Welcome! A lot of good questions here. My number one best piece of advice for you is take a trip up to Austin and go visit the Natural Gardener nursery. Ask to talk to John Dromgoole (the owner), and just tell him that you are starting your first veggie garden and would love to hear any tips he might have. He is an amazing wealth of info, and he's a super nice guy. The nursery is worth an entire day trip, as there is a ton to see with multiple gardens. They even have a veggie display garden that you can learn a lot from. 1. Earthworms are always a good sign. I have one lasagna bed that I started in the fall/winter of 2012. In Spring of 2013, I topped it with about 4" of finished compost and planted it with peppers, zucchini, and beans, and everything grew pretty well. I think my results this year will be better though. It does take a little while to break down, and I think some of the nitrogen was tied up by the decomp process. your length of time to good results could vary, and it will greatly depend on the depth of the bed. If you can build up at least 9-12 inches with your layers, you should get results quickly. 2. Grubs are bad. Whenever I find them, I toss them onto the concrete for the birds to find. If you have the means, buy some beneficial nematodes to get the grubs under control. 3a) It's still pretty early in the season, at least it is up here in Dallas. I have not started my squash yet, and I ALWAYS start squash from seed. If your plant was root bound in the container, it could be suffering from transplant shock. The problem could also be from the weather, over watering, nutrient deficiency... lots of possibilities. A picture would help. Next time, try seed. Most of mine sprout in less than a week (some in 24-48 hours) and grow very quickly. Also, be on the lookout for the dreaded squash vine borer. They are not fun to deal with. Because of SVB, I almost exclusively plant Tatume squash now, which holds up better than most others. 3b) again, pictures will help. Are you noticing any bugs on your plants? Even little itty bitty tiny ones on the under sides of the leaves? Aphids can do a lot of damage... 3c) Pictures! It really does sound like you have a watering issue though... how often are you watering? 4) I use cages. Depending on which varieties you are growing, tomatoes get BIG and HEAVY. Mine tower over my 6 foot privacy fence by the end of the season. If your support system isn't strong enough and a bad storm or heavy wind comes through, your plants are gonners. those standard wimpy cages at most of the garden centers are typically good for peppers and eggplant, but not tomatoes. Do a youtube search for galvanized fence tomato cage. In the garden, you will quickly get over the creepy crawlies. It's a part of gardening life. Just wait till you encounter your first tomato hornworm. :) You will also need to quickly figure out how to differentiate between good bug and bad bug. Baby ladybugs look really scary, but you should NEVER EVER EVER kill them. They are your best defense against aphids. Baby lacewings also look really creepy, but they eat all those nasty whiteflies. 5. I'm not a peat moss fan. I know a lot of people use it, but there are some issues that you should be aware of. Peat is not a renewable resource, and once it dries out, it is difficult to re-wet, so it doesn't really maintain the moisture levels in our Texas summers. Better options (IMO) are coconut coir and expanded shale. However, I have gotten to a point where I don't use either in my beds. I now just use compost, decomposed granite, lava sand, green sand, dry molasses, and zeolite. Find a local dirt source that sells compost in bulk, and you will save a ton. I use Soil Building Systems in Dallas. There is a good raised bed mix on the dirtdoctor website. The only miracle grow product I ever use is their organic potting soil, and even that is a rare occasion. 6) Herbs do great here. Dill, fennel, parsley, and cilantro are cool season herbs that die back during the summer, but if you let them go to seed, they will come back. I think chamomile falls in this category as well. Basil is a summer herb that loves the heat, and it will die once the fall temps are regularly at or below 40. It is easy to root though, so just take a cutting in early fall to overwinter. Oregano, sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, and germander are all evergreen for me in Dallas, and they all do fine in full sun. Mint is one of those things that you have to be 100% sure that you want before you plant it. It will invade every bit of soil that it can, and it's very difficult to get rid of. It's best planted in pots, and not in your veggie beds. If the herbs have been in pots indoors, be sure to harden them off by slowly acclimating them to the outside temps and sun exposure. The best resources I can think of will be John Dromgoole (Natural Gardener), Howard Garrett (DirtDoctor), and you local county extension office and/or master gardener association. You can grow a ton of stuff in Texas. Just don't try to grow lettuce in the summer or tomatoes in the winter. Oh, and don't forget to plant stuff for the bees!!!! Take a look at the seed exchange forum too. You will frequently see posts by people looking to get rid of older seeds. You just have to send them postage. Last thing - be sure to remove any grass from the area BEFORE you fill your beds. If there is any Bermuda grass in the area, it will grow up through your beds and eventually take over.

