Out of the thousands of gardening books, magazines, articles, and websites out there, very few even mention the fundamental elements of growing food. Once you find out what these steps are, you'll realize gardening is easier than you first thought.

There are only a handful of essential things you need to know to be able to grow food in any climate with any soil. Gardening "experts" like to make people think gardening takes years of study to be able to do.

The truth is, the only ingredients you need for a producing garden are good seeds, soil, fertilizer, and water.

Let's start with seeds. The seeds you use don't necessarily need to be heirloom or organic but they must not be genetically modified. It's getting harder to tell which seeds are genetically modified and that's why gardeners are migrating to only organic seeds. One way you can tell if they are GMO seeds is by looking on the back of the seed packet to see if there is a patent number. Lots of seeds you can buy in the super stores like Walmart have a patent number on the back of the seeds packets.

The next important factor is the soil. Soil ranges from sandy to loam to clay. Sandy soil allows water to drain quickly, so plants need to be watered sometimes 10-20 times a day. Clay soil does not drain very well, so standing water around plants can cause disease and root rot. But there is an easy remedy for all soils...

...Compost.

And compost is easy make. It's not cost effective to buy compost at the store but you're in luck, it's easy to make your own. All you need to do is call your local horse or cow ranches to see which ones discard the manure. Once you've transported the manure back to your property, shovel it into a large pile and wet thoroughly with a sprinkler. This will start the process of composting the manure and facilitating beneficial bacteria growth. After one week, turn the compost pile so that the outside is now on the inside, wet with a sprinkler and wait another week.

Using an organic fertilizer that does not harm the soil is important. And you're in luck. All you need to do to make your own fertilizer is fill a plastic bin a third full of compost, fill two thirds with water, and let sit for a day or two.

Supplying the garden with water is important. When a plant shows signs of withering, it's growth has already been stunted. The two easiest ways to water a garden are: (1) with a rubber garden hose and an impulse sprinkler on a stand, and (2) with a drip system. Which ever method you choose, remember to water deeply every couple of days.

Now that you know the essentials for a producing garden, you can start your own.