I decided to plant a garden this year. It seemed like a rational decision when I made it. Now, a few weeks into the project, I realize I definitely underestimated the obstacles to realizing my vision of spending the next nine months with an abundant supply of fresh herbs and vegetables.

It started simply enough. My daughter fell in love with some Armenian pickles that one of my wife’s colleagues gave to her. She collects cans and bottles for him, and her payment was made in pickles. Ultimately he agreed to give her the recipe and even provided the seeds for us to grow our own Armenian cucumbers. It was a costly gesture in retrospect.

I went to Home Depot and purchased seeds, a mini greenhouse for starting seeds and two test plants to see how they might do in the excessively sandy loam that composes most of my backyard. The mini greenhouse included 72 soil pucks and instructions for starting the seeds.

As I added the water to the greenhouse, I was transported to sixth grade and growing lima beans. I was mesmerized as the pucks expanded. My daughter was unimpressed. In spite of her boredom, we sowed 24 Armenian cucumbers, 12 cilantro, 12 beefsteak tomatoes, 12 crazy yellow striped tomatoes from my daughter’s school (we culled the seeds last year), six zucchini and six summer squash.

You might be asking, “What are you going to do with 24 Armenian pickle plants?” I’m asking the same question. If you know anyone who would like Armenian pickle seedling, please let me know. You can save at least 12 from certain death. I’m learning, but this is a new milieu for me and my aspirations were, admittedly, ambitious.

Getting back to those test plants, I bought sweet basil and a jalapeno plant. They aren’t doing so well. The basil was attacked by snails the first night and they went through it like a logger through a virgin forest. I spent $25 on snail poison, but the basil still struggles.

The jalapeno seems to be suffering a different kind of fate. The leaves are disappearing slowly and there is a whitish-gray mold at the top of the plant. I sprayed what I was told was an organic mixture of sulfur and pyrethrins. It has had little effect. I fear this may be the fate of my seedlings as well, although thus far, none are exhibiting any negative tendencies.

My daughter and I are building raised beds. This is in response to a bold field mouse that interrupted my morning coffee. He bravely dashed underneath the chair in which I was sitting to abscond with the spilled bird seed from the feeder in our yard. I can’t bring myself to kill the little guy, and so Google suggested raised beds.

We bought cedar planks and posts, galvanized screws and hardware cloth. The cordless drill and circular saw were an extravagance, but they definitely came in handy. Two hours of quality time later we placed the first 2-foot-by-3-foot bed and filled it with planting mix. The seedlings aren’t ready yet, but when they are they will certainly have found paradise.

I’m reaching out now for sage advice on successful gardening. In the time it has taken me to write this, my jalapeno plant has been attacked again. Its leaves are disappearing faster than the poor guy can grow. The basil is stable but I can’t say it looks appetizing or edible.

And so I appeal to you, the two readers of my column, your advice is most welcome. I promise to keep you posted on my agricultural progress.

— Tim Durnin is an independent consultant for nonprofit organizations, schools and small business. Contact him at tdurnin@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter: @tdurnin, or click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.