Phacelia tanacetifolia
Phacelia
Common names: Bush Beauty, Bee Friend, Rainfarn Phacelia
Photo: Copyright by Curtis Clark, licensed as noted · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Phacelia is the universal green manure. It grows rapidly, shades the soil, suppresses weeds, and attracts masses of bees and hoverflies with its violet-blue tubular flowers. Because it is not related to any vegetable family, it can be used as a cover crop in any crop rotation.
Care instructions
Sow Phacelia from April to September in a wide scatter or in rows directly into the bed and lightly rake it in. It germinates in the dark, so cover the seed well. Water after sowing, then it tolerates little water. Cut or roll it down at the latest at flowering, before it senesces, and leave it as mulch or incorporate it flat; it will freeze safely over winter.
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, loamy, clayey, well-drained, lean
Feeding
Light feeder
Companion planting
Good neighbors
nightshade family (Solanaceae)
Borage attracts pollinators and is supposed to keep tomato pests away from the nightshade family.
For example Sweet pepperCocktail tomatoEggplantCape gooseberryChiliPeperoni and 7 more species in the catalogue
Source: organic greenhouse companion planting practice
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
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