SEED SOWING 65 



The time of sowing any particular seed varies according 

 to the time we want to use the vegetable, weather conditions, 

 time to market in order to get best price for products, 

 and other circumstances. The time of sowing or planting 

 is given further attention in the separate discussion of the 

 vegetables. Some seeds such as spinach, onion, lettuce, 

 and radish, may be sown as soon as the ground can be 

 worked; while the seed of such tropical plants as corn, 

 cucumber, and squash should not be sown until the ground 

 is well warmed. The early-sown, hardier seeds are often 

 frozen up in the ground and, perhaps, covered with snow 

 without injury; in fact, a covering of snow seems beneficial 

 to the growth of hardy seeds, because land is usually in 

 better shape for sowing seed in after a rain than before. 



Sowing in Stiff Clay Soils. It is comparatively easy 

 to make seeds germinate in sand, sandy loam, muck, or 

 soil rich in humus, provided they contain a reasonable 

 amount of moisture; but in stiff clay soils this is often quite 

 a different matter, as the land becomes crusted over so 

 completely as to prevent the smaller seedlings from push- 

 ing through. For such land it is desirable to use rather 

 more seed than would be needed in lighter soils, for the rea- 

 son that while a few plants could not push up the crusted 

 surface yet many can do so; and while thick seeding in- 

 creases the total cost of seed, yet the certainty of thus secur- 

 ing a full stand is so great an advantage as to well repay this 

 additional outlay, and the expense for thinning, if it has to be 

 done at all, is about the same for thick as for thin seeding. 

 It is also well to sow in a few radish, or other quick growing 

 seed, in order to mark the rows so that cultivation may 

 commence early. The radish may be pulled as soon as 

 large enough. 



