How is the quality of your soil?
A soil with a pH lower than 7.0 is acidic,one with pH higher than 7.0 is alkaline. You might need to adjust the soil to suit the plants for the areas in your garden.
Many garden centers will test a pH soil sample for you, or you can buy an inexpensive pH test kit at most nurseries, hardware stores or home and garden departments. In general, a test kit includes a test tube, solution, and color chart. Place a sample of your soil in the tube, add a few drops of the solution, shake it up and leave it for an hour or so to settle.
The solution changes color according to the pH level, compare this color to the chart to determine the pH of your sample. Some kits include advisory booklets to interpret the results. Soil adjustments are best made gradually over the course of a few seasons. The addition of hardwood ash, bone meal, crushed marble, or crushed oyster shells will also help to raise the pH level.
Read and follow the label's recommendations when using chemical products. Use protection such as a dust mask, and gloves. Lime should be applied only when tests show it to be necessary. If it's excessively alkaline, it might be better to build a raised bed using purchased topsoil.
Plants that grow well together:
Plant a few carrot seeds, basil, chives, bee balm and marigolds where you plan to grow the tomatoes; carrots help them to grow better. The marigolds and chives protect, and basil adds flavor into tomatoes as well as detracts hornworms.
Plant the carrot seeds, for harvesting, in with beans for the nitrogen that the beans add to the soil. Also, with lettuce, radish, and peas.
Plant beets, mint, thyme and nasturtiums where celery, onion, potatoes and cabbage are planned. Beet leaves contain magnesium which helps the soil, use with lettuce and onions.
Spinach and thyme where eggplant and beans will be planted. Spinach grows well with eggplant and celery. Eggplants are a particularly good companion plant for green beans because they repel bean beetles, which can destroy green beans, while green beans deter california beetles, which can attack eggplants. Green beans will also assist in rotation planting, as the additional nitrogen in the soil will support heavy crops the following year.
Nasturtiums - repel aphids, cucumber beetles, squash bugs, white flies, and borers near fruit trees. Mainly cucumber, squash and green beans will benefit.
Green beans should not be planted near plants that do not do well with extra nitrogen, such as tomatoes, green peppers, or chili peppers. They also do not do well near beets, chives, onions, or garlic, as these plants can stunt the bean stalk.
Mint - improves flavor and growth for cabbage and tomatoes.
Tansy - deters ants, striped cucumber beetles, flies, japanese beetles, and squash bugs. Plant near cucumber, squash, roses, grapes, raspberry, and blackberry.
Thyme - near to where cabbage will be planted as this fragrant herb repels cabbage worms, flea beetles, and cabbage maggots.
Onions and garlic - plant away from peas and beans.
LizOlivia
A soil with a pH lower than 7.0 is acidic,one with pH higher than 7.0 is alkaline. You might need to adjust the soil to suit the plants for the areas in your garden.
Many garden centers will test a pH soil sample for you, or you can buy an inexpensive pH test kit at most nurseries, hardware stores or home and garden departments. In general, a test kit includes a test tube, solution, and color chart. Place a sample of your soil in the tube, add a few drops of the solution, shake it up and leave it for an hour or so to settle.
The solution changes color according to the pH level, compare this color to the chart to determine the pH of your sample. Some kits include advisory booklets to interpret the results. Soil adjustments are best made gradually over the course of a few seasons. The addition of hardwood ash, bone meal, crushed marble, or crushed oyster shells will also help to raise the pH level.
Read and follow the label's recommendations when using chemical products. Use protection such as a dust mask, and gloves. Lime should be applied only when tests show it to be necessary. If it's excessively alkaline, it might be better to build a raised bed using purchased topsoil.
Plants that grow well together:
Plant a few carrot seeds, basil, chives, bee balm and marigolds where you plan to grow the tomatoes; carrots help them to grow better. The marigolds and chives protect, and basil adds flavor into tomatoes as well as detracts hornworms.
Plant the carrot seeds, for harvesting, in with beans for the nitrogen that the beans add to the soil. Also, with lettuce, radish, and peas.
Plant beets, mint, thyme and nasturtiums where celery, onion, potatoes and cabbage are planned. Beet leaves contain magnesium which helps the soil, use with lettuce and onions.
Spinach and thyme where eggplant and beans will be planted. Spinach grows well with eggplant and celery. Eggplants are a particularly good companion plant for green beans because they repel bean beetles, which can destroy green beans, while green beans deter california beetles, which can attack eggplants. Green beans will also assist in rotation planting, as the additional nitrogen in the soil will support heavy crops the following year.
Nasturtiums - repel aphids, cucumber beetles, squash bugs, white flies, and borers near fruit trees. Mainly cucumber, squash and green beans will benefit.
Green beans should not be planted near plants that do not do well with extra nitrogen, such as tomatoes, green peppers, or chili peppers. They also do not do well near beets, chives, onions, or garlic, as these plants can stunt the bean stalk.
Mint - improves flavor and growth for cabbage and tomatoes.
Tansy - deters ants, striped cucumber beetles, flies, japanese beetles, and squash bugs. Plant near cucumber, squash, roses, grapes, raspberry, and blackberry.
Thyme - near to where cabbage will be planted as this fragrant herb repels cabbage worms, flea beetles, and cabbage maggots.
Onions and garlic - plant away from peas and beans.
LizOlivia
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