108 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



there will be handicaps upon the plants all through their course, 

 and a somewhat later planting with the soil in good condition will 

 probably surpass them both in time and quality. 



There is often advantage in soaking seed overnight in tepid 

 water. The lighter the soil and the later the sowing the greater 

 benefit will accrue from this method of hastening germination. 

 When the wet seed is difficult to handle, or when it is to be used 

 with a seed-drill, sift some fine ashes over the seed. This will take 

 up the surface moisture and allow them to run through the drill 

 easily. 



Arranging Moisture Conditions for Germination. In addition 

 to the greater undertakings described in the chapters on irrigation 

 and drainage, there are little acts which are of the utmost import- 

 ance in securing moisture conditions favorable to germination and 

 growth. 



First: Seed covering. Darkness is favorable to germination 

 of most seeds, but covering is primarily for two other purposes. 

 One is to assist the seedling in its anchorage and root penetration, 

 but the more important is to insure it moisture. There can be no 

 positive rule for depth of sowing. Five times the diameter of the 

 seed might do at the best of the season in the best garden soil, but 

 this depth would be too great for some seeds in some soils in the 

 rainy season, and far too shallow for the same seed and soil in the 

 dry season. On all soils the rule must be shallow sowing, if large 

 rainfall is characteristic of the region ; deep sowing if scant rainfall 

 is to be expected; shallow sowing early in the rainy season; deep 

 sowing near its close; shallow sowing on the heavier soil; deep 

 sowing on the lighter soils. Late in the season the surface layer 

 which is air dried in spite of stirring, does not count as depth at all. 

 It must be brushed aside and the seed sown in the moist layer 

 beneath whether the sowing is done by hand or with a seed drill. 



Later cultivation will level the soil back around the plant stem 

 to assist in retaining moisture below. Conforming to this condition, 

 the larger summer-sown seeds should be sown in the light soil of 

 the interior valleys at four to six inches deep twice or three times 

 the depth prescribed for the seed in humid climates or in the humid 

 side of our own climate. Seeds sown in hills can stand deep plant- 

 ing better than when sown singly, as they seem to join their strength 

 in uplifting the weight of soil above them. 



Second : Soil firming. This is another act which aids the seed 

 in other ways, but is primarily for moisture furnishing. A seed 

 thrown into a loose surface layer may germinate and perish for 

 lack of moisture and soil-contact or it may lie unquickened until a 

 footstep or a shower compacts the earth about it. It may thus lie 

 half a year in California. Many amateurs are much too kind in 

 their intent and too cruel in their method, by making the surface as 

 loose as possible and then gently placing the seed in the loose layer. 

 It is better to jump on it with both feet. Whether it be done by 



