garden layouts- soil ph, what grows with what, plans?

I've been researching this quite a bit but it's not something I've done before so it's seeming a bit complicated. Does anyone have charts or layouts of how they plan their garden? I'm talking about which plants to put together in acidic soil, alkaline soil, also considering which plants don't like growing near each other. I did a soil test on my new raised garden beds with new soil and compost and they're a bit alkaline, between 7 and 7.5. So I was thinking of adding peat moss to most of the beds and leaving one alone for alkaline loving veggies and flowers. But if there's a chart somewhere or plans laid out of what should be planted together with which soil, that would help! I have four large beds that will be inside a hoop greenhouse, and am building more that will be outside so can do anything with any of them. This is because our soil is rocky and not good so I'm starting from scratch this year

Um..... er... I just stick things in the ground and if they don't do well I try them somewhere else later or next season....
You are WAY more prepared than I've ever been. I'll be watching to see what the more experienced gardeners say.


eta: DO NOT plant cucumbers and tomatoes close together!!! They join forces and their vines take on an evil life of their own!!!
Just thought I'd toss that out there.......

I'm sorta like Canesisters, I am a haphazard gardener. I have small beds between my sidewalk and driveway, took over the flower beds in front of the house (sneers-who needs 'em, can't eat 'em) a long bed on the other side of the driveway and a patch on the other side of the yard. My concern is mainly sunshine. I crowd plants together, intersperse flowers in the mix (I really do like flowers) and introduce companion plantings that organized gardeners would shudder at.

My first question is, how did you have the soil tested? Was it done in a lab, or with a home kit?

There aren't a lot of alkaline loving plants out there. At pH above 7.0 iron begins to lock up, above 7.5 and you're starting to push it. The symptoms would usually be interveinal chlorosis, especially on the newer leaves. Keep in mind that if the test was a home kit bought from a big box store, I would seriously question the accuracy of the results.

Having said that, I don't know of many garden vegetables that will thrive above 7.0, but many will grow. You could try carrots and cabbages, they grow well together and are less susceptible to iron deficiency. Once you get to 7.5 or above, you will probably struggle to get anything to produce a decent harvest. There are some shrubs and perennials that do well in alkaline soils (lilacs come to mind), but with raised beds in a hoophouse I get the feeling you're more interested in veggies.

For some more research and learning, google "companion planting". That should get you headed in the right direction.

And WELCOME TO TEG!!!

@jellybean doing a little research on your questions has helped answer one of my own: is water pH sometimes changed for crop production? I can hardly imagine it but, yes.

Soils here tend to be alkaline. Moreover, water can go above 8 on the pH scale during the growing season!

I have seen the chart on this page in several places on the internet: University of Nebraska, best pH ranges for various vegetable crops.

It looks like MontyJ is right, nothing prefers a higher pH soil. I rely on organic matter in the gardens. There are reasons other than soil for me to confine my "salad beds" to one garden and not the other but the high level of organic material in those beds sure must help. Peat counts but not for fertility, remember that.

Companion planting? I believe that the best case is that one plant benefits and the other isn't "seriously inconvenienced." I don't know how much shared love there is. Plants compete so strongly for sun, water, and nutrients.

The salad beds are my best examples of companionship. Onions can't compete real well but they don't need much room and fit in well. Leaf crops generally have similar nutrient requirements. Harvesting is convenient, too!

Steve

baymule said:

I'm sorta like Canesisters, I am a haphazard gardener. I have small beds between my sidewalk and driveway, took over the flower beds in front of the house (sneers-who needs 'em, can't eat 'em) a long bed on the other side of the driveway and a patch on the other side of the yard. My concern is mainly sunshine. I crowd plants together, intersperse flowers in the mix (I really do like flowers) and introduce companion plantings that organized gardeners would shudder at.

Click to expand...

I think that is good advice. I am trying to plant closer and quit wasting space. I planted spinach, lettuce and onions last year very close and it worked out great.