I'll come out of hiding with my bit to add. I lived in San Antonio briefly, 20 some years ago, with my now longtime ex; if memory serves, he was stationed at Ft Sam Houston. Since he, too, was going thru some sort of officer's introductory course and we were on to Colorado next, we did not live on base. While I am sure much has changed since I lived there, I can tell you SA is HOT much of the time, so if your family lives off base, find someplace with pool privileges. Be careful, too, as the worst sunburns of my pale life I got from the broiling sun on Texas beaches where people drive, and park, their cars like some beach tailgate. Exterminators come year round as it doesn't get cold enough to kill what our NE winters will. The people are incredibly nice and friendly. As a matter of fact, when passing an oncoming car and the driver lifts a finger off the steering wheel, it is a friendly wave and not what two, just out of college, born & bred eastcoasters thought it was... Yummy yummy Tex-Mex food all over, too--living in TX and CO influenced my cooking style and meal choices permanently. Take advantage of your time visiting and soak up all the Southwestern culture you can--museums, galleries, restaurants (did i mention the food?) and even the touristy stuff, like the Alamo and the Riverwalk. When I was living the military spouse life, we always did our px and commissary shopping on the air force bases in the area instead of the army shops. Years ago, the joke was that the army spent its budget on bombs and troops and funded the bases with what was left over, but the air force did it in reverse, knowing they could get more funding for the hard-core stuff. Don't know if that is still true.

Here we are in Lake Charles LA and lots more to to say about that later!!! We had such a great time with the SA gang! Brenda , Sally, Mae and their families were an absolute delight to be with. Thanks Brenda for putting it all together. Lunch was so much fun and we had a great visit. Brenda and Sally are not very good with instructions and brought some wonderful treats for all of us. Sally the peanut brittle is all gone! Brenda if they stop us at the border becuase of those small plastic bags with all that dry green grassy stuff in it...we'll call you for bail! LOL We both loved San Antonio, what a great city, so pretty and well done but we loved the chance to meet up with some CF friends even more. Thanks again Brenda! Here are the four amigos at Rosarios

I second the McNay Art Museum. Great collection in an historic Spanish-style villa with beautiful grounds. Daytime music venues during the week might be sparse, but my bet would be the River Center Mall. They usually have a group playing in the courtyard. El Mercado might have some music going on. Off the beaten track try a walking tour of the King William district just south of downtown. Lots of 1800's mansions, cottages and beautiful yards. In that area is the Pioneer Flour Mill with a great little cafe/restaurant. Adjoining King William to the east is Southtown - the new "happening" place. Pseudo-bohemian, galleries, cafes, etc. If in that area you must stop by La Fruteria and have a drink and some tapas. Truly unique. Also down into Southtown is one of my favorite restaurants - Liberty Bar - very eclectic, steak tartar to meatloaf. San Fernando Cathedral is the home of the district arch-bishop and open to visitors or for service. Also, little known is the Little Flower Cathedral just west of downtown about two miles. Take the River Walk boat ride after dark. It's magical and informative. For great, authentic Mexican food try El Mirador at the near end of Southtown. On the river you can't beat Budro's. For world class dining there is Biga on the Banks on the River Walk and Bliss in Southtown.