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J. STECKLER SEED CO., LTD., ALMANAC AND 



SOWING SEEDS. 



Some seeds are sown at once where they 

 are to remain and mature. Others are sown 

 in seed beds and transplanted afterwards. 

 Seeds should be covered according- to their 

 sizes, a covering - of earth twice the size of 

 the seed is about the maximum. Some 

 seeds, such as Beans, Corn and Peas, can 

 be covered from one to two inches, and 

 they will come up well. Here is a 

 difference again: Wrinkled Peas and Sugar 

 Corn have to be covered lighter and more 

 carefully than Marrowfat Peas or the com- 

 mon varieties of corn. It depends upon 

 the nature of the soil, season of the year, 

 etc. For instance, in heavy wet soils, 

 seeds have to be covered lighter than in 

 sandy light ground. Seeds which are sown 

 during summer in the open ground, such 

 as Beets and Carrots, should be soaked 

 over night in water and rolled in ashes 

 before sowing; they will come up quicker. 

 When they are sown in a seed bed, the 

 ground should be light enough not to bake 

 after a rain. Some varieties of seeds 

 require shade when sown during summer, 

 such as Cauliflower, Celery and Lettuce. 

 Care should be taken to have the shade at 

 least three feet from the ground, and shade 

 only after the sun has been on the bed for 

 two or three hours; and remove again 

 early in the afternoon so the plants may 

 become sturdy. If too much shade they will 

 be drawn up, long-legged, and not fit to be 

 set out in the open ground. The most 

 successful Cabbage planters sow their 

 seeds in the open ground, towards the end 

 of July and during August, and give them 

 no shade, but water and keep the ground 

 moist from the day of sowing until the 



plants are transplanted. Seeds should be 

 sown thinly in the seed bed. If plants 

 come up too thickly they are apt to damp 

 off. 



Lettuce seed should be sprouted during 

 the hot months before sowing, according 

 to directions given for June. 



To sow Turnips on a large scale during 

 the late summer and early fall months, the 

 ground should be prepared in advance and 

 the seed sown just before or during the 

 rain. Small pieces of ground, of course, 

 can be sown at any time and watered 

 afterwards. For covering all kinds of 

 seeds a fork is preferable to a rake; with 

 either implement care must be taken not 

 to cover the seeds too deep. Beans, Peas 

 and Corn are covered with the hoe. Some 

 fine seeds, such as Thyme and Tobacco, are 

 covered enough when pressed with the back 

 of the spade to the ground. The seedsman 

 is often blamed for selling seeds which 

 have not come up when the same are 

 perfectly good, but, perhaps, through 

 ignorance, the party by whom they were 

 sown placed them too deep or too shallow 

 in the ground, or the ground may have been 

 just moist enough to swell the seeds and 

 they failed to come up. At other times 

 washing rains after sowing beat the ground 

 and form a crust that the seeds are not 

 able to penetrate, or if there is too much 

 manure it will burn the seeds and destroy 

 their vitality. 



When seeds, such as Beans, Cucumbers, 

 Melons and Squash, are planted before it is 

 warm enough, they are apt to rot if it 

 rains. 



GERMINATING SEEDS. 



Complaints are often made to seedsmen 

 by inexperienced Truck farmers and Plan- 

 ters that certain varieties of garden and 

 field seeds are slow in coming up or fail 

 entirely. The fault, as a general rule, is 

 mostly the gardeners, but the seedsman 

 invariably gets the blame, mostly unjust 

 and groundless, but he is blamed and other- 

 wise abused nevertheless. For the guidance 

 of those who are inexperienced we deem 

 it necessary to lay down the following 

 rules: 



1. Never sow out of time. Many of our 

 Truck farmers are in the habit of sowing 

 too soon and in consequence are often 

 compelled to sow double the quantity to 

 get a good stand. As to the proper time 

 for sowing read our directions for planting. 



2. Do not cover seed too deep, it will be 

 impossible for the finer varieties to push 

 through, especially if the soil is heavy and 

 claylike. The rule is never to cover seeds 

 more than twice their thickness, except 

 the finer ones which require no covering at 

 all. They should be slightly pressed in the 

 ground to prevent their being washed away. 



Beans, Peas and Corn should be covered 



V± to y 2 inch according to the nature of 

 the soil. 



3. Keep your seed beds moist, but not 

 too wet. Water in evening and during 

 extremely dry weather twice a day or 

 oftener if required. Tender seeds, such as 

 Celery, Onions, Leek and Cauliflower, may 

 be shaded during the hottest part of the 

 day, they have to be uncovered in the 

 evening while the sun is still on the bed, 

 well watered and left uncovered during the 

 night. During cloudy weather no covering 

 is needed, nor should they be covered 

 when they are up, otherwise the young 

 plants become tender and damp off. 



4. Previous to planting have your seed 

 beds well prepared, have the soil well 

 pulverized and mellow, but not too fine, 

 otherwise a crust will form, owing to con- 

 stant watering, on the surface, which 

 prevents the tender germ from pushing 

 through. 



5. Never use fresh manure 1n the seed 

 bed. if any is needed use well rotted Horse, 

 or in light sandy soil Cow manure and 

 incorporate it well with the soil before 

 sowing the seed. 



Approximate Time for Certain Varieties of Seed to Germinate. 



The time for seed to germinate depends 

 entirely upon the weather and the treat- 

 ment of the seed bed we will try though 

 to give as much as we know by experience, 

 the approximate time for germinating: 

 Artichokes from 14 to 21 days. 



Asparagus from 20 to 30 days. 



Bean's from 5 to 10 days. 



Borecole, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cab- 

 bage and Cauliflower from 5 to 1 2 days. 



Carrots from 14 to 21 days, and often 

 longer during dry weather. 



When in Doubt Consult Steckler. 



