It's soil chemistry. All soil has a chemistry.  Whatever you try to grow plants in: sand, potting soil, African violet soil, clay, your front lawn. Everything. One aspect of that soil chemistry is the pH. Do you remember: Water is neutral. They give that a number: 7.0. Soils can be neutral too. Lots of plants grow best in water or soil that is pH neutral. Some soils are more acidic. Some soils are more basic ("alkaline"). They get that way from a million years of the plants that grow in them breaking down into molecules... and also from the rocks that break down into minerals that then make up the soil in that spot. And also from what is in the air, that gets rainedand snowed down into that soil. It's very beautiful, isn't it?

Some plants grow better in acidic soil. Blueberries need to be mentioned here because we are from the North. But some of you will be happier if you hear that that is true of Rhododendrons.

Some plants grow better in alkaline soils. Carrots happen to be one of those.

So there you are, at the Stephanie Drive Community Garden or up in College Heights or way out in the new East end, trying to grow little humble carrots for your dinner plate orpet rabbit named Rosie. "Oh my," you say. "Do I now need to worry about the soil that I have seeded those puny carrot seeds in??!!"Yes and no. The "yes" part is that you'll get better tasting lovely carroty carrots if your soil is a little bit basic. (Isn't that the point? Who doesn't want that? Keep reading)