Readers left so many great comments on my recession garden post last week that I wanted to point out some of the best. If you don’t already read the comments, click on the comments link at the bottom of each post. Bargain Babe readers have a lot of info to share!
FrugalDad said:
Tomato plants need lost of sun and water. They are suscpetable to a yellowing fungus disease; if you see this, cut off the diseased part immediately. Improve your soil by composting kitchen and yard waste.
WWillowbeth suggested taking a Master Gardner class, which are offered at state universities:
Find your County Extention Service! http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/
Every county in the US has one, all associated with a State University. The have Master Gardener programs that can help you get started, give free advice, offer you free classes on gardening, water use and composting. They can tell you what to plant and when. You will have a green thumb in no time.
Katie said she had good luck growing herbs, which can be expensive to buy:
You can buy these for fairly cheap and already started from places like Lowes, Osh, Home Depot, etc. It’s great because when you buy them already started (but young) you can use them right away and more will still grow. It saves so much money vs. buying fresh herbs from the grocery store or farmers market because you just cut off what you need (less waste!). Also, several different kinds of herbs can be planted together in a large pot. Wonderful for patios and small spaces!
Patricia has a tip for buying plants in LA:
For Bargain Hunters…the healthiest and most economic seedlings can be purchased at some local Farmer’s Markets from “Peter” (Culver City, Torrance Wilson Park). Vegetables seedlings are 6 for $5.00.
Sarahliz recommended two books that have greened her thumb:
For someone who’s serious about getting into vegetable gardening I’d highly recommend two books: Steve Solomon’s Gardening when it Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times and Toby Hemenway’s Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture. They present two completely different philosophies on gardening but I think the information from both is really solid and useful. Taken together they give a lot of solid information that can help you develop your own gardening philosophy.
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
My favorite vegetable-gardening book is “Square Foot Gardening,” by Mel Bartholomew. I have an old copy from way back.
Good news for y’all is that the book has been updated and is, yes, better than ever:
“All New Square Foot Gardening” helps you grow vegetables in small spaces — and with small amounts of work.
The key is planting everything in square-foot spaces so you can really focus on your plants and keep the garden properly weeded.
My other favorite gardening book, which is more philosophical than how-to practical is “The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming,” by Masanobu Fukuoka, which is thankfully back in print after too many years. It’s another book that favors the minimalist approach, including letting the weeds grow and/or stepping on them. It’s not a “this is how to get the best tomatoes” kind of thing but is a very worthwhile read that brings together working the land and a Zen sensibility.
I should also mention for those in the San Fernando Valley who don’t have space for their own garden can “rent” space at the Sepulveda Garden Center in the Encino-adjacent portion of the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area.
We used to have a couple of plots there. Cost is $8 to start and $20 per YEAR for a plot. We did it for a year but found it hard to make it over there often enough. That and the rats were eating all my tomatoes … but it’s really better than all of that. At the very least, it’s a nice place to visit. Just drive over (it’s near Havenhurst Ave., just south of Burbank Blvd.) and check out all the cool garden plots and kibbitz the other gardeners. If you think you can be there often enough to maintain your garden, it’s a great deal.
As for me, I do a little growing in pots right now — tomatoes mostly, and eventually I’ll do more, I figure. I have “Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers: Using Ed’s Amazing POTS System” somewhere in my piles of junk, but I can’t exactly find it at the moment …
Thanks for the book recommendations, Steve!