144 Thinning and Transplanting 



The roots will push down and around the box 

 and will not be crowded by it even if it does not 

 rot during the season. 



Another method of transplanting plants which 

 should be handled with extra caution, and which 

 do not court transplanting, is to plant the seed 

 in sod, the grass roots turned upward. When 

 the plants are ready, sod and all should be planted 

 and the grass roots and leaves will go toward 

 making humus. 



If plants are thinned before transplanting, the 

 sod may be cut in squares with a knife and quite a 

 large piece of earth transplanted with each plant. 



To cover young plants which have just been trans- 

 planted with old tin cans, flower pots, and other air- 

 tight covers will have a most disastrous effect on the 

 plants as they will cut off the air and thus make the 

 plants have a sickly, spindly growth, if they live at 

 all. A handful of dried grass or hay will be all 

 the covering necessary and plenty of air will reach 

 the plants with such light covering. 



Transplanting should never be done when the 

 ground is wet, nor while the rain is falling. After a 

 rain, when the ground has dried enough to crumble 



