If you are new to this, then there is a lot more than just putting seeds in the ground. I am going to approach this from a very basic level in case you need those details. If not, skip this and get started.
From Wikipedia: “Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Germany[1][2] during World War I and World War II. In the war time governments encouraged people to plant victory gardens not only to supplement their rations but also to boost morale.[3] George Washington Carver wrote an agricultural tract and promoted the idea of what he called a “Victory Garden”.[4] They were used along with Rationing Stamps and Cards to reduce pressure on the public food supply. Besides indirectly aiding the war effort, these gardens were also considered a civil “morale booster” in that gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution of labor and rewarded by the produce grown. This made victory gardens a part of daily life on the home front.”
Location: Use the space that you have available. If you live in an apartment, you can still grow in a pot or a window-sill. I have even planted along the landscape buffer next to the house because I have really good south and west exposure. I also grow some things in the front yard because we rarely use that space.
If it is outside, it needs to be in a location that you are going to frequent maybe not every time you leave the house, but you need to be able to see it. Ideally, you are going to have sunlight at least 12 hours a day from mid-spring to late summer, the prime growing season. You should also have access water for irrigation. I know the temptation to do it tomorrow is strong and tomorrow turns into a week.
Conditions: The experts would say that the ideal soil is 1/3 clay, 1/3 sand and 1/3 organic material. I would wager that there is no place on earth with this combination. So, start where you are at. Maybe not every plant will work, but this is how we learn.
I probably cannot help here if you live on a sandy beach or gravel bar, but even there some things will grow. As an alternative, I have seen elevated planters that you fill with potting soil, raised beds are an option to mitigate poor native soil.
It is helpful to add compost to the place that you are going to garden if you have access or the ability to do so. Add as much as practical or possible because it breaks down over time and plants will grow in nearly straight compost. My first year, the beds were 85% and every couple of years I refresh them.
Plant/Seed Selection: Not everything is going to do well everywhere. Things that are considered easy are things that grow to harvest quickly like greens, radishes and summer squash like zucchini.
Even those things can suffer from pest and disease so be prepared to roll with the punches. Chemical treatments can be helpful if you know what you are doing, have access and are willing to use them. I typically do not.
Some items are best to start in the ground directly and others you need a head start. Check your average annual frost dates, read your seeds average date to maturity and back calculate to today’s date to determine whether you should plant seed in the ground or make starts.
My average annual frost date is mid-April so I am starting some things by seed namely tomatoes and peppers. You can get a head start on more frost hearty crops like cabbage if you like too.
If you lack the facilities or equipment to start seeds, you may be able to buy starts at a nursery or box store, if you can get out or your stores are open. You are going to pay between $1-$4 per plant vs. the same cost per seed packet. Seed packets will yield thirty to 100 plants and are sold by weight.
If you cant and only have seeds just do that. Your enemy may be time but try anyway. If you don’t have seeds, maybe you can get some from somebody locally; ask on Nextdoor or Facebook. You can also order them by mail order.
Heirloom vs Hybrid: Practically speaking, heirloom means that the seeds of that plant will grow true to type. Hybrid may or may not, it is a gamble. Starting from store bought stock should yield no appreciable difference in taste, disease resistance, vigor etc. However, if you save seeds from plants year over year, you can conceivable achieve a significant yield improvement by taking seeds from plants that display traits that you are most interested in and adapted to your specific garden.
Plan for yield, prepare for failure: When I am planting things, I am thinking about what happens if it does really well. Meaning if I put in 20 cabbages, can I handle that. Will I be able to use it or give it away? There is nothing worse than putting in hundreds of hours to see it go to waste.
I usually start 50% more seeds than I want. I try to give away the starts after I plant what I want. If I cant, I might stick them in the ground or I might just toss them depending on the response.
I really hope that this is not your only hope for survival, unless you already know how to do all of this. This is meant to teach and develop a skill. You learn what does well based on climate, conditions and location of the garden. Year over year, you plant more of what you like and prospers and then you try more experiments and techniques to improve your failures.
Harvest Time: Learn to cook and preserve. I enjoy the challenge of trying to handle bounty. Also take time to document the season and develop plans for next season. Hopefully, you will learn to do something good for you and enjoy it as well as a way to eliminate cabin fever.
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