I've always wanted to try a vegatable garden but have no (zero, zip) experience at.  Truthfully I didn't have time, caring for the kids and my husband when he had his stroke took most all my time.    Now I have the time and don't know where to begin.

Can anyone tell me where I can buy a book that tells me when to plant what , how to take care of them, when you know they are ripe, and how to keep rabbits, squirels and other critters off of them?  I've tried tomatoes with some success, the birds and squirrels got most of them.  I couldn't get squash or pumpkins to grow at all.  I'd really like to start a good garden and then learn how to can  the product for later use.

Can anyone help?

Thanks for any and all help.

Donna

I don't think you'll find a single book that will tell you everything you want to know, but an encyclopedic type gardening book that covers a plethora of subjects would be your best bet.  I recently checked out, " The American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening" at my library and loved it.  It covers a TON of topics.  You can buy used copies of the older version of the book on amazon.com or half.com for pretty cheap.  I found it to be easy to understand and appreciated the many illustrations (color photos).  There are just soooo many good gardening books out there.  Now is a great time to read up about gardening so you'll be ready come spring.  Hope you find what you're looking for.

Chloe suggested a great book.

I work at a botanical garden and I wonder if you have any near where you live.  We are always having classes/lectures on how to plant different types of things.  This would be helpful because they will know your area, climate, planting season, etc.  If you cannot visit a place nearby, often they will have a hot-line (sometimes only 1 day a week) where they will answer your questions.  They might be able to suggest a book better for your location.  Or, if there are a few things you are interested in planting they will have ideas.

Two summers ago I tried planting carrots and had no luck.  This past summer I planted them again but in a different location in my garden and we had a bumper crop!  Sometimes it just takes experimenting too. 

Good luck!