Home Vegetable Gardening
A Complete &
Practical Guide To The Planting & Care Of Vegetables,
Fruits & Berries
Part Two: Vegetables — Chapter 9:
Sowing and Planting
The importance of
having good seeds has already been stated. They must
not only grow, but grow into what we have bought them for--be
true to name. Without the latter quality we cannot be sure of
good gardens, and without the former they will not be full
ones. A meager "stand" from seeds properly sown is a rather
exasperating and discouraging experience to encounter.
The cost for fertilizing and preparing the land is
just as much, and the cost of cultivating very nearly as much,
when the rows are full of thrifty plants or strung out with
poor ones. Whether you use ten cents' worth or ten dollars
worth, the best seed to be had will be the most economical to
buy — to say nothing of the satisfaction that full rows
give.
And yet good seedsmen are
more thoughtlessly and unjustly abused in the matter of seed
vitality than in any other. Inexperienced gardeners seem
universally to have the conviction that the only thing
required in  seed sowing is to cover the seed with soil. What sort
of soil it is, or in what condition, or at what depth or
temperature the seed is planted, are questions about which
they do not trouble themselves to think
about.
Two conditions — moisture and warmth —
are necessary to induce germination of seeds, no matter
how full of
life they may be; and as was shown in the preceding
chapter the different varieties have some choice as to the
degree of each, especially of temperature. This means of
course that some common sense must be used in planting, and
when planting outdoors, where we cannot regulate the
temperature to our need, we simply must regulate our seed
sowing to its dictates, no matter how impatient we may
be.
To insure the best possible germination, and thus
the best gardening, we must, first of all then, settle the
question of temperature when sowing out-of-doors. For
practical work it serves to divide the garden vegetables into
two groups, though in planting, the special suggestions in the
following chapter should be consulted.
When To Sow Outdoors
Sow from the end of March to
the beginning of May, or when plum and peach trees
bloom, the following:
Beet
Cabbage
Carrot
Cauliflower
Celery
Endive
Kale
Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Onions
Parsley
Parsnip
Peas
Radish
Spinach Turnip
Water-cress
Sow from the beginning of May
to the middle of June, or when apple trees bloom, the
following:
Beans
Corn
Cucumber Melon, musk
Melon,
water
Okra
Pumpkin
Squash
Tomato
Getting the seed to
sprout, however, is only the first step in the game; they must
be provided with the means of immediately beginning to
grow. This means that they should not be left to
germinate in loosely packed soil, full of air spaces, ready to
dry out at the first opportunity, and to let the tiny seed
roots be shriveled up and die.
The soil should touch
the seed — be pressed close about it on all sides, so
that the first tiny tap root will issue immediately into
congenial surroundings where it can instantly take hold. Such
conditions can be found only in a seed-bed fine but light
enough to pack, reasonably rich and sufficiently moist, and
where, in addition to this, the seed has been properly
planted.
Methods Of Planting
 The seed-bed, as it is called, is the
surface prepared to receive the seed, whether for a patch of
radishes or an acre of onions. For crops to be sown directly
where they are to go, the chapter on Preparation of the Soil
takes us to this point, and as stated at the conclusion of
that chapter, the final preparation of the bed should be made
only immediately prior to its use.
Having, then, good
seeds on hand and the soil properly prepared to receive them,
the only problem remaining is what way they shall be put in.
The different habits of growth characteristic of different
plants make it patent at the outset that there must be
different methods of planting, for very evidently a cabbage,
which occupies but three or four square feet of space and
stays in one place to make a head, will not require the same
treatment as a winter squash, roaming all over the garden and
then escaping under the fence to hide some of its best fruit
in the tall grass outside.
The three systems of
planting usually employed are known as "drills," "rows" and
"hills." I do not remember ever seeing a definition
giving the exact distinctions between them; and in
horticultural writing they seem to be used, to some extent at
least, interchangeably. As a rule "drills" refer to the
growing of plants continuously in rows, such as onions,
carrots or spinach.
"Rows" refer to the
growing of
plants at fixed distances apart in the rows such as cabbage,
or potatoes-the cultivation, except hand weeding and hoeing,
being all done in one direction, as with drills.
"Hills" refer to the growing of plants usually at equal
distances, four feet or more apart each way, with cultivating
done in both directions, as with melons and squashes. I
describe the different methods at length so that the reader
may know more definitely just what is meant by the special
instructions given in the following text.
