Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-05-14

understand the theory of the germi-
nation of seeds, especially in the
open ground. 1t is caused by heat
and moisture. with many seeds. the
reverse conditions, cold and mois-
ture, induce rotting, which is why
these should not be planted until the
ground is warm.
To insure the best termination
there should be three things; the
proper degrees of heat, moisture and
contact between the soil and the
seeds. 1t is distressing to the know
ing gardener to see people carefuily
and lightly covering their seeds with
thin film of soil-which perhaps
the wind will blow away--and ex-
pect good termination.
There are some seeds which are
slow of termination, on account OF
their hard protective covering, such
as peas and beans, the coating or
which must be oaked, allowing
moisture to enter the interior, be-
fore termination can take place. We
can assist the process by soaking
such seeds in warm water over night
and plant while still moist.
Some vegetable seeds are so fine
| that the only feasible way to plant
them is to broadcast them. Others
are planted this way by custom and
! tnlnnlnS out done later.
J There are a number of aids to
seed planting which will be of sery-
ice to you. A straight-edge is one
OF them. With this, and pointed
stick, YOU can mark off the burrows
into which to plant fine seeds, draw
ing the stick lightly along the edge,
which will make tiny furrow. BY
bearing more on the stick you can in
this way make a furrow of any
depth up to two inches.
| If this straight-edge. which can
! be made out of piece of board.
eight feet long, four inches wide and
half an inch thick. is marked off in
equal spaces, say one inch, 1t will be
a guide for quick and even planting,
as you can lay it along the furrow
and set the seeds at the right dis
tance very rapidly.
To cover these small seeds use
the straight-edge, pushing the soil
| back into the small furrow, lay 1t on
top and walk on it. 1t is an advan-
tage to use these devices to make
the rows straight. as beauty adds
much to the interest in the garden.
A crooked row is not beautiful.
If quick termination, especially.
of small seeds, planted shallow, is
desired, the top of the soil must be
/ kept moist. To accomplish this with
out washing out the seeds requires
some care. The average watering
pot has a nozzle too coarse for the
purpose. But if you have at COM
mand a garden hose with a spray
nozzle it can be done to perfection.
Turn. the nozzle down until the
water comes in q fine mist. Direct
the hose upward so that the mist
will rise into the air and fall on the
soil containing the fine seeds. Once
a day is usually sufficient.
Keep in mind, however, that as
soon as there are signs of germina-
ton be careful not to overwater. or
there is danger of a fungus disease
known as "damping-o off," which at
tacks the young plants and for
which there is no cure. This is more
likely to occur when watering is too
heavy when the weather has been
cloudy for several days in success
sion.
In order that you may have some
idea how many seeds to procure, ]
give below a list of the vegetables
ordinarily grown in gardens in this
vicinity. The quantities are for a
family of five, and VIII plant row
of each 100 feet long:
Beans, snap, one pint; beans, pole,
half pint; beans, bush, lima, one
pint. Beets. four ounces. Cabbage.
early, half ounce; cabbage. late, half
ounce; cabbage, latertaointao fdlta
ounce. Carrot, one ounce. Cauli-
flower, one packet Celery, one
packet. Celery, onetaotonu aotunt
packet. Corn, sweet, one pint. Gu
cumber, half ounce. Eggplant, one
packet. Kale, half ounce. Lettuce
one ounce. Parsley, one packet
Parsnip, half ounce. Muskmelon
one melon. Onion sets, two quarts
Peas, two to four quarts. Satisfy
one ounce. Spinach, four ounces
Squash, summer, half ounce; squash
winter, half ounce. Tomatoes, quar-
ter ounce. Potatoes, early, one peck
potatoes, winter, one half bushel O..
enough to plant desired space.
I am writing to your for some ad
vice. 1 would like to experience 18th
joy of seeing things grow" I liv,
in an apartment on the third f1ooi
and have a good-siZed roof out bacl
which is slightly slanting. HoN
could ] utilize this space for a littl
gardening without injuring the roof
Could not get boxes and drain thel
in the regular roof drainage? Whc
could ] raise? The sun shines
this roof all day. Mrs. S.
| Pennsylvania.