Home Vegetable Gardening
A Complete &
Practical Guide To The Planting & Care Of Vegetables,
Fruits & Berries
Part Two: Vegetables — Chapter 8:
Starting The Plants
This
beautifully prepared garden spot — or rather the
plant food in it — is to be transformed into good things for
your table, through the ever wonderful agency of plant
growth. The thread of life inherent in the tiniest seed, in
the smallest plant, is the magic wand that may transmute the
soil's dull metal into the gold of flower and
fruit.
All the thought, care and expense
described in the preceding chapters are but to get ready for
the two things from which your garden is to spring, in ways so
deeply hidden that centuries of the closest observation have
failed to reveal their inner workings. Those two are seeds and
plants.
The plants you put out in your garden
will have been started under glass from seed, so that,
indirectly, everything depends on the seed. Good seeds, and
true, you must have if your garden is to attain
that highest success which should be our aim. Seeds
vary greatly — very much more so than the beginner
understands. There are three essentials; if seeds
fail in any one of them, they will be rendered next to
useless.
First, they must be true; selected from good
types of stock and true to name; then they must have been
good, strong, plump seeds, full of life and gathered from
healthy plants; and finally, they must be fresh. It is
therefore of vital importance that you procure the best seeds
that can be had, regardless of cost. Poor seeds are
dear at any price; you cannot afford to accept them as a gift.
It is, of course, impossible to give a rule by which to buy
good seed, but the following suggestions will put you on the
safe track.
First, purchase only from
a reliable mail-order house;
do not be tempted, either by convenience or cheapness, to buy
the lithographed packets displayed in grocery and hardware
stores at planting time — as a rule they are not reliable; and
what you want for your good money is good seed, not cheap
ink.
 Second, buy from good seedsmen who make a
point of growing and testing their own
seed.
Third, to begin with, buy from
several suppliers and weed out to the one which proves, by
actual results, to be the most reliable. Another good plan is
to purchase seed of any particular variety from the firm that
makes a leading specialty of it; in many cases these
specialties have been introduced by these firms and they grow
their own supplies of these seeds; they will also be surer of
being true to name and type.
Good plants are, in
proportion to the amounts used, just as important as good
seed — and of course you cannot afford losing weeks of
garden usefulness by growing entirely from seed sown
out-doors. Beets, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, tomatoes,
peppers, egg-plant, and for really efficient gardening, also
onions, corn, melons, celery, lima beans, cucumbers, and
squash, will all begin their joyous journey toward the
gardener's table several weeks before they get into the garden
at all. They will all be started under glass and have attained
a good, thrifty, growing
size before they are placed in the soil we have been so
carefully preparing for them.
It's next to
impossible to describe a "good" vegetable plant, but he who
gardens will come soon to distinguish between the healthy,
short-jointed, deep-colored plant which is ready to take hold
and grow, and the soft, flabby (or too succulent) drawn-up
growth of plants which have been too much pampered, or
dwarfed, weakened specimens which have been abused and
starved; he will learn that a dozen of the former will yield
more than fifty of the latter. Plants may be bought
from the florist or market gardener. If so, they should be
personally selected, some time ahead, and gotten some few days
before needed for setting out, so that you may be sure to have
them properly "hardened off," and in the right degree of
moisture, for transplanting, as will be described later.
By far the more satisfactory
way, however, is to grow them yourself. You can then be sure
of having the best of plants in exactly the quantities and
varieties you want. They will also be on hand when conditions
are just right for setting them out.
For the ordinary
garden, all the plants needed may be started successfully in
hotbeds and cold-frames. The person who has had no
experience with these has usually an exaggerated idea of their
cost and of the skill required to manage them. The skill is
not as much a matter of expert knowledge as of careful regular
care, daily. Only a few minutes a day, but every day. The cost
will be very little, especially if you are att all handy with
tools. The sash which serves for the cover, and is removable,
is the important part of the structure. The sash may be
purchased ready made and painted, at from $15.00 to $20.00
each, and with care they will last ten or even twenty years,
so you can see at once that not a very big increase in the
yield of your garden will be required to pay interest on the
investment.
Or you can buy the sash
unglazed, at a proportionately lower price, and put the
glass in yourself, if you prefer to spend a little more time
and less money. However, if you are not familiar with the
work, and want only a few, I would advise purchasing the
finished article. In size they are three feet by six. Frames
upon which to put the sash covering may also be bought
complete, but here there is a chance to save money by
constructing your own frames — the materials required, being
2x4 in. lumber for posts, and 3/4 x 2 x 12 in. planks.
