Making Your Garden Part 2

Making Your Garden Part 2

Cover the seeds with light soil so that the little plants can push their way up easily. Plant more seeds in each row than the number of plants you expect to have in that row. Not all seeds germinate, or sprout. If you find you have too many plants in a row, they can be thinned out and transplanted later on.

 Some seeds do not grow well if they are planted in an open garden. They need special conditions of warmth, moisture, and darkness in order to germinate. They must be started in wooden flats, or boxes, in the nursery, in pots in the house, or in a sheltered part of the garden. When they develop into seedlings, they can be transplanted to the part of the garden where they will stay. This group of seeds includes flowers such as snapdragons, giant and double petunias, and ageratum; and vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. (Most home gardeners buy small vegetable plants to set out. They do not try to raise them from seed.)

Transplanting

 Seedlings are ready for transplanting when they have one or two pairs of leaves. When you take up seedlings to transplant them, be sure that there is a good ball of soil around the roots. Be careful not to damage the roots or the tops of the plants. For each plant, dig a hole twice as wide and twice as deep in the ground as it was originally so that the roots are not exposed. But be careful not to place the plant so deep in the ground that the growing point, or stem, is covered.

Planting Underground Stems

 Some of the most colorful flowers in the garden and a number of vegetables are raised from underground stems, rather than from seeds. There are several types of underground stems. They are known as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tubers.
 A bulb is short and rounded. It is made up of layers of overlapping leaves. In the center of the leaves is a bud, which will grow into a plant. The leaves contain food to nourish the bud as it grows. Onions, lilies, and many spring flowers, including tulips, narcissus, and hyacinths, all grow from bulbs.

 Spring-flowering bulbs are planted in the fall. Some are planted earlier than others, so it is important to follow the growing instructions for the particular kind you buy.

A general rule for planting bulbs is to place them in soil 2 ½ times as deep as the bulbs themselves. Plant them stem-end up and root-end down.