Sowing The Seed
If one observes the
suggestions as to temperature just given, and the following
precautions in placing  the seed within the soil, failure of good seed to
germinate is practically impossible. In the first place, plant
on a freshly prepared surface, always just before a rain if
possible, except in the case of very small seeds, when just
after a rain will be better. If the soil is at all dry, or
likely to be followed by a spell of hot, dry weather, always
firm by using the back of the hoe for small seed, or the ball
of the foot for larger ones, such as peas, beans or corn, to
press the seed firmly and evenly into the soil before
covering. Then when the soil is covered in over the seed, firm
along the top of the row very lightly, just enough to mark it
and hold the soil in place.
The depth of the
drill furrow in which the seed is to be sown will
depend (1) on the variety of
vegetable, (2) on the season of planting, and
(3) on weather conditions. Remember that the
seed must be supplied with moisture both to germinate and to
continue to exist after germination; and also that it must
have soil through which the air can to some extent penetrate.
Keeping these things in mind, common sense dictates
that seed planted in the spring, or during a wet spell of
weather, will not need to be put in as deeply as should the
same seed in summer or early autumn, or during a hot, dry
spell.
The old general rule is, to
cover seed planted under glass, where the moisture can be
controlled, to a depth of two or three times its diameter; and
out-of-doors, to four or five times. I should say these depths
were the minimums desirable. In other words, the smallest
seed, such as onion, carrot, lettuce, will go in one-quarter
to one-half inch deep. Beets, spinach, parsnips and other
medium-sized seed one-half to one inch deep, and peas, beans,
corn, etc., two to four inches deep — usually near the first
figure.
After the seed is sown it is,
of course, desirable to keep the ground from baking or
crusting on top, as it's likely to do after a morning rain
followed directly by hot sun. If the seed sprouts have not yet
reached the surface of the soil, rake very lightly across the
rows with an iron rake; if they have broken through, work as
close as possible to the row.
The best implement I have
ever seen for this purpose is the disc attachment of the
double wheel hoe — see Implements. An ordinarily good garden
loam, into which the desirable quantity of short manure has
been worked, will give little trouble by raking. In a clay
soil, it often will pay, on a small scale, to sift leaf mold,
sphagnum moss, or some other light porous covering, over the
rows, especially for small seed. The special seed-bed, for
starting late cabbage or celery, may easily be sheltered. In
very hot, dry weather this method will be a great help.
Setting Out Plants
The reader has not forgotten,
of course, that plants as well as seeds must go into
the well managed garden. We have already mentioned
the hardening-off process to which they must be subjected
before going into the open ground. The flats should also be
given a copious watering several hours, or the day before,
setting out. All being ready, with your rows made
straight and marked off at the correct distances, lift out the
plants with a trowel or transplanting fork, and tear or cut
them apart with a knife, keeping as much soil as possible with
each ball of roots.
 Distribute them at their positions, but not
so many at a time that any will dry out before you get them in
place. Get down on your hands and knees, and, straddling the
row, proceed to "set." With the left hand, or a trowel or
dibber if the ground is not soft, make a hole large enough to
take the roots and the better part of the stem, place the
plant in position and firm into place by bearing down with the
backs of the knuckles, on either side.
Proceed so to
the end of the row, being careful to keep your toes from
undoing your good work behind you, and then finish the job by
walking back over the row, still further firming in each plant
by pressing down the soil at either side of the stem
simultaneously with the balls of the feet. When all the rows
are completed, go over the surface with the iron rake, and you
will have a job thoroughly done and neatly
finished.
If the weather and soil are
exceptionally dry it may be necessary to take the additional
precautions, when planting, of putting a pint or so of water
in each hole (never on the surface) previous to
planting; or of puddling the roots in a thick mixture
of rich soil and water. The large leaves also should be
trimmed back one-half. In the case of plants that are too tall
or succulent, this should be done in any case — better a day
or two previous to setting out.
After-Care
Transplanting should
be done whenever possible in dull weather or before
rain — or even during it if you really would
deserve the name of gardener! If it must
be done when the sun continues strong, shade the plants from,
say, ten to three o'clock, for a day or two, with half sheets
of old newspapers held in tent-shaped position over the plants
by stones or earth. If it is necessary to give water, do it
toward evening. If the plants have been properly set, however,
only extreme circumstances will render this necessary.
Keep a sharp lookout for
cut-worms, maggots or other enemies described in Chapter 13: Insects And Disease, And Methods Of Fighting
Them.
And above all,
Cultivate.
Never let the soil become
crusted, even if there is not a weed in sight. Keep the soil
loosened up, for that will keep things growing.
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