The UC Davis Free Gardening Handbook

The Vegetable Gardening Handbook for Beginners Grow L.A. Victory Garden Initiative Los Angeles County Master Gardeners
Visit: http://celosangeles.ucdavis.edu/files/97094.pdf

With ideas like:
"Planning your Garden Site Selection Growing vegetables in your home or garden is good for you, your neighborhood, and for helping to reduce your carbon footprint. Growing vegetables at home can be done in a single pot on your patio or on a larger scale depending upon the space and time you have available. Choose the best site for your garden, preferably in a location that is easily accessible from your home. •
 -  The size of your garden will be dependent upon available space, the time that you have to garden and the food needs of your family and neighborhood. Make a map of the proposed area using grid paper and drawing it to scale.

 - Make sure the site receives 6 to 8 hours of direct sun per day.
 - Full sun is ideal for all vegetables.
 - Root and leafy crops (carrots, turnips, beets, leaf lettuce, spinach, etc.) can tolerate some shade.
- Insufficient sunlight can increase disease problems when growing many plants.
- Put taller plants on the north side so that they don’t cast shade on the shorter plants.
-  Make sure there is an adequate and handy water source near your garden.
- Select a level area with well-drained soil.
- Soil can be amended with compost or other organic matter to improve quality for greater yields.
- Determine plant spacing by the size of the mature plant - their leaves should just be touching.
- Most vegetables can be planted over a long range of dates.
- Plant new crops once you’ve harvested the first ones. 

If there isn’t enough room at home for a vegetable garden, consider joining a community garden to grow your vegetables. Community gardens can be found easily throughout the county. To find a garden in your community, please visit our website at Master Gardener UC Davis, click on Common Ground Garden Program, and then on Community Gardens for a four-page list of gardens."


Here is an example of the Free Gardening Handbooks Subjects:
The Table of Contents
Planning your Garden 6
Site Selection 6
Raised beds 7
Choosing containers 8
Plant selection 12
Getting Started 15
Soil preparation and fertilization 15
Seed starting 19
Transplanting 19
Composting 20
Wise water use 25
Pest management 26
Pests in the Garden 26
Beneficial insects 28
Pest Triangle 29
Weeds 30
Diseases 30
Insects 31
Harvesting 32
Storing Fruits and Vegetables 33
Food Safety in the Garden 35
Appendix 36
Principal Parts of a Plant 36
Principal Parts of a Flower 37
Garden Chemicals: Safe Use 38
Resources 39

For the complete manual visit: http://celosangeles.ucdavis.edu/files/97094.pdf

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