How does your garden grow?

We are not highly successful gardeners.  But every year we try again. This year we are going to buy some local produce and try to grow some of our own.  In an effort to get the most bang for our buck, we're planting vegetables that we can either freeze, can, or dehydrate (I can't wait to try some more dehydrating).  We started our seeds indoors... and I am hopeful they will be happy in the garden.

the frightening Tomato Hornworm

It takes more than hope to grow a garden, so we'd love any helpful tips. Our biggest problems have been squash (it just dries up and dies after a few weeks) and large tomatoes (which usually split).  For tomatoes, my reading says that I should be watering just the soil and not the tops of the tomato plants.  I think it's bugs getting my squash.

I would like to look into more natural ways of spraying for bugs and avoiding pesticide use (the warning label on Sevin kind of freaks me out).  Looks like soapy water, among other things, can be used to kill aphids and greenfly.  Somewhere I heard you can crush mint leaves over your squash plants to protect them against bugs (sounds too good to be true).  We just happen to have a mint patch... mint grows like a weed and is nearly impossible to kill, which fits my level of green thumbery.

This website helped me out with what the pesky insects look like.  Also includes helpful pest control tips.

Some of these other homemade insect treatments look too difficult or expensive to me.  It has to be easy if it's going to get done in this crazy household.  I'm trying to avoid solutions that require purchase of fancy oils we don't keep in stock.

This year is our first year to have our own compost to combine with the soil.  I'm not sure if the added compost is going to be the trick to a successful garden, but it's supposed to be great for soil and we like the idea of composting over landfilling.  Note to readers: compost can attract flies.  So don't put the compost bin anywhere near the back door that the kids leave open thereby allowing hundreds of compost-filled flies into your kitchen.  Lesson learned.    

Please share your tips!
~ Katrina

P.S.  What are you reading?  We're reading The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo.  Enchanting.  If you pick this one up, grab Because of Winn-Dixie by the same author.  We loved that one, too.