Evening star., 1941-02-22

away in a small space.
The mixture of sand, soil and
humuS will vary somewhat according
to the kind and size of the seed. In
general, however, the seed boxes or
pots all should be prepared in the
same way. The drainage holes in
the bottom are covered with broken
pots. gravel, cinders or other mate
rial to insure their remaining open.
A layer of coarse sphagnum moss
or leafmold is spread over the drain
age material and then a layer Of
coarse soil The finely sifted soil
is placed at the top. For very fine
seed a layer of sand may be put
over the top layer of soil.
Having filled the seed boxes with
soil and firmed it, water we'll and
allow to stand for a day or two be-
fore sowing the seed, otherwise the
soil will puddle" Or, if you plant
first and then water there is the
danger of washing out the seed or
in covering them too deeply.
The soil mixture as indicated
above should be varied for the diff
ferent kinds of seed If optimum
results are to be obtained. For such
ANIMALS as ZinniaS, ageratum, sweet
alyssum, etc, a mixture of one part
peat moss, one part sand and two
parts of garden loan is very good.
The soil mixture for such ANIMALS
as snapdragons and petunias needs
more sand than that given above,
thus a soil mixture of one part peat
moss, one part garden loan and two
parts of sand is preferred.
Plants reliShing a richer diet such
as pansies and tomatoes, need we'll
rotted COW manure added to the
soil mixture Acid-loving plants, such
as hardy primroses, trollius and bell
flowers, benefit by the substitution
of leafmold for the peat moss.
In sowing the seeds the old rule
is to cover the seed with four times
its thickness of soil. This rule is
only fairly reliable. Very fine seed,
such as that Of petuniaS, can hardly
be covered at all. A busting with
fine sand is the most that is needed.
In fact, many gardeners scatter the
seed over the soil and cover it with
a moist newspaper. After the seeds
start sprouting, remove the paper
ard keep in a shady place for a
few days until the roots have had
time to penetrate the soil and obtain
moisture.
Larger seeds are accordingly COW
cred deeper. Such seed as those of
zinnia, calendula, scabiosa and ver-
bena may be covered with quarter
inch of finely sifted soil.
After the seed are soWn, broadcast
or in drills, the problem of keeping
them moist enough to live and not
wet enough to rot becomes test
of human ingenuity. In general. wa
tering from below, that is, by setting
the pot OF box into pan of water
and letting the soil absorb as much
as it will, is considered the most
successful method. In fact, in early
days it was the practice to place
soft brick in the pan of water and
then pile the soil mixture on the
brick This was pressed down and
leveled off and the seed soWn on it.
The water in the pan was gradually
absorbed by the brick, which kept
the soil moist enough to facilitate
termination and plant growth with
out too much danger of damping-o off
"a destructive disease of young
plantS-generally due to too much
moisture on the surface of the SOLD i.
This method is still used by some
florists for starting costly seeds
where only a limited number are
to be SoWn.
Speaking of "damping-off," there
are various ways of sterilizing the
soil besides baking it in the oven,
which TO me is the most diSagreeable
method of all. Formaldehyde dust
may be mixed with the soil ca pint
to busheD and then watered. If
desired, the seed may be soWn before
watering. Another method Is to
sterilize the soil with tear-gas, but
this must be done out of doors. Still
another method is to steam the soil
by placing in box or basket over
a pail of boiling water, the steam
from the water being forced up
through the soil until it has become
thoroughly hot.
AS soon as the seeds have their
first pair of true leaves they should
be "pricked-off" (transplanted) into
n GGAotD ,11optc hair1n cnonnI
an inch or more apart. A narrow
bladed spoon, sharp stick, or knife
blade may be used to lift the tiny
plants out of the starting box with
as much soil as possible $50 as not
to break the tender roots. After
transplanting and watering it is
well to place the fiat in a shady
place for few days. AS soon as
the plants have overcome the shock
of transplanting the fiat should be
placed in a sunny window. Keep
them growing vigorously if strong,
healthy plants are to be obtained.
Most houses have too high tenn
perature for good growth. With
temperatures above IS degrees, the
seedlings make too rapid a growth
and tend to be spindly. A sunny
window in the basement is usually
cooler than a window in the living
room. Bedroom windows are often
cool enough, but if opened at night
there is the danger of chilling the
plants and checking their growth.
In closing I would like to point
out that unless you have had ex-
perience in starting plants indoors,
it is best to start only one or two
pots until you have gained the
knack for the job. Also, one or two
pots of seedlings expand into two
or three flats of plants which may
overflow the allotted space for your