February, 1919 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE SUPPLEMENT 
9 
spade. With the line drawn taut 
make a furrow, deep or shallow ac- 
cording- to size of seeds, using a point- 
ed stick or end of hoe handle. 
Dropping the Seed: 
To sow seeds by hand evenly is an 
art that can be acquired only by con- 
siderable experience. If, in the be- 
ginning, the seeds are poured from 
the paper packet into- a cup, both 
temper and seeds may be conserved. 
The cup is not apt to blow away and 
spill the seeds. 
Grasp a pinch of seeds between the 
thumb and forefinger and scatter with 
a rolling motion. That’s about all 
that can be set down in print about it; 
the rest must be learned from experi- 
ence. The expert will space seeds by 
this method as evenly as a seed drill 
and without apparent effort. 
The amount of seed to sow was 
briefly discussed in Circular No. 2. No 
hard and fast rule can be given. Bet- 
ter use too much seed than too little. 
Cover the seeds with the back of 
the rake, pushing lumps aside when 
possible so as to cover only with fine 
soil. Now press the soil firmly over 
the seeds either by stepping lightly 
along the row, one foot only, or pat- 
ting firmly with the back of the hoe. 
This is held the most important step 
in seed sowing. After firming the 
soil rake lightly to form a mulch. 
Marking the Rows: 
Set pegs or stakes at both ends of 
rows as soon as seeds are covered. 
In this way the space between the 
rows may be hoed or raked to keep 
down weeds before the plants appear. 
The best time to kill weeds is just be- 
fore they appear and a light hoeing or 
raking within a week after seed sow- 
ing may save much backache later. 
For information that will serve as a 
guide for operations another season 
the variety and the date of planting 
should be written heavily in pencil on 
the head stake of each row. 
These directions and cautions as to 
careful preparation of soil have par- 
ticular reference to small seeds like 
lettuce, radish, turnip, and onion, as 
these need a fine seed bed. Larger 
seeds such as beet and spinach will 
come through very well if the sod is 
not quite so fine, but they will appre- 
ciate the better treatment. 
In making furrows for peas, beans 
r"d corn use a corner of the hoe. 
Practice counts here also. 
T 'outli of Planting: 
“Seeds should not be planted deeper 
‘ban is neoessai'y to insure the pi"oper 
degree of moisture.” — Goff. If we 
keep in mind that the reason we cover 
seeds with soil is to insure the mois- 
ture essential for germination it helps 
us greatly in determining the proper 
depth for planting. 
The depth of planting may be regu- 
lated largely by the size of the seed. 
Large seeds may be planted deeper 
than small ons. (One important ex- 
ception to be noted later.) 
No definite rule can be given. Any 
table giving in inches or fractions of 
an inch the depths at which seeds 
should be planted is misleading, for 
much depends on the texture and till- 
age of the soil; the amount of mois- 
ture it contains, the date of planting 
and other variable factors. One rule, 
subject to many exceptions, is to cover 
seeds three to five times their diam- 
eter (thickness). 
Small seeds like carrot, lettuce, rad- 
ish, cabbage and turnip ought to be 
covered with one-fourtli to one-third 
inch of soil. If the soil is very light 
(sandy) they ought to be planted a 
little deeper to insure moisture suffi- 
cient for germination. Beet, spinach 
and parsnip may be covered deeper, 
one-half inch if the soil is not too 
heavy. Peas and corn should be cov- 
ered with about two inches of soil, 
beans not over one inch. Beans lift 
the seed above ground and if planted 
too deep will break their necks in the 
effort to get through. For this reason 
something is to be gained by planting 
in hills; that is, four to six seeds in a 
place, these a foot apart. If planted 
singly, space 1 V 2 to 2 inches apart. 
Do not plant peas in “hills" but singly, 
about an inch apart. 
Odds and Ends: 
A "hill” in garden language does 
not mean an elevation but refers to a 
number of seeds planted in a group 
rather than singly in a row. 
Cucumbers, melons, squash, and so 
forth, are commonly planted in hills 
bv the market gardener for conveni- 
ence in cultivation. There is no good 
reason for doing it in the small gar- 
den. Plant the seeds flatwise 1 to 2 
inches apart, the plants to be thinned 
later, and cover one-half inch deep. 
Seeds planted in midsummer for 
succession crops, should be covered 
somewhat deeper than when planted 
in the spring, in order to insure 
needed moisture. The soil will be 
more mellow and warmer than in the 
spring — both factors favoring germin- 
ation. 
Peas as well as corn and others of 
the “grass" family will push through 
greater depths of soil than beans and 
others that project the seed or seed 
leaves above the ground. 
Germination (sprouting) of seeds 
may be hastened by soaking in water 
24 to 36 hours before planting. 
Soaked seeds should not be allowed to 
become dry before planting. 
The potato is not a seed and 
scarcely anything here written applies 
to it. Cut the potatoes into pieces, 
each having one or more “eyes” or 
buds, and plant the pieces singly 10 
to 12 inches apart in furrows 4 to 6 
inches deep. 
Part II 
Reasons for Some of the Operations 
Described in Part I 
Every seed contains an embryo 
plant. In order to germinate (spi;out) 
and produce a living plant three 
things are essential — moisture, warmth 
and air (oxygen). If any one of these 
is lacking, seeds will fail to germin- 
ate. If any one of these essentials is 
not present in sufficient amount, ger- 
mination will be tardy. It is very im- 
portant that seeds should germinate 
promptly or else decay will result. 
Seeds absorb water promptly when 
placed in contact with it. In the soil 
the promptness and rapidity with 
which seeds absorb moisture will de- 
pend upon the points of contact. If 
the soil is not pressed closely about 
the seed but few points are in contact 
with it and a long time will be re- 
quired for it to germinate. Therefore, 
we tramp the soil over the seed with 
the foot or hoe. By this means we 
also increase the capability or water 
pulling power of the soil, for moisture 
passes readily through soil particles 
which are in close contact and less 
readily when the soil is loose. 
The proper degree of warmth is es- 
sential. This varies with the species 
but the variation is not wide. 
Seeds of the common garden vege- 
tables will germinate readily at a tem- 
perature of 50 to 55 degrees. Lettuce 
and radish will germinate at a lower 
temperature, 45 to 50 degrees. Peas 
will germinate at 32 to 40 degrees. 
Cucumber and squash seed require 60 
degrees. 
These figures are close to the mini- 
mum or lowest temperature. The 
most favorable temperatures are 5 to 
1 0 degrees higher in all cases. It is 
useless, therefore, to plant seeds in 
soil that is too cold. 
Water drives air out of the soil. 
Working wet soil “puddles” it, shut- 
ting out air. Seeds will not germin- 
ate in soil that is too wet and will ger- 
minate very slowly in puddled soil. 
INSURE YOUR HARVEST 
Prof. James G. Moore, College of 
Agriculture 
The gardener’s patriotism may be 
shown by the manner in which he tills 
his garden. The summer months are 
the critical ones in the garden. 
Though the gardener may feel less in- 
clined to hoe and rake than he did 
earlier in the season, the plants de- 
mand even closer attention if the 
table is to be supplied during the sjam- 
mer and the cellar is to hold an abun- 
dant supply of vegetables next winter. 
The gardener’s motto at this time 
should he “Catch moisture, hold mois- 
ture”. The demand for moisture as 
the plants grow and the warmer 
weather comes on constantly increases, 