So far as these materials go
the hotbed and cold frame are alike. The difference is that
while the cold frame depends for its warmth upon catching and
holding the heat of the sun's rays, the hotbed is artificially
heated by fermenting manure, or in rare instances, by hot
water or steam pipes.
In constructing the
hotbed there are two methods used; either by placing the
frames on top of the manure heap or by putting the manure
within the frames. The first method has the advantage
of permitting the hotbed to be made upon frozen ground, when
required in the spring. The latter, which is the better, must
be built before the ground freezes, but is more economical of
manure.
The manure in either case should be
that of grain-fed horses, and if a small amount of
straw bedding, or leaves — not more, however, than one-third
of the latter — be mixed among it, so much the better. Get
this manure several days ahead of the time wanted for use and
prepare by stacking in a compact, tramped-down heap. Turn it
over after three or four days, and re-stack, being careful to
put the former  top and sides of the pile now on the inside.
Having now readied the
heating apparatus and the superstructure of our miniature greenhouse, the building of it is a very
simple matter. If the ground is frozen, spread the manure in a
low, flat heap — nine or ten feet side, a foot and a half
deep, and as long as the number of sash to be used demands — a
cord of manure thus furnishing a bed for about three sash, not
counting for the ends of the string or row.
This heap
should be well trodden down and upon it should be placed or
built the box or frame upon which the sash are to rest. In
using this method it will be more convenient to have the frame
made up beforehand and ready to place upon the manure, as
shown in one of the illustrations. This should be at least
twelve inches high at the front and some half a foot higher at
the back. Fill in with at least four
inches — better six — of good garden soil
containing plenty of humus, that it may allow water
to soak through readily.
The other method is to
construct the frames on the ground before severe freezing, and
in this case the front should be at least twenty-four inches
high, part of which — not more than half — may be below the
ground level. The 2 x 12 in. planks, when used, are handled as
follows: stakes are driven in to support the back plank some
two or three inches above the ground — which should, of
course, be level. The front plank is sunk two or three inches
into the ground and held upright by stakes on the outside,
nailed on. Remove enough dirt from inside the frame to
bank up the planks about halfway on the outside. When
this banking has frozen to a depth of two or three inches,
cover with rough manure or litter to keep frost from striking
through.
The manure for heating should
be prepared as above and put in to the depth of a foot,
trodden down, first removing four to six inches of soil to be
put back on top of the manure — a cord of the latter, in this
case, serving seven sashes. The vegetable to be grown,
and the season and climate, will determine the depth of manure
required — it will be from one to two feet — the
latter depth seldom being necessary. It must not be overlooked
that this manure, when spent for heating purposes, is still as
good as ever to enrich the garden,
so that the expense of putting it in and removing it from the
frames is all that you can fairly charge up against your
experiment with hotbeds, if you are interested to know whether
they really pay.
The exposure for the hotbeds
should be where the sun will strike most directly and where
they will be sheltered from the north. Put up a fence of rough
boards, five or six feet high, or place the frames south of
some building.
The cold frame is constructed
practically as in the hotbed, except that if manure is used at
all it is for the purpose of enriching the soil where lettuce,
radishes, cucumbers or other crops are to be grown to maturity
in it.
If one can put up
even a very small frame greenhouse, it
will be a splendid investment both for profit and for
pleasure. The cost is lower than is generally imagined, where
one is content with a home-made structure. Look into
it.
Preparing The Soil
 All this may seem like a lot of trouble to
go to for such a small thing as a packet of seed. In reality
it is not nearly so much trouble as it sounds, and then, too,
this is for the first season only, a well built frame lasting
for years — forever, if you want to take a little more time
and make it of concrete instead of boards.
But now that the frame is
made, how to use it is the next question.
The first consideration must
be the soil. It should be rich, light, friable. There are some
garden loams that will do well just as taken up, but as a rule
better results will be obtained where the soil is made up
specially as follows: rotted sods two parts, old rotted manure
one part, and enough coarse sand added to make the mixture
fine and crumbly, so that, even when moist, it will fall apart
when pressed into a ball in the hand.
