HINTS ON SOWING SEEDS.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 July 1918, Page 3

HINTS ON SOWING SEEDS.

AIDS TOSUCCESS - (Issued by Webster Bros., New Plymouth, Sutton's Seed Agents.) Seeds required for immediate sowing should be put into the gTound without unnecessary exposure to the atmosphere beforehand. The skins of exceptionally hard, homey seeds (Canna and Sweet iPea, for example) should be soaked some hours prior to sowing. Seeds not at once to be sown can best be preserved by putting them into bottles tightly corked. It is, of course, essential that the inside of each bottle be free from damp. A dressing of vase- ] line or Kokum butter over the corks is advantageous for insuring the exclusion of air. Store the bottles in a dark place. Choose the most suitable season for so.wing, and make sure that the ground is in proper condition. While sufficiently moist to ensure germination the soil ought not to be •heavily saturated. Too much moisture is as harmful as too little. Consequently thorough drainage is essential. If the presence of insects be likely it is well, a few hours before sowing, to pour boiling water over the seed-bed in order to kill those within reach. In New Zealand this treatment has been j particularly effective in the ease of snails' and slugs' eggs. Large seeds such as Peas, Beans, Beet, etc., should be sown at a depth of two inches. On the other hand very small seeds, especially those of certain flowers, need shallow sowing and extreme care generally if successful results are to be obtained. For the more valuable seeds bell-glasses or other shelters may with advantage be used. Apart from the protection afforded they prevent excessive evaporation. Protection from direct sunshine and heavy rains should always be provided. It is good practice to dust the plants with soot as soon as they .are out of the ground. Consolidation of the soil.—A firm seed-bed is essential to success, especially in the case of very small delicate seeds. Therefore prior to sowing every care should be taken to fulfil this condition.. When pots are used it is well to have a wooden disc of a proper size to fit the mouth of the pot, and with this disc to firmly compress the soil after the pots have been filled. A similar contrivance is desirable in the case of boxes, and even when making open ground sowings. After firmly pressing down the soil the seeds should be carefully and thinly sown, and a light covering of fine soil sifted over them; then give further but light pressure wfth the disc and the work is done satisfactorily. Five points of importance in growing flowers from seed: (1) Use well drained pots or pans half filled with crocks. (2.) When the pots or pans are filled, and just before sowing, soil should be carefully watered. (3.) Give the seeds only a thin covering of fine soil and lightly press down the surface. The smaller the seed the less the covering' required. (4.) WTien the soil needs moistening do not water overhead but immerse the pots or pans for a few minutes, allowing the water to reach within about half inch from the surface of the soil. (5.) Where seed germinate slowly, slightly stir the surface with a pointed stick about 10 days after sowing. POSSIBLE CAUSES OF FAILURE. Sowing at an unsuitable time or in improperly prenared ground. Failures are frequently >iue to the condition of the soil being unfavourable to germination. Sowing small, delicate seeds too deeply. Too much moisture, on the one hand or dry, parched soil on the other. Small seeds occasionally get washed away by a deluge of rain, while the same thing may arise through incautious watering: see Point No. 4. In an over-saturated soil seeds are liable to rot. Sometimes seed are malt* ed, the result of intense heat following germination. RAVAGES OF INSECTS. Oftimes wholesale failures occur from the depredations of ants and other troublesome insects so common in warm climates. In New Zealand a frequent cause of failure is the presence of snails' and slugs' eggs in the soil. The tiny young snails, no bigger than a pin's head, eat off the seedlings as they appear. Successful germination and satisfactory growth being thus dependent upon certain influences beyond human control it is impossible to guarantee success, for obviously the most perfect seeds cannot produce good results when the conditions are unfavourable. But much can bo achieved by judicious management, and cultivators in their own in-1 terests will do wisely to see that as far as possible sowings are made under circumstances calculated to promote success.