CHAPTER XVII 



SEED SOWING AND TRANSPLANTING 



SUCCESS in vegetable gardening depends primarily upon 

 good seed. The most fertile soil and the best care cannot 

 produce profitable crops with poor seed. Good seed must 

 possess the following essential requisites : 



1. Must be true to name. It is usually easy to tell by 

 the external characters the kind of seed, although one can- 

 not determine the variety. 



2. Must be viable; that is, a large percentage of seeds 

 should under favorable conditions produce vigorous plants. 



3. Must be free from weed seeds and other impurities. 

 Seed Sowing. In sowing seeds, success depends 



largely upon the proper preparation of the seed bed. If 

 the soil is coarse and lumpy, a good stand of plants cannot 

 be obtained. Each particle of soil is surrounded with a 

 film of water, and when a large number of these are brought 

 into direct contact with the seed, a sufficient supply of 

 moisture is assured. If the soil is a stiff clay, devoid of 

 humus, and firmly packed, the seeds will also fail to grow 

 because of the lack of air. A soil well filled with humus 

 should be selected. 



The time to sow vegetable seeds depends largely upon 

 the temperature of the soil and the time it is desired to 

 market the crop. Seeds, such as lettuce, beets, and onions, 

 will germinate at a temperature of 50, while other seeds, 

 as tomato, eggplant, and beans, require a much higher 



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