Hi Hilary,

Not sure whether you are moving within Madison or from somewhere else, but
if it is the later, welcome to Madison!

As a previous poster mentioned, you won't need to do much with the
blackberries and grapes, except prune them back when they start to take
over.

The website for Olbrich Gardens in Madison has some good information for
gardeners, most of which is tailored to our climate: www.olbrich.org.

The Dane County Extension is another good resource:
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/dane/hort/hort.html.

One thing to keep in mind is that, as I understand it, the lakes keep us
about half a USDA zone warmer than the rest of Dane county. The zone here is
5a, rather than 4b. The last killing frost is supposed to be in the last
week of April/first week of May he but I think that is a bit optimistic.
I usually start planting cool weather veggies (lettuce, chard, spinach)
in the first couple weeks of May, then the veggies that like it warmer
around the last week of May.

Personally, I buy tomato and pepper plants, since our season is a bit short
to seed them directly outside, and I never manage to get the seeds started
indoors. Peas, beans, lettuce, zucchini, corn, etc. can all be seeded
directly outdoors. If you go to Jung's or Johannsen's to buy your seeds, the
folks there are a wealth of information, and will be able to give you more
specifics on when to plant what.

Good luck!
Shelly

"Hilary" wrote in message
om...
In mid-April I'm going to be moving into a flat in Madison, Wisconsin
that has several raised veggie gardens in the back yard, as well as
blackberry bushes, pear trees, an apple tree, and grape vines. I'd
like to keep this up while I'm living there, but know nothing about
gardening. Are there veggies that come back every year or do I have
to start from scratch? When do I plant different vegetables (zuchini,
lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, onions) and should I use seeds or what?
Do I have to do anything to the fruit besides pick it?