Such soil
is best prepared by cutting out sod, in the summer, where the
grass is green and thick, indicating a rich soil.
Along old fences or the roadside where the wash has settled
will be good places to get limited quantities. Those should be
cut with considerable soil and stacked, grassy sides together,
in layers in a compost pile. If the season proves very dry,
occasionally soak the heap through.
In late fall put in the
basement, or wherever solid freezing will not take place,
enough to serve for spring work under glass. The amount can
readily be calculated; soil for three sash, four inches deep,
for instance, would take eighteen feet or a pile three feet
square and two feet high. The fine manure (and sand, if
necessary) may be added in the fall or when using in the
spring. Here again it may seem to the amateur that unnecessary
pains are being taken.
I can but repeat what
has been suggested all through this website, that it will
require but little more work to do the thing the best way as
long as one is doing it at all, and the results will be not
only better, but practically certain — and that is a
tremendously important point about all gardening
operations.
Sowing The Seed
Having constructed our frames
and our soil composed properly and good strong tested seed on
hand, we are prepared to go about the business of growing our
plants with a practical certainty of success — a much more comfortable feeling
than if, because something or other had been but half done, we
must anxiously await results and the chances of having the
work we had put into the thing go, after all, for nothing.
The seed may be sown
either directly in the soil or in "flats." Flats are
made as follows: You can get flats from your local flower or
garden shop. The bottoms should have holes bored in them to
allow any surplus water to drain off from the soil.
Shallow flats may be used for starting the seed and
three-inch ones for transplanting. Where sowing but a small
quantity of each variety of seed, the flats will be found much
more convenient than sowing directly in the soil — and in the
case of their use, of course, the soil on top of the manure
need be but two or three inches deep and not especially
prepared.
Where the seed is to go
directly into the frames, the soil described above is, of
course, used. But when in flats, to be again transplanted, the
soil for the first sowing will be better if it has no manure
in it, the idea being to get the hardiest, stockiest growth
possible. Soil for the flats in which the seeds are to
be planted should be, if possible, one part sod, one part chip
dirt or leaf mold, and one part sand.
The
usual way of handling the seed flats is to fill each about
one-third full of rough material — screenings, small
cinders or something similar — and then fill the box with the
prepared earth, which should first be finely sifted. This,
after the seeds are sown, should be copiously watered — with a
fine rose spray to prevent the washing of the
soil.
Here is another way I've used and, so far,
with one hundred per cent certainty of results. Last fall,
when every bit of soil about my place was ash dry, and I had
occasion to start immediately some seeds that were late in
reaching me, my necessity mothered the following invention, an
adaptation of the principle of sub-irrigation.
To have
filled the flats in the ordinary way would not have done, as
it would have been impossible ever to  wet the soil through without
making a solid mud cake of it, in which seeds would have stood
about as good a chance of doing anything as though not watered
at all. I filled the flats one-third full of sphagnum moss,
which was soaked, then to within half an inch of the top with
soil, which was likewise soaked, and did not look particularly
inviting. The flats were then filled level-full of the
dust-dry soil, planted, and put in partial
shade.
Within half a day the surface soil had
come to just the right degree of moisture, soaked up from
below, and there was in a few days more a perfect stand of
seedlings. I have used this method in starting all my
seedlings this spring — some four thousand, so far — only
using soil screenings, mostly small pieces of decayed sod, in
place of the moss and giving a very light watering in the
surface to make it compact and to swell the seed at once.
Where several hundred or more
plants of each variety are wanted, sow the seed broadcast as
evenly as possible and fairly thick — one ounce of cabbage,
for instance, to three to five 13 x 19 inch flats. If but a
few dozen, or a hundred, are wanted, sow in rows two or three
inches apart, being careful to label each correctly.
Before sowing, the soil should be pressed firmly into
the corners of the flats and leveled off perfectly smooth with
a piece of board or shingle. Press the seed evenly
into the soil with a flat piece of board, cover it lightly,
one-eighth to one-quarter inch, with sifted soil, press down
barely enough to make smooth, and water with a very fine
spray, or through burlap.
For the next two days the
flats can go on a pretty hot surface, if one is available,
such as hot water or steam pipes, or top of a boiler, but if
these are not convenient, directly into the frame, where the
temperature should be kept as near as possible to that
indicated in the following table. (below)
In from two to twelve days,
according to temperature and variety, the little seedlings
will begin to appear. In case the soil has not been made quite
friable enough, they will sometimes "raise the roof" instead
of breaking through. If so, see that the surface is broken up
at once, with the fingers and a careful watering, as otherwise
many of the little plants may become bent and lanky in a very
short time.
