DIGGS 
& 
BEADLES SEED CO..INC., RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 
FLOWER SEEDS 
We are justly proud of our whole line of 
Flower Seeds, which we are constantly im¬ 
proving. We have hundreds of varieties of fresh seed from the world's finest 
stock. This thought alone, with a local and reliable dealer, should warrant 
your consideration. 
We have, for the first time in the history of our business, featured the 
best and most up-to-date novelties, and are now equipped to serve our garden 
friends to the best advantage. 
Our Garden Department is managed by an expert horticulturist, fully 
qualified to advise you about your garden problems, whether they be great 
or small. This service will be cheerfully furnished without obligations on 
your part. 
If we have not been favored with your flower seed business, we will very 
much appreciate a trial order. 
BRIEF CULTURAL NOTES 
ZINNIAS —Zinnias are warm weather loving plants and should never be sown until the soil has thor¬ 
oughly warmed up and all danger of any frost has passed. For best results, especially with the small¬ 
er flowered, early blooming varieties, we recommend sowing the seed where the plants are to flower. 
The taller growing, large flowered sorts can safely be transplanted, although they also will make a 
more robust growth and will produce more flowers if they can be sown where the plants are to bloom, 
and then when the seedlings are 3" to 4" tall, thinned to the proper distance. To induce a thrifty, 
heavy root system, irrigate your plants rather than sprinkling. Dig a little trench alongside the row 
and let the water run slowly for several hours so it will seep down into the ground and make the food 
in the soil available for the plant throughout the mass of feeding roots. Always cultivate after each 
irrigation to conserve moisture. By this method you will have to water Zinnias only once every two 
weeks or so, whereas if the ground is merely sprinkled, you will have to repeat the sprinkling every 
other day or so. Irrigation not only gives a stronger, healthier plant, but also saves on your water bill. 
GOURDS —Gourds should be sown where the plants are to remain and should not be planted until late 
in the Spring after the soil is thoroughly warm and nights as well as days are warm. For best results 
sow in a warm, sandy location, somewhat on the dry side. Provide enough water for a normal growth 
until the flowers appear, after which no further irrigation should be necessary. Watering during the 
flowering period will cause dropping of flowers and buds, and consequent loss of Gourds. For per¬ 
fect-shape specimens, vines should be trained up on a fence or trellis and the Gourds allowed to hang, 
thus assuring straight necks and preventing rotting or discoloration from the soil. Do not harvest 
the Gourd crop until the fruit is thoroughly matured. This will be when the stem becomes brown 
and hard and pressure with the fingernail cannot dent the shell of the Gourd. After picking, Gourds 
should be hung in an airy, dry place until thoroughly cured. The large, hard-shelled varieties are 
then washed and scrubbed before decorating. The small, colorful varieties are wiped clean of dust 
and given a light coating of varnish or shellac. If thoroughly dried before treatment, Gourds should 
last several months for house decoration. 
LARKSPUR— Larkspurs are cool weather plants and for best results should be sown in the Fall. In 
warm sections, such as Southern California, they are sown as early as August, broadcast where they 
are to bloom and if for the cut flower market, are sown thick like radishes and the entire plant pulled 
to go to market. For the home garden, on the other hand, plants are thinned out to the proper dis¬ 
tance and allowed to branch normally for a more brilliant show of color. In the colder sections, seeds 
should be sown broadcast in November in its permanent position in the garden. If very severe, a light 
mulch covering should be applied. Seed will, therefore, remain stratified and dormant throughout the 
winter months and with the spring thaws and first warm weather, will germinate and commence to grow. 
As Larkspur seed requires a chilling for best germination, this is the ideal treatment for best results. 
PETUNIAS —The chief pitfall the amateur runs up against in growing Petunias is in the seed sowing. 
Almost invariably they bury the tiny seeds so deeply that the sprouting seedlings cannot possibly fight 
their way to the surface. Petunia seed must be sown with the very utmost carefulness. A seed flat 
or a seed pan should be used, a light, loamy soil carefully prepared, properly moistened and finely 
screened, the box filled to within a half-inch of the top with ample drainage on the bottom and tamped 
down firmly, smoothly and evenly. Then the see 1 should be mixed with about a teaspoonful of sand 
and this mixture of seed and sand sprinkled carefully and thinly over the surface of the seed box. A 
very fine sprinkling of pure sand, not more than 1/16 of an inch, may be used on top of this mixture 
or it may be left without any further covering. A pane of glass or a damp burlap sack or folded 
newspapers should then be placed over the flat and left there until the seeds begin to sprout. Im¬ 
mediately after the first sprout appears, this heavy shading must be removed and a single layer of 
gauze substituted. If the soil has been properly moistened when it is being prepared for sowing, it 
will not have to be watered again until the seedlings have developed their third and fourth leaves. 
If the soil appears to be drying out, however, water is applied with a very fine-spray hand bulb, or 
better still, the pan or flat placed in a tray of water to allow moisture to soak upwards from the bot¬ 
tom. Always leave the seed box in a well ventilated place, but without any draft, to prevent damping 
off. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, they should be pricked off into a second flat or 
small pots for a few weeks before setting out in their permanent position in the garden. 
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