1 8 Making a Garden to Bloom This Year 
do not water again until it once more 
looks dry. And be very careful to keep 
the little plants themselves dry — their 
stems and leaves. 
Transplant them to flats an inch deeper 
than the original seed flats — or flats hav- 
ing an inch more earth in them — or to 
pots (the little paper pots are a great 
convenience, especially when setting out 
finally), when the second true leaf ap- 
pears, unless the directions on the packet 
stipulate differently. Water the soil — 
this must be similarly prepared — into 
which they are to go, the day before trans- 
planting, and, likewise, water that in which 
they already are. Then they will loosen 
readily from it. Take them up by shov- 
ing a knife or trowel down at the edge 
of the flat and loosening a chunk of earth, 
plants and all. Then crumble this gently 
apart in the fingers, detaching the little 
roots carefully. They will come out quite 
easily this way, with seldom a fracture 
of even the most delicate. 
Set each little plant into its new quar- 
ters with the aid of a dibble — a round, 
tapering-pointed affair made from eight 
inches of old broom-handle, sharpened to 
