RAISING SEEDLING CROPS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20242, 30 April 1929, Page 5

RAISING SEEDLING CROPS.

CARE DURING WINTER. One of the gardener's most, difficult problems during the winter months when the soil is on the moist side, is the raising of seedling crops. Many failures are recorded during the wet season, and naturally the seed is to blame—according to the gardener. A black mark is registered against the seedsman from which the seed was obtained, but in many, cases this is not fair, as "it is probable that the conditions were more to blame than the seed.

Failure to germinate is the most" frequent cause of a sowing " missing,'' but a repeated sowing with the same seed may be successful if the conditions are then more congenial. The rotting of the seed is on-i ot the most frequent reasons for seed not germinating, the excess moisture in the soil causing the decay. In order to minimise the risk of failure gardeners should endeavour to keep the soil as dry as possible for the seed-beds and seed-drills. The use of raised- beds and ridges for the purpose of seed-sowing cannot be too highly recommended. It is the onlyway in which the success of a sowing can be practically ensured from this time onward until the middle of spring. Apart from preventing the seed from rotting the raised beds through being more effectively drained are. warmer, iind hasten the development of the seedlings after they are up. If the gardener desires to "save time, labour and monev, he must sow the seed very shallowly in raised beds or on ridges, as long as the wet season lasts.