CHAPTER III 



SOWING AND PLANTING 



Oh, bend your back and sow the seed, 

 For the glad spring days are here, 



And he -who labors has little need 

 Of the harvest time to fear. 



N the production of early tomatoes, 

 peppers, eggplant, celery, cabbage, etc., 

 it is very important to have strong, 

 thrifty plants ready for the field the 

 first day it is safe to transplant. A 

 delay of a few days may be the cause 

 of reaching the market too late to 

 catch the highest prices. 



TESTING SEEDS. The strength and 

 vigor of a plant is largely dependent 

 upon the character of the seed used, says Pennsyl- 

 vania Bulletin No. 147. Old seeds are generally 

 slower to germinate, and frequently produce weak 

 plants. It is, as a rule, safer to use new seed, and it 

 is also important to procure large, plump seeds. To 

 avoid trouble and disappointment, it is desirable to 

 purchase seed not later than January ist, and to test 

 carefully before making the main sowing. In the 

 absence of hotbeds at that season of the year, and if 

 no greenhouse is available, the test can be made in 

 the kitchen window. Count two lots of one hundred 

 seeds of each variety to be grown, sow in separate 

 rows in a shallow box, and count the plants that come 

 up. This is a more certain and practical test than by 