From now on until they are
ready to transplant, a period of some three or four weeks, is
the time when they will most readily be injured by neglect.
There are things you will have to look out for, and your
attention must be regular to the matters of temperature,
ventilation and moisture.
|
Vegetable |
Date To
Sow |
Best Temperature To
Germinate (About) |
|
|
|
| Beets |
Feb.
15-Apr. 1 |
55
degrees |
| Broccoli |
Feb. 15-Apr. 1 |
55 degrees |
| Brussels
Sprouts |
Feb.
15-Apr. |
155
degrees |
| Cabbage |
Feb. 1-Apr. 1 |
55 degrees |
| Cauliflower |
Feb.
1-Apr. 1 |
55
degrees |
| Celery |
Feb. 15-Apr. 1 |
50 degrees |
| Corn |
Apr.
1-May 1 |
65
degrees |
| Cucumber |
Mar. 15-May 1 |
75 degrees |
| Egg-plant |
Mar.
1-Apr. 15 |
75
degrees |
| Kohlrabi |
Mar. 1-Apr. 1 |
55 degrees |
| Lettuce |
Feb.
15-Apr. 1 |
55
degrees |
| Melon, musk |
Apr. 1-May 1 |
75 degrees |
| Melon,
water |
Apr.
1-May 1 |
75
degrees |
| Okra |
Mar. 15-Apr. 15 |
65 degrees |
| Onion |
Jan.
15-Mar. 15 |
50
degrees |
| Pepper |
Mar. 1-Apr. 15 |
75 degrees |
| Squash |
Mar.
15-Apr. 15 |
75
degrees |
| Tomato |
Mar. 1-Apr. 15 |
75
degrees |
The
temperatures required by the different varieties will be
indicated by the table above. It should be kept as nearly as
possible within ten degrees lower and fifteen higher (in the
sun) than given. If the nights are still cold, so that the
mercury goes near zero, it will be necessary to provide mats
or shutters to cover the glass at night.
Or, better
still, for the few earliest frames, have double-glass sash,
the dead-air space making further protection unnecessary.
Ventilation:
On all days when the temperature within the frame runs up to
sixty to eighty degrees, according to variety, give air,
either by tilting the sash up at the end or side, and holding
in position with a notched stick; or, if the outside
temperature permits, strip the glass off altogether.
Watering:
Keep a close watch upon the conditions of the soil, especially
if you are using flats instead of  planting directly in the soil. Wait until it
is fairly dry — never until the plants begin to wilt, however
— and then give a thorough soaking, all the soil will absorb.
If at all possible do this only in the morning (up to eleven
o'clock) on a bright sunny day. Plants in the seedling state
are subject to "damping off" — a sudden disease of the stem
tissue just at or below the soil, which either kills the
seedlings outright, or renders them worthless.
Some
authorities claim that the degree of moisture or dampness has
nothing to do with this trouble. I am not prepared to
contradict them, but as far as my own experience goes I am
satisfied that the drier the stems and leaves can be kept, so
long as the soil is in good condition, the better. I consider
this one of the advantages of the "sub-irrigation" method of
preparing the seed flats, described
above.
Transplanting: Under this
care the little
seedlings will come along rapidly. When the second true leaf
is forming they will be ready for transplanting or "pricking
off," as it is termed in garden parlance. If
the plants are at all crowded in the boxes, this should be
done just as soon as they are ready, as otherwise they will be
injured by crowding and more likely to damp off.
Boxes
similar to the seed-flats, but an inch deeper, are provided
for transplanting. Fill these with soil as described for
frames-sifted through a coarse screen (chicken-wire size) and
mixed with one-third rotted manure. Or place an inch of
manure, which must be so thoroughly rotted that most of the
heat has left, in the bottom, and fill in with soil.
Find or construct a table or
bench of convenient height, upon which to work. With a flat
piece of stick or one of the types of transplanting forks lift
from the seedling box a clump of seedlings, dirt and all,
clear to the bottom. Hold this clump in one hand and with the
other gently tear away the seedlings, one at a time,
discarding all crooked or weak ones. Never attempt to pull the
seedlings from the soil in the flats, as the little rootlets
are very easily broken off. They should come away almost
intact. Water your seed-flats the day previous to
transplanting, so that the soil will be in just the right
condition, neither wet enough to make the roots sticky nor dry
enough to crumble away.
