GERMINATION OF SEEDS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 121, 25 May 1933, Page 20

GERMINATION OF SEEDS

SOME CAUSES OF FAILURE

The failure of seeds to genniuate causes much disappointment to gardeners, who frequently blame the seedsman, whereas the cause is usually want of knowledge by the grower. To obtain good results the most important thing is that the seed be sown at the proper season of tbe year. Do not sow too -thickly, as this produces spindly plants and, renders thinning, essential. Seed should l>e covered sufficiently, as if it is not it will either,bo blown away by tho wind or ■washed out. when the bed or: box is watered; on the other hand it must not be sown too deeply or the young shoots will bo unable to pusli their way through to the surface. Tho old garden rule still holds good: "Cover Itho seeds to a depth equal to twico their diameter." Very fine seeds require little or no covering, they are scattered lightly on the fine- prepared surface of damp soil and pressed in with a fiat board. The depth of sow-1 ing also depends somewhat upon the season; they may be sown shallower in the autumn than in the summer. Another, cause of failure is neglect to firm the soil after sowing. If the ground ia light and the seed covered