HOW DOES YOUR VEGETABLE GARDEN GROW? WITH GOOD SOIL.Byline: > JOSH SISKIN Why did my small vegetable garden start growing and then come to an abrupt standstill standstill /stand·still/ (stand´stil?) cessation of activity, as of the heart (cardiac s.) or chest (respiratory s.) . stand·still n. Complete cessation of activity or progress. even with watering, sun and feeding? >Fran Flevotomas, Woodland Hills With a vegetable garden, 95 percent of the job (if not more) is in preparation of the soil prior to planting. If you have not properly prepared the soil, you can keep vegetable plants alive and green with water and fertilizer but they will not produce the expected crops. Vegetable plants are genetically primed to produce their crops in a hurry. For most crops, harvesting begins 30 to 90 days after seed planting. If plants do not size up in a hurry, all is lost. Yet, where soil is well-prepared, vegetable plants will demonstrate explosive growth. Garden-worthy tomatoes, peppers and zucchini zucchini Subspecies of Cucurbita pepo, dark green elongate summer squash in the gourd family, of great abundance in U.S. home gardens and supermarkets. The creeping vine has five-lobed leaves, tendrils, and large yellow flowers. , unlike our native buckwheats, are descended from subtropical sub·trop·i·cal adj. Of, relating to, or being the geographic areas adjacent to the Tropics. subtropical Adjective of the region lying between the tropics and temperate lands South American mother plants that thrive in somewhat acid soil. Our soil is more alkaline alkaline /al·ka·line/ (al´kah-lin) (-lin) 1. having the reactions of an alkali. 2. having a pH greater than 7.0. al·ka·line adj. 1. than acid and, in order to lower the pH, amendments must be added. Compost has a slightly acidic acidic /acid·ic/ (ah-sid´ik) of or pertaining to an acid; acid-forming. acidic, adj having the properties of an acid; acid-forming properties. pH and generous applications of it will have the desired affect. If you do not have your own backyard compost, you can find it ready made -- Kellogg's Amend is one such product -- in bags at the nursery. You should also add mineral elements to the soil prior to planting. In recent years, several fertilizer companies have created products that contain everything needed to amend the soil, including both compost and minerals. Look for them at your nursery or home center. Tip of the Week: The other day I saw a 'Dynamite' crape myrtle crape myrtle: see loosestrife. crape myrtle Shrub (Lagerstroemia indica) of the loosestrife family, native to China and other tropical and subtropical countries and widely grown in warm regions for its flowers. for the first time. It has fire-engine red flowers and is mildew mildew, name for certain fungi and protists, for the diseases they cause in various crops, and for the discoloration (and sometimes the weakening and disintegration) they cause in such materials as leather, fabrics, and paper. resistant. Its growth habit is more compact than other crape myrtles so that its brilliant siren flowers make a truly heart-stopping impression. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: no caption (vegetables) |
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