HOME VEGETABLE GARDENING 



COVERING SEEDS 



TV/f ANY gardening failures are traceable directly 

 -L * * to faulty covering of the seeds. They may be 

 covered too shallow, when the birds will get some or the 

 sun will dry off the shallow-rooting, delicate seedlings; 

 or they may be covered too deeply, when the sprouts will 

 be smothered or so weakened through the labor of push- 

 ing through the soil that they die after reaching daylight. 



A good general rule to keep in mind is to cover seeds to 

 the extent of twice their thickness. For illustration, 

 radish seeds are about one-sixteenth of an inch in diam- 

 eter cover them from one-eighth to one-quarter inch 

 deep. On light sandy soils, deeper covering may be prac- 

 tised than on heavy clay soils. 



The exception to this rule are beans, corn, and peas 

 which may be covered two to four inches deep, depending 

 on character of soil. Specific suggestions how to cover the 

 different seeds are made in the different chapters. 



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