Alway - Soil mates : companion planting for your vegetable garden

J ust like people, plants are searching for the perfect companion. Someone who brings out the best in them, makes them feel comfy, keeps the bad influences away. Just as people search the world over for their soul mate, plants hunt gardenwide for their soil mate. And its our job as gardeners to help these lovelorn veggies find each other.

Gardeners have learned to maintain high-yielding crops without chemicals simply by placing certain plants together in a garden bed. A conscientious placement of plants that are beneficial to each otherknown as companion plantingwill boost your harvest while reducing your work battling weeds, pests, and diseases. Most important, you wont be reaching for the chemicals because the plants will be doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Theyll be attracting good bugs, birds, and animals; hiding the harvests from predators; and creating a more natural biodiversity that is less taxing on the soil.

As the ultimate dating manual for your vegetables, this book will clue you in on simple tips and help you create the perfect symbiotic relationships between your plants. Once nestled in bed together, your veggie companions will thrive, making for a happy and productive garden.

Each pair of soil mates begins with a succinct but fun description of both plantstheir general features, their overall needs and desiresin essence, what makes them a Love Match . Next, My Place or Yours details how best to place your companions to maximize their benefits to each other, complete with a handy planting illustration. Then come the Plant Profiles . Think of these as snapshots of the plants that highlight their special little quirks and unique offerings, the bugs that bug them, and their sordid third-party attractions. Noted are their:

Turn-Ons Lets face it: Everyone has a soft spot for special treatment, including plants. Try these tips and tricks to keep your soil mates happy and productive.

Turn-Offs You know the type. They hog the sunlight, drink all the water, and then expect their partner to produce in the garden bed. Try to avoid these situations if you want garden harmony.

Needy Alerts Be warned! These types will always be asking for more fertilizer, more water, more sun, more everything. Though they are needy, if you give them your attention, they will reward you generously. So lavish your love with impunity.

Stalker Alerts Always be on the lookout for those pesky stalkersof the insect or animal variety.