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Newbie introduction

Hi, am I glad to find this list.  I've spent much of the last 24 hours
picking up stuff from the archives.   I've already added 3 maxims to my list:
     1    Be super attentive to watering
     2    Be sure your soil is very good
     3    Don't get over-ambitious (and overwhelmed)

By way of introduction, I live in the San Fernando valley in So. Calif.
Sunset calls this Zone 18 (is this the same as the US standard zones?).  I'm
new to the list, square foot gardening, and (honestly) gardening in general.

Though I've had THE BOOK for years I've lived in places where I couldn't
garden because of (in reverse order of importance):
     1    Too many dogs
     2    Too much shade
     3    Too little ambition :-)

My total gardening experience to date has been a couple seasons playing in
the corn stalks planted in the backyard (known in Dad vocabulary as the
south 40), putting out the occasional poorly producing tomato, and growing
(and letting die) numerous avocado plants.

This last year we finally got a house of our own, and it has a lovely,
bright back yard.  It also has a 9 ft by 33in brick lined raised bed.  The
former owners had a pair of grapes in it, which we took down.  This struck
me as a perfect place to do a little square foot gardening.  So, the weekend
before last, we dug up the bed and added about 80 lbs of planters mix and a
little gypsum.  This was recommended by the guys at the nursery.

Last week I got inspired (crazed??), grabbed by co-bibles (Mel's book and
Sunset Western Garden book) and began to annoy my hubby with "Do you like
???" questions.  After laying out preliminary plans I just had to get
something into the ground.  So I headed to the nursery and checked out which
plants they had in abundance for current planting.  I came away with some
broccoli, lettuce, and onions.  I went home and (TA TA) started the garden.
I also picked up some seeds that I was told I could start now, spinach,
dwarf peas, peppers, carrots, parsley, savory, chives, and cilantro (coriander).

So now I'm the proud Mama of 6 baby lettuce plants, 8 little onions, and 5
broccolis.  I also seeded a couple more lettuces, 3 spinaches, 4 more
onions, 3 peppers, 8 carrots, the herbs, 2 nasturtiums, and 2 marigolds.  I
believe I may have violated the don't get over-ambitious :-)

I'm looking forward to finding a lot of good ideas from you folks and hope
I'll have something to contribute as time goes by.

Kat in (moderately) sunny Southern California
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