SOWING OF SEED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 July 1940, Page 9

SOWING OF SEED

SOME USEFUL HINTS. The sowing of seeds in pots and boxes should now be undertaken to provide plants for the greenhouse, also the vegetable and flower garden later on. The first consideration is the preparation of suitable soil, and loam is the main constituent. It is usually considered that turf from four to six inches thick taken from an old pasture or a roadside and stacked for about six months to kill oft the grass is essential, but this is not really so, for any loam not too heavy will do provided its physical condition is made right by the addition of sand, leafmould or peat to keep it open. Most loams, especially the medium and heavy ones, are too close in texture, and too cold when used alone, either for potting or seed-sowing. There is not enough air in them, their water-holding capacity is bad, they become wet and sticky after watering, and form a hard and cracked surface when dry. The mixing of loam, peat of leafmould and sand in the correct proportions is of vital importance to many plants, and bad germination, poor growth and damping off are often the results of neglect in this particular. In the first place the loam and leafmould should be partially sterilised to free them from harmful organisms and substances, such as earthworms, wireworms, eelworms, and larvae of many kinds which prey on the roots of plants. By heating soil to a temperature of between 120 degrees and 212 degrees it is changed, physically, chemically and biologically, and the seeds of weeds are destroyed. This sterilising process can be carried out by means of steam, boiling water, baking, or by the use of chemi-, cals. Small quantities of soil can be treated quite effectively in the domestic copper by placing a little water in the bottom, lighting the fire, suspending the soil in a perforated bucket and putting on the lid. The steam which is generated will penetrate the soil completely in from 45 to 60 minutes.

While still hot the soil should be spread out to fallow the steam to evaporate and in a day or so it will be dry enough to use. Chemical sterilisation, though not so effective as steam, is suitable for treating small quantities, and the most convenient substance is formalin. A 38 to 40 per cent pure is used, and this is diluted to a 2 per cent solution by adding one part to 49 of water and applied at the rate of one gallon to a bushel of soil. Care has to be taken thoroughly to wet all the particles of soil, and the heap is covered with wet sacks for 48 hours to keep in the volatile gasses. Afterwards it is spread out to dry and should not be used until all traces of the gas has disappeared. The soil mixture, which should be passed through a three-quarter inch sieve to break up all lumps, would consist of two parts by bulk of loam, one part flakey leafmould, one part coarse clean sand, and to each bushel of this mixture add 1A ounces superphosphate, 5 ounce of ground lime.

The boxes used, which should also be sterilised, should not be more than three inches deep, a layer of leaves or rough soil should be put in the bottom and two inches of the soil mixture put in and made firm and level on top. Portion of the soil mixture should be put through a fine sieve and a layer of this, about half an inch, put on top of the other soil, its surface being made level and smooth with a piece of board. The box is then marked out in sections when several varieties of seed arc sown, watered with a fine rose and allowed to stand over night to drain off. Labels, which are not expensive, can be painted and written, the name of the variety and the dale of sowing being recorded. Open the packets carefully by cutting off one end, distribute the seeds thinly and evenly, and cover with some of the fine soil, making it firm and level. The depth of covering will depend on the size of the seeds, but a general rule is to cover to a depth equal to the diameter of the seed. In the case of very fine seeds such as tuberous begonias and bloxinias it is not safe to cover at all, but some clean sand is sprinkled over the surface to keep the seeds in place. It should be mentioned that the largo seeds are pressed into the soil before covering. When sowing in five or sixinch pots, which are very suitable for the rarer seeds, these should be half filled with crocks to ensure good drainage.

After watering with a fine rose or soaking in a tank the pots or boxes should be stood on the bench in the warm greenhouse or in a frame over a gentle hotbed, for some kind of artificial heat is necessary to secure rapid germination at this season. Cover with a sheet of glass to keep in the moisture; and shade with a piece of paper, but this shading should be removed as soon as germination takes place, and ■ the glass shortly afterwards.

In last week’s notes the importance was stressed of watering the seed pots and boxes both before and after sowing Avith Cheshunt compound to prevent damping off and another watering with this compound can be given after germination.