CARE OF SEEDLINGS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 October 1938, Page 9

CARE OF SEEDLINGS

SOME ESSENTIAL POINTS. It is essential that seeds sown under glass should be given every opportunity to make sturdy plants. Keep the boxes or pans near to the glass so that the seedlings will not become lanky. On favourable days the greenhouse should be ventilated freely, but draughts should be avoided. Open the ventilators on that side sheltered from the wind, and close again before the sun disappears. It is a good plan to allow a small amount of air to enter during the night to counteract the . condensation of moisture on the young foliage. All watering at this time of the year should be in the morning, so that surplus water has time to drain away and the stages to become dry by night. The correct way to water seedlings is to immerse the boxes or pans up to their rims in water until the surface of the soil begins to darken. Use rainwater if it is available and see that it is at the same temperature as the greenhouse. This can be arranged by keeping a tank or barrel full of water in the house. Do all the.watering first in the house, then fill up the tank sa that the water has time to warm up before the next watering.

When seedlings have been pricked off in boxes, they make better growth if the soil is stirred between them occasionally. A sharpened label or an old table fork is a good implement for the purpose.