Ommas Aarden Heirloom Seed companion

http://www.zenfulneps.com/companionplants/default.aspx?page=1 = extensive list

http://www.lubbockfeeders.com/index.cfm?show=1&mapID=20 = daily soil temps in Lubbock

And don't forget the beneficial animals --Toads for instance, eat 3,000 grubs, slugs, cutworms, flies, wood lice, grasshoppers and beetles a month (make a toad house by placing an old clay pot upside down in a cool, moist, out-of-the-way place in your garden. Break out a door for Mr. Toad, about the size of a 50 cent piece, at the rim where the pot touches the earth). An added benefit of toads is they won't turn on your flowers and vegetables if there are no insects to eat. Most pests are actually night workers, so a single bat will eat 1,000 bugs a night, a family of bats thousands. If you're near some open spaces,consider erecting a purple martin house, each martin eats 1,000 insects in 12 hours. A single wren can gobble down 500 insect eggs, beetles and grubs an afternoon. 60% of a chickadees diet during the winter is comprised of aphid eggs. http://mouseherder.blogspot.com/2009/05/organic-pest-control.html

Table 7. Common garden problems.
Symptom	Possible causes	Corrective measure(s)
Plants stunted in growth; sickly, yellow color	Not enough soil nutrients or soil pH is abnormal	Use fertilizer and correct pH according to a soil test. Use 2 to 3 pounds of complete fertilizer per 100 square feet in the absence of soil test.
	Plants growing in compacted, poorly drained soil	Modify soil with organic matter or coarse sand.
	Insect or disease damage	Use a regular spray or dust program.
	Iron deficiency	Apply iron to soil or foliage.
Plants stunted in growth; sickly, purplish color	Low temperature	Plant at the proper time. Don’t use light-colored mulch too early in the season.
	Low available phosphate	Apply sufficient phosphate at planting.
Holes in leaves; leaves yellowish and dropping, or distorted in shape	Insect damage	Use recommended insecticides at regular intervals.
Plant leaves with spots; dead, dried areas; or powdery or rusty areas	Plant disease	Use resistant varieties; remove diseased plants and use a regular spray program.
Plants wilt even though they have sufficient water	Soluble salts too high or root system damage	Have soil tested. Use soil insecticides, fungicides and resistant varieties.
	Poor drainage and aeration	Add organic matter or sand to the soil.
	Insect or nematode damage	Use recommended varieties and apply soil insecticides or nematicides.
Plants tall, spindly and unproductive	Excessive shade	Relocate to a sunny area. Keep down weeds.
	Excessive nitrogen	Reduce applications of nitrogen
Blossom drop (tomato)	Hot, dry periods	Use mulch and water. Plant heat-tolerant varieties.
	Minor element deficiencies	Use fertilizer containing zinc, iron and manganese.
Failure to set fruit (vine crop)	Poor pollination	Avoid spraying when bees are present.
Leathery, dry, brown blemish on the blossom end of tomato, pepper and watermelon	Blossom end rot	Keep the soil moisture uniform. Avoid overwatering and excessive nitrogen.
There are many herbs that are thought to be companion plants.  Hundreds of examples of plant companions are recorded in garden lore.
In planting a vegetable garden, you should use plants that are mutually compatible.  Vegetables are divided into four groups - heavy feeders, light feeders, soil-conserving and soil-improving crops.  You should plant heavy feeding vegetables in newly fertilized soil.  Some examples of heavy feeding vegetables are cabbage, cauliflower, all leaf vegetables such as lettuce, spinach and celery.  Also included are leeks, cucumbers, squash, sweet corn and tomatoes.
Most herbs are light feeders that like compost.  Root crops like carrots, beets, radishes, turnips and rutabagas are light feeders.
The companion plants chosen must be adaptable to the same soil conditions as those preferred by the crop plants.
French marigolds (Tagetes patula) planted thickly in a vegetable garden help repel nematodes.  Keep in mind unscented marigolds will not protect your plants.  The cabbageworm is controlled by planting mint nearby.  Keep mint in a pot because it does tend to take over.  Rosemary, sage, peppermint, thyme and catnip are other helpful plants to control cabbageworms and aphids.  Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) tends to repel aphids, mosquitoes and mites.  It acts as a natural fungicide and slows the growth of milkweed bugs.  Planting basil among tomato plants controls tomato hornworms.  Thyme planted with cabbage controls flea beetles, cabbage maggots, white cabbage butterflies and imported cabbageworms.  Catnip planted with eggplant tends to deter flea beetles.  Planting onions in rows with carrots controls rust flies and some nematodes.  Growing horseradish with potatoes repels the Colorado potato beetle.  Nasturtiums and radishes grown with your cucumbers controls the cucumber beetle.  To deter asparagus beetles, plant tomatoes, parsley or basil with your asparagus.  Whiteflies and squash bugs are controlled with Nasturtiums; however, the flowers are more often used as a trap crop for aphids.  Planting a ring around apple trees limits woolly aphid damage to the trees.
There is some scientific research to support companion planting.  A potato plant which has been grafted onto a tobacco plant root becomes resistant to the Colorado potato beetle.  Also, asparagus roots left in the soil has led to a decline in the stubby root nematode population.  It has been found that Boston fern leaves contain a feeding deterrent effective against the Southern armyworm.  Research has found a chemical in tomato plant leaves that is toxic to some weevil species.
Diversity of plants is the easiest and most effective pesticide and fertilizer a garden has.