable or fruit, the method used to plant them may be different. Flower Seeds Planting flowers: Depending on how thick you want them, just rake back the soil to the depth of what it says on the package and sprinkle the seeds. Sprinkle lightly if you only want a few, sprinkle heavily if you want them thick. Then, carefully place the soil that you raked back over your seeds. Do this by hand as you will not want to displace your seeds when replacing the soil. Vegetable Seeds Planting vegetable seeds: You will want to follow the directions on the package containing your seeds or plants. Some vegetable seeds you will want to sew in little hills, meaning you will want to use a hoe or a shovel to lift up the top soil to the depth of what your seed are to be planted. Some seed packages tell you to sow X amount of seeds in each hill or hole. If the package doesn't, it is still a good idea to place 2 or 3 seeds to each hill or hole. Some seeds you will want to spread very thin. For example, carrots will be sewn thinly because they will grow underground. After your carrots start growing, you may have to thin them out by pulling a few. You will want to keep the spacing accurate. Your plants will grow and bush out. You won't want to have to fight with big squash leaves to pick a few tomatoes. Another reason for spacing your vegetables accurately is to keep them from intermixing. For instance, you don't want to put your hot peppers next to your cantaloupe. You may end up with hot cantaloupe. Fruit Seeds Planting fruit seeds such as melons and pumpkins: You will want to space your hills or holes at least one and a half to two feet apart from other types of vegetable plants. The plant will get very big and your fruit will get big as well. You won't want to have your watermelons squashing your carrots.
Step by Step Gardening: Bulbs Bulbs are fun! When you plant bulbs, you want to follow the instructions on the package. Bulbs will multiply over time. You may wish to carefully dig up your product and replant it somewhere else, give it to a friend or even sell it for that mater.
Step by Step Gardening: Plants Plants that you have picked out at your local nursery: You will want to dig a hole twice the width of the planter and about a foot deeper. Add some compost to the bottom of your hole and then carefully take your plant out of the planter. Look to see if the roots are all bound up. If so, carefully separate them out before setting your plant in to the hole you dug for it. Refill the hole with a mix of compost and the soil you dug out. Carefully stick the handle, end down, in the filled hole to pack the soil to avoid air pockets.
In testing your soil, you may want to get a soil tester. You can then test your soil yourself. If not, you can send your samples to a lab and wait for their results. This can be costly and may not be the most time efficient method. A soil tester will tell you the process by which elements (calcium, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, sulfur and zinc) are chemically removed from the soil and are measured for their "plant availability". The quantity of available nutrients in the sample determines the amount of fertilizer that is needed. A soil test also measures soil pH level and exchangeable acidity. The pH level will indicate whether lime is needed and, if so, how much to apply. More information on testing kits click here.
You will want to take a sample from each spot you intend to plant. Example: 
If you decided to send your soil samples off for testing, you will need to wait for your results before proceeding to Step 6. In the event that you will be adding an irrigation system, this will give you more time to address Step 5, so let's move on.
You are going to want to think about how you are going to water your plants. If you are going to hand water your plants then you can move on to Step 6. If you are going to water them by an irrigation system then you need to plan for it now. If you already have one installed and ready to use then move on to Step 6. If not, you will want to figure out what brand and type of water system you want to install. Most of them have step by step instructions on how to install that particular irrigation system included with them. Then you may proceed to Step 6.
Next on your map, draw any plants already growing and label them if you are able to determine what type of plant you are noticing. Example: 
Think about what type of plants you want and where you want to put them. You might want to visit your local nursery and have a look around to see what you can pick from in your zone. Look, don't buy yet! You might want to take a notebook and write down the name of any plants that interest you, their zone, how much sun they will need, the size they will grow to be and their price. Another way for you to see what would grow in your area is to log on to Nature Hills Nursery. Next you will want to decide where, in fact, you are going to put any plants you now are interested in purchasing. Commit to a location. Keep in mind that some plants get really tall and wide as well. You don't want to put a tree right next to your house, or any structure for that matter, as this can cause structural problems later. You don't want to plant a plant that will grow and cover up your windows or doors or that will have roots that might damage a foundation already in place. PLEASE NOTE: Very important, if there are power lines of any sort in the area you wish to plant large items, this may cause a problem. If you were to plant a tree that will get to be 40' tall under the power lines, you may then be required to have someone come in with a bucket hoist to trim your tree back away from the wires. This could easily become costly and redundant.
When you get your results back you will want review them. Before going any further, you will want to look at your notes and your map to determine if the plants you were interested in are realistic for your needs. If the plant you chose is from the proper zone, it should grow but some may take more effort from you than others. Do a little research to see what kind of soil your chosen plant flourishes in. You may need to add additional nutrients to your soil prior to the placement of your plants. If you need assistance in reading your soil test results, you may contact the facility that you sent your samples to. You may also log on to NAL for more help.
You are going to want to think about where any underground water lines, power lines, or gas lines are. The last thing you want to do right now is deal with a broken line of any sort. The best way to do this is to "Call Before You Dig". You can call the number 811 or you can log on to (CGA) for more information. When you call, they will take some information from you in order to contact someone from your utility company(ies). They will need to come out and mark your underground lines. I believe this is the best way to address this issue as I would hate for you to be out there digging and hit a power line. You could be hurt or even killed! Another concern would be that if you break a line, the utility company can fine you and may also charge you for interruptions of others and/or your neighbors' utilities for the time they are out of service. So let's be on the safe side of things and "Call Before You Dig". Allow them at least 72 hours to respond to your request.
Visit your local nurseries and pick out your plants or you may want to order them form Nature Hills Nursery and Save 25% or more on selected plants. If you are going to be planting bulbs or seeds, it is a good idea to till the ground up before planting. Before you till, you might want to lightly mist the ground to keep down the dust. Add all of the nutrients you may need such as fertilizer and compost. This helps to mix nutrients and loosen up the ground and makes it easer for your bulbs or seeds to grow. You can till with a little power tiller or you can till by hand using a shovel and just turning over the ground. You can also use a grubbing hoe (also called a grub hoe) or a garden weasel (also called a garden claw).
The evening before you plant your new plants in the ground, I suggest irrigating the area where you intend to plant. This helps with digging as well as keeping the dust to a minimum. When planting seeds or bulbs, early morning is the best time to plant them. This is because the ground is generally cooler that it would be after the sun has beat down on it all day. Prior to planting seeds, you may want to place your seeds in your refrigerator keeping them cool but dry. This helps your seeds to germinate faster after you plant them. If you are going to put your seeds in the refrigerator, put them in a zip lock bag and keep them away from food. Some seeds are sprayed and/or dusted with poisons to keep insects and rodents from eating them. We would not want you or someone in your household to get sick. It is also a good idea to wash your hands throughly with soap and water after handling your seeds.
Planting Seeds
Planting Bulbs
Planting Plants
If you want to lay down weed protection, now is the time to do it! You can use your old newspapers or you can use plastic or fabric that you can purchase at your local nurseries. For instructions on how to lay weed protection down check out Stone Gardens and then come back to step 10.
10th Step: Irrigating.
You are going to want to irrigate right after you plant your plants,seeds and bulbs. You just want to mist or lightly sprinkle where you planted or sowed you seeds so that you don't wash up your plants seeds and/or bulbs. Thats it! Now all you have to do is make sure that your plants are getting the water they need and pull any weeds that are growing around them.
We hope that this information has helped you in your gardening adventures. Happy Gardening!