I 30 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
May, 1917 
Planting- the Garden. 
By J. R. Hepler, College of Ag- 
riculture, University of 'Wis- 
consin. 
The first and most important 
part of a good garden is a well 
prepared seed bed. The soil 
should be free from sticks, 
stones, and clods, and should be 
in perfect tilth. It may be nec- 
essary to rake the garden three or 
four times and use a hoe or the 
back of the rake to break up the 
lumps of soil, but such extra la- 
bor is well repaid. 
After the soil is in condition 
for planting, the rows of the gar- 
den may be laid out according to 
the plan previously prepared. 
There should be two permanent 
stakes at each end of the garden 
and then all measurements made 
from these stakes. The rows 
may be marked by putting small 
sticks or labels, at each end of the 
row, on which is written the name 
of the vegetable. It is then a 
very simple matter to get the row 
straight by stretching a line and 
planting under it. Viable seed 
need moisture, air, and warmth 
to germinate. Seeds must absorb 
moisture from the soil before 
they germinate. That is why they 
often lie dormant for two or 
three weeks in dry soil before 
they sprout. Firming the soil 
over the seed to establish capillar- 
ity, planting the seed deeper in 
dry soil, and sprinkling the soil 
after planting are ways of sup- 
plying moisture to the seed. 
Because it shuts out the air and 
often causes the seed to rot, too 
much moisture is almost as bad 
as not enough. Thorough drain- 
age or lightening the soil with 
sand or manure, will usually cor- 
rect this condition. 
Plant at Right Depth. 
The depth of planting depends 
on the moisture content of the 
soil, the character of the soil as 
regards fineness, and the age of 
the seed. Seeds must be planted 
deep enough that they will get 
a sufficient amount of moisture 
for germination, and yet shallow 
enough that they can push their 
way to the surface of the soil. 
The moister and finer the soil, 
the shallower the seed is planted. 
Seeds are planted shallower in 
heavy soil than in light soil. If 
a heavy rain falls shortly after 
making a planting of small seeds 
in a clayey soil, the ground is 
likely to bake so hard that the 
seedlings cannot push their way 
to the surface of the soil until 
the crust is broken by tillage or 
softened by another rain. If the 
soil is lightened by the addition 
of either organic matter or sand, 
small seedlings will without diffi- 
culty push their way through an 
inch or more of soil. 
As a general rule, the larger the 
seed, the deeper it must be 
planted. Very small seeds like 
celery do not have strength 
enough to push their way 
through an inch or two of soil. 
Such seeds may be covered with 
a very light sprinkling of soil or 
even with a cloth, or with paper. 
Peas may be planted deeper than 
beans because in germinating 
they keep their cotyledons or 
seed leaves below ground. The 
general rule is to make the mini- 
mum depth of planting at least 
two times the diameter of the 
seed. 
Consider Growing Temperatures. 
Garden seeds germinate the 
best at approximately the same 
temperature at which they make 
their growth. Thus the cool 
season crops germinate best at a 
temperature around 50 to 60, 
while warm season crops, such as 
muskmelons and egg plant, must 
have a temperature of 65 to 70 
to germinate, and germinate bet- 
ter at a higher temperature. This 
factor determines very largelv 
the time of planting. It is use- 
less to plant seeds of the warm- 
season crops before the soil 
warms up, because the plants 
are likely to be weak and to pro- 
duce a very small crop. If it is 
desired to germinate cool season 
seeds like lettuce during the hot 
summer months, it may be ac- 
complished by keeping the seed 
bed moist and keeping it shaded 
with a covering of moist hay or 
straw to reduce the temperature. 
“Drilling” the Seeds. 
In making a drill, use a point- 
ed stick or the handle of the hoe 
for shallow drills and the corner 
of the hoe or a trowel for the 
deeper drills. Always use a line 
to get straight rows. Care should 
be exercised not to crowd the line 
out of position. 
Seeds may be dropped into the 
drill in several ways, the most 
common of which is by hand, us- 
ing the thumb and forefinger. A 
supply of seed is held in the palm 
of the hand and rolled out over 
the forefinger by the tip of the 
thumb. This is a slow and tire- 
some method, but is very accur- 
ate. A quicker and easier way is 
to cut off one end of an ordinary 
envelope and drop the seed by a 
backward and forward motion 
of the hand. Although at first 
there is a tendency to sow the 
seed unevenly, a person soon be- 
comes expert at this method and 
can distribute the seed evenly. 