Take the little seedling by
the stem between thumb and forefinger, and with a small round
pointed stick or dibber, or with the forefinger of the other
hand, make a hole to receive the roots and about half the
length — more if the seedlings are lanky — of the stem. As the
seedling drops into place, the tips of both thumbs and
forefingers, by one quick, firm movement, compress the earth
firmly both down on the roots and against the stem, so that
the plant
sticks up firmly and may not be readily pulled out. Of course
there is a knack about it which cannot be put into words — I
could have pricked off a hundred seedlings in the time I am
spending in trying to describe the operation, but a little
prac tice will make one reasonably efficient at it.
In my own work this spring,
I've applied the "sub-irrigation" idea to this operation also.
The manure placed in the bottom of the boxes is thoroughly
watered and an inch of soil put in and watered also, and the
box then filled and the plants pricked in. By preparing a
number of flats at one time, but little additional work is
required, and the results have convinced me that the extra
trouble is well worth while. Of the early cabbage and
cauliflower, not two plants in a thousand have dropped
out.
Ordinarily about one hundred
plants are put in a 13 x 19 inch flat, but if one has room and
is growing only a few plants for home use, somewhat better
plants may be had if fifty or seventy-five are put in. In
either case keep the outside rows close to the edges of the
flats, as they will have plenty of room anyway. When the flat
is completed, jar the box slightly to level the surface, and
give a thorough watering at once, being careful, however, to
bend down the plants as little as possible. Set the flats
close together on a level surface, and, if the weather is
bright, shade from the sun during the middle of the day for
two or three days.
From now on keep at the
required temperature and water thoroughly on bright mornings
as often as the soil in the flats gets on the dry side, as
gardeners say — indicated by the whitening and crusting
of the surface. Above all, give all the air possible while
maintaining the necessary temperature. The quality of the
plants will depend more upon this than anything else in the
way of care. Whenever the temperature allows, strip off the
sash and let the plants have the benefit of the rains. A good
rain seems to do them more good than any watering.
Should your plants of
cabbage, lettuce, beets or cauliflower by any chance get
frozen, do not give them up for lost, for the chances
are that the following simple treatment will pull them
through: In the first place, shade them thoroughly from the
sun; in the second, drench them with cold water, the coldest
you can get — if you have to break the ice for it, so much the
better. Try, however, to prevent its happening again, as they
will be less able to resist subsequent injury.
In hot weather, where
watering and ventilation are neglected, the plants will
sometimes become infested  with the green aphis, which under such conditions
multiplies with almost incredible
rapidity.
Hardening Off: For five days
or a week before setting plants in the field they should be
thoroughly hardened off. If they have been given plenty of air
this treatment will mean little change for them-simply
exposing them more each day, until for a few nights they are
left entirely without protection. They will then be ready for
setting out in the open, an operation which is described in
the next chapter.
Starting Plants
Outside
Much of the above is applicable
also to the starting of plants out-of-doors, for second and
for succession crops, such as celery and late cabbage. Select
for the outside seed-bed the most thoroughly pulverized spot
to be found, enriched and lightened with fine manure. Mark off
rows a foot apart, and to the necessary depth; sow the seed
evenly; firm in if the soil is dry, cover lightly with the
back of the rake and roll or smooth with the back of the
spade, or of a hoe, along the drills.
The seed,
according to variety, will begin to push through in from four
to twenty days. At all times keep the seed-bed clear
of weeds; and keep the soil between the rows constantly
cultivated. Not unless it is very dry will watering
be necessary, but if it is required, give a thorough soaking
toward evening.
As the cabbage, celery and similar
plants come along it will add to their sturdiness and
stockiness to shear off the tops — about half of the large
leaves — once or twice after the plants have attained a height
of about six inches.
If the precautions concerning seed
and soil which I have given are heeded and the details of the
work of planting, transplanting and care are carried out,
planting time (April) will find the prospective gardener with
a supply of good, stocky, healthy plants on hand, and
impatient to get them into that carefully prepared garden
spot. All of this work has been — or should have been —
interesting, but that which follows in the next chapter is
more so.
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