Start a food garden in one weekend.

1. 1

   Find six hours of sun

   • Most vegetables need 6 to 8 hours of direct sun
   • Tomatoes, peppers and squash in pots want 8 plus
   • Lettuce, beets and spinach take some shade
2. 2

   Pick ground, bed or pots

   • Heavy or poor soil: build a raised bed instead
   • Bed at least 12 inches deep, 4 feet wide at most
   • No yard: deep pots on a patio or balcony
3. 3

   Size pots by the roots

   • Smallest outdoor pot: about 8 to 12 inches deep
   • Deeper beats wider for roots in summer heat
   • Light-colored pots run cooler than dark ones
4. 4

   Potting mix, not garden soil

   • Pots get bagged potting mix, never yard soil
   • Every pot needs drainage holes
   • No gravel in the bottom; it slows drainage
5. 5

   Compost the ground

   • Loosen the soil about 6 to 10 inches deep
   • Mix 2 to 4 inches of compost into the top foot
   • Wait if the soil is soggy; dig it just moist
6. 6

   Plant what the month wants

   • Fall and winter: lettuce, peas, carrots, broccoli
   • Spring and summer: tomatoes, beans, squash
   • Check the month on the SoCal planting calendar
7. 7

   Buy small transplants

   • Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant go in as plants
   • Pick 6-packs or 4-inch pots over gallon sizes
   • Seed takes 4 to 6 weeks longer to mature
8. 8

   Sow the easy seeds

   • Beans, lettuce, radishes, peas and squash
   • Radishes and cilantro are the quick ones
   • Sow a little more every 2 to 4 weeks
9. 9

   Plant them right

   • Dig 2 inches wider and deeper than the rootball
   • Bury tomatoes up to their top few leaves
   • Shade from late-day sun for about a week
10. 10

    Water by touch

    • Finger in the top inch: dry means water
    • Pots can need water daily in summer and wind
    • Water before mid-morning, deep not often
11. 11

    Mulch and feed lightly

    • Straw or compost mulch cuts evaporation
    • Pots: weak liquid feed starting week 2 to 4
    • A little fertilizer is good; more is not better
12. 12

    Your first harvest

    • Pick outer lettuce leaves; the center regrows
    • Harvest early in the day, while it is cool
    • Keep picking so plants keep producing

Find the sun, fill the pots, plant what the month wants. The rest is water and picking.