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| Q. How do I change
the pH of my clay soil to grow acid-loving plants?
A. With a soil pH of 8.0 (7.0 is neutral), it's
hard to grow plants that like an acidic soil. Sulfur lowers pH,
but it's not practical to try to lower the pH of a clay that's 8.0--there's
too much lime in our soil.
You'll sulfur it and sulfur and still not get it down far enough.
The better way, if you're going to grow an acid-loving plant, is
to bring in some sandy soil or sandy loam, and a little peat moss,
and build a raised bed your plants. Many of the beautiful azaleas
that you see around town are growing that way because they've had
a bed created for them, such as those at Zilker Botanical Garden.
You may also want to restrict them to container plantings.
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past Questions of the Week
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|  Mexican
Mint Marigold (Tagetes lucida)
Equally at home in the herb garden and perennial flower border,
Mexican mint marigold does double duty as a culinary herb
and beautiful fall flowering plant.
It's a dependable perennial returning each year to form a
mounded plant 2-3 feet in height. Plant it in a well-drained
soil with full sun for best results.
The leaves have a distinctive, pleasing anise-like scent,
similar to those black jelly beans! The leaves are used in
herbal teas and as a substitute for tarragon in herbal vinegars,
salad dressings and sauces. In fall the plant is covered with
a multitude of small yellow, single blooms about ½
inch across.
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past Plants of the Week
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- Plant cool-weather annuals, like snapdragons,
stock, calendula, and cyclamen. Wait a bit longer for the violas
and pansies.
- October is herb month, and there are many herbs, especially
the perennials, that can be planted this month. And don't just
restrict them to an official herb garden! Don't just think of
herbs in the herb garden. Many make great plants in the ornamental
garden. I like to use oregano as a ground cover in areas, or even
as a plant in a pot.
- If you've got any tender vegetables you've put out, like broccoli
plants, keep an eye out for cabbage loopers! Catch them now when
they're easy to control with BT. Don't wait until they've turned
your plants into Swiss cheese. If you've got any salad veggies
you want to plant out, go ahead and start seeding the lettuce
out now.
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Planting Tips
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