Gardening Notes

Hutt News, Volume 3, Issue 17, 18 September 1930, Page 9

Gardening Notes

*^ THE RIGHT WAY TO GROW SEED.

Muck of the success of the garden •will depend upon giving the plant a good start in life. On this account the question of seed sowing- is one ■which should receive a good deal more attention than is usually given. It will well repay any grower to study the conditions under which seeds most Teadiiy germinate and develop, and then to do his utmost to provide' favourable surroundings.

There is, of course, a right and a •wrong :;sfi&on for the sowing of every kind of seed, and such information is usually io be found on the packets. Bur. of almost equal importance is the enjoying of the right kind of weather. I>-^ v cfstkeT,. such as sooner or later' comes t-li.li every spring, should be ■thoseu for the -business; No time will be -gained and in many eases much will "be lost,, by scattering the seeds when th'i .s-j.i i.-^ -heavy with damp. G-crmina-tioii ■will be rapid in a light, and comparatively dry soil, but it will bo slow, ant! niiiV i>.ot take place at all on water logged ground. Anything, like <the addition of sand, which can be done to lighten the surface soil of the border ■will 'be very helpful in cnaibling a free growth of the littlo, plants. Rcaueanbcr that the more freely the little roots can push about, the better change will the plants 'have of establishing themselves. When sowing seed indoors in pots, pans or boxes, it: is possible' to * prepare the soil v-eay perfectly. Whatever is used as a base, a liberal allowance of sand is desirable, and the mixture should be passed through a £.n<e -sieve, so that all lumps are made to disappear. A very important precaution is the sterilising of the soil before use. Ordinary soil always contains the spores of mould, and aiiay very well have a quantity of slugs" egg-s as well. Under the shelter of a glasshouse these.pests rapidly develop, and '.will play havoc with the baby plantij. TJie danger may be prevented either by baking the soil in an. iron, tray aver a furnace or pouring filing water over it. In any case, i£h.e mould 'must bo mioist when it is used. Of course, in the case of pots an-d pans it is most important that the drainage should be in perfect order. ■Some gardeners half fill their pots with ■broken crocks lief ore putting in the soiJ.

Nearly all gardeners sow their seeds too quickly. An idea seems to . be. abroad that it is necessary to sow: a great quanitity. of seed, on the supposition that a large number will not g'erjninaite at all. Tliis might 2iave been iiie case a generation ago^wbefa there iras a great deal of bad, even dead, seed about. Nowadays the . merchants >«£ high standing all sell seeds which chow a considerable measure of vitality. Indeed, every effort is made to ensure all the seeds being alive. •■■Tfius",' to sow .thi-ckly is to secure a.cluster of crowd•ed plants which, from birth, jostle .one T*not?her in an endeavour to get eno-ugh light. These specimens will always be ireaklingis. Thin sowing, on the otheT land, will result in strong plants, nwßiicJi can foe relied upon to yield fhe ▼cry best lesults. Do not sow direct from the packet. Pour a little quan-. of seed, if it is fairly small, into & spoon, and then gently shake over jthe soil. The larger seeds, which can ibe picked up singly, should always be town . one at a time. Use a stick to push them down into the soil. The •distance apart depends upon" the size of the plants, but in any-osie you W*Hbe surprised at the sturdy specimens. -wMch. come up after single planting. "

The depth, of sowing is a matter upon, which there is a gfood deal of ignorance. "N<eive.T forget that the seed'is.--a Jiving thing, and that if it ■is going to grow it must have air, as well as •warmth a-nd moisture. Thus, to buTy a seed deeply is to suffocate it: countless millions of prospective plaauts are lost in this way. On the whole, a very good rule to observe is /that seeds should be covered with soil to aibout iiheir own depth. This will miean that very tiny seeds can be simply scattered on the prepared surface, and then gently raised in with a handfork. In Bueh cases It is an excellent plan to cover the bed with a sheet of n>erwspaper until the actual germination has taken place. This plan will always be

followed with great advantage in the case of minute seeds, whether indoors or out. Quite apart from the protection, it will assist a speedy germination, for the awakening of the seed always goes forward more rapidily in the dark than in the full light. Out-of-doors shoots of glass propped up on stakes may be employed to protect seeds after sowing; bell glasses will do as well. Those may be helpful later on, whew the little plants appear, should t-he weather be fickle. As faT as the seed is conieerned, the shelter will keep away rain or hailstorms which might cut up the ground. Where any close shade, such as a bell glass, is used, it is important to rememiber that germinating seods must have air, and the'confinement moist not be too rigid.

