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



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 cover- 

 ing 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 wnen pressed with the 

 back of the spade to the ground. The seeds- 

 man 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 very apt to rot if it 

 rains. 



Germinating Seeds. 



Complaints are often made to seedsmen by 

 inexperienced Tiuck farmers and Planters, 

 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 often abused nevertheless. 

 For the guidance of those who are inex- 

 perienced 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 



£ to | inch according to the nature of the 

 soil. 



3. Keep your seed beds moist, but not to( 

 wet. Water in evening and during extremelj 

 dry weather twice a day or of tener 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 un- 

 covered during the night. During cloudy 

 weather no covering is needed, nor should 

 they be covered when they are up, otherwise 

 the young plants become too tender and 

 damp off. 



4. Previous to planting have your seed 

 beds well prepared; have the soil well pul- 

 verized and mellow, but not too fine; other- 

 wise a crust will form, owing to constant 

 watering, on the surface, which prevents the 

 tender germ from pushing through. 



5. Never use fresh manure in the seed bed, 

 if any is needed use well rotted Horse, or in 

 light sandy soil Cow manure and incorporate 

 it well with the ^oil 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 treatment 

 of the seed bed; we will try though to give 

 as much as we know by experience, the ap- 

 proximate time for germinating. 

 Artichokes from 14 to 21 days. 

 Asparagus from 20 to 30 days. 

 Beans from 5 to 1 days. 

 Borecole, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage 



and Cauliflower from 5 to 12 days. 

 Carrots from 14 to 21 days, and often longer 



during dry weather. 

 Celery from 14 to 20 days. 

 Chervil from 18 to 2.5 days. 

 Collards from 5 to 12 days. 

 Corn Salad 14 days. 

 Corn from 8 to 14 days. 



Cress, curled from 3 to 5 days. 

 Cress, broadleaved from 5 to 12 days. 

 Cress, water from 12 to 14 days. 

 Cucumbers from 5 to 10 days. 

 Eggplants from 8 to 20 days. 

 Endive from 3 to 7 days. 

 Kohlrabi from 5 to 12 days. 

 Lettuce from 3 to 5 days. 

 Melons, Cantelopes from 5 to 10 days. 

 Melons, water from 8 to 1 5 days. 

 Mustard from 3 to 7 days. 

 Okra from 8 to 15 days. 

 Onions from 7 to 14 days. 

 Parsley from 20 to 30 days. 

 Parsnip from 8 to 14 days. 

 Peas from 5 to 10 days. 

 Pepper from 8 to 20 days. 



Our Bird Gravel speaks for itself. 



