High-Yield Vegetable Gardening by Colin McCrate

Author:Colin McCrate
Language: ara, eng
Format: epub
Tags: varieties;vegetable;gardening;grow more;quantity;fertilize;soil;increase;harvest;produce;soil maintenance;crop selection;pest management;planning guidelines;garden;maximize;succession planting;relay planting
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
Published: 2015-11-10T16:00:00+00:00

Refresher Course

Starting Seeds

Seed starting is a fairly simple process, but in order to ensure even, consistently high germination rates, it’s important to do it properly.

Instructions

1. Fill each flat with germination mix or screened potting soil. Use the bottom of a similar-size container to gently tamp down the soil, creating a level seeding surface 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 inch below the rim of the container. If the soil mix is very dry, moisten it thoroughly before sowing.

2. Place the seeds directly on top of the prepared seed surface and sprinkle them with germination mix. (Seeds of different sizes require different sowing depths, so the amount of mix you’ll need to cover the seeds will vary. Seed packets indicate how deeply the seed should be planted; as a general rule, seeds should be planted twice as deep as their diameter.)

3. Plant more than one seed per cell or pot. For most crops, two or three seeds per container should be adequate. In a small nursery setting, space is at a premium, and you don’t want to dedicate heated propagation space to empty containers. After seeds emerge, thin to the single healthiest plant. (Crops that don’t cope well with root disturbance should be snipped with scissors rather than uprooted; see the Tolerance of Root Disturbance chart.)

4. Water in the seeds after planting, to provide good seed-to-soil contact. Keep newly sown flats consistently moist during the entire germinating process, to ensure that seeds are able to absorb moisture during germination. If a seed dries out for even a few hours, the young sprout may desiccate and die.

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