In the case of seeds of moderate or large size, germination will bo very much, hastened if these are soaked for twenty-four hours in waiter before sowing. This is' sometimes a useful plan in a backward season when outdoor sowing as been delayed owing to continued wet weather. At tlie first sign lof a dry spell .the seeds are soaked, and then popped into the soil, when, if- the conditions are at all genial, they, will come up in ah, amazingly short time. Any seeds which are big enough, to handle and scorn to ,be very hard may always be soaked with advantage. Some kinds, such as those, of the Canna, or Indian Shot, rarely germinate satis-< faetorily unless they are soaked for days. A quicker way' is to gest a file and carefully : eiit through, the outer skin. This will ensure a speedy groiwth. Certain' kinds of seeds naturally- take a long while to «omc up; in other eases some of the seeds germinate, andsome of the same sort sown at exactly the same time lag behind. This uneven germimaition is a feature of some plants, the most notable of which are c-ewtain kinds of Primula. The writer rememibers sowing -a pan of the Chinese Primula; ab'ouit half the seeds came .up within quite a short time, while the others spread, their, germination oveT i tiwo months. No one seems to knowwhy this is the ease,- but the. faot is memtiowa'd to warn the grower against concluding that a lot of the seeds are I dead if they do not- all come up at ' onec. Out of doors it is impossible fto control the weather conditions, altihoug*! by means- of shelter the seedibed may be Brotootedv j Jn<loiai's the question of watering arises. It is very important to avid soaking the soil until geranination. is an actual facjt. I%e best way of all is to have the soil nicely moist at the start, and then, in the ev;ent of i a fairly quick gieormination, no further watering will be required. A good plan is to coyer the boxes, pans and-.,pats 'with sheets of glass, admitting aj'x; | daily. This proffceotion prevents tKie ' soil from drying too rapidly. If, on the germination., of the seed, it seems ! thatthe sowing has been- too thick, it is an cxeejllenit plan to thin o\it at onoe. Of coursie," the half-developed plants will have to be thrown awuy, but it is wor-bh while making the sacrifice, seeing that those which ar^e lefit behind will be much more sturdy than would be the ease if they grew for-a week or .two in a crojwd.ed' condition.

As soon as the little plants appear on the scene .plenty of light is of supreme »imponbanice. Making allowance for tiie shading which may bo needful indoors from, bright sunshine, young plants pan. not be in too light a position. Without light, the green leaf cannot carry out its wonderful business of extracting the caribou from the atanosphere, Ijut in another way a strong illnminaI tjon is needful. In dark or in shady places plants tend to grow up towards a lighterposition;; thus they become lanky weaklings wihich. would n>over yield good results. Mght has a retarding effect on actual growth, and thus /plants in a light position are sturdy-, with strong stems and an olbundaxice of leaves. This augurs well for the fruiture of the plant, and all ig&rden'e<rs should follow the advice of the books, and put their seedlings on •the top shelf of the greenhouse? Young and delicate plants will want close watcibing under glass, especially in the bright days of spring. The sun at these times is very piawerful, and unless a certain amount of protection is given, a great deal of damage will result. Shjoets of paper cast over the •pots or pans are the handiest, seeing that these may be adjusted in a motnient as the need arises,. As the sun

g-ets still more powerful it is a good plan to make the paper damp.

Sooner or lateij in most oases a time coones when transplanting has to be arranged. Wherever possible, whether in bed ox border, it is an excellent plan to sow tthe seed in the position where the plant is to be. Much stronger specimens as a rule, result from this method. In a .great many eases, however, this cannot well be managed, and one is faced with the necessity of iriiakinig a shifit. A few hints on this point, may usefully conclude this article. In the first place, always try to remove ;as much soil, as possible with the plant. Alimost every root tip which is exposed to the air, even for a few minutes, is likely, to die, and this will mean a great tax on the energies of the little planit before it can settle down in its new home. 'So much do some gardeners realise the importance of this point that in the case of many large s.eeds they sow lihese singly in thumib pots, out of which they can be turned with-

out serious root disturbance. A small, •flait pie«e of w rood is very useful for lifting- lip a lifctlc wed'gie of soil with the roots of-the'plant- It is best to do the transplanting when th^e sotil is in ratiher a specially daaup atate, as then the earth is not so likely to fair away from the roots. Do not fceep 6he little plants out of the soil longer than is. aibsoJiufcely necessary. • After, putting ihena in to fhe fresh position,-press the soil gently around the stem. It is a d thing to plant rather deeply; that is, well up to the first p^iiv of true leaves. This will' encourage a stocky

growth.