Evening star., 1950-01-29

Liz auQual SOWING Oh SeeQx ii
about to begin indoors, in cold
frames and hotbeds, and out-of-
doors. I am going to note here a
few pointers to insure q reasonable
degree of success. Seeds are tiny
packages containing germ which
needs only favorable conditions
to bring it to life. With unfavor-
able soil. moisture or heat, it will
die. ..
We should be reasonably cer-
tain that we buy live. viable seeds.
Vegetable and field seeds, by law,
must carry statement as to their
purity and termination. There Is
no such regulation governing
flower seeds.
Assuming that the seeds In
question are fresh and of good
termination we should sow them
in properly prepared seed beds.
Out-of- doors there is little prob
lem with the damping off fungus,
a universally destructive disease
of seedlings which thrives in
warm, moist situations.
How to Sterilize the Soil.
The sowing of seeds indoors
therefore should be in soil mix
ture that has been sterilized, or
in a medium which is normally
free from this disease. But first
the soil: 1t may be sterilized with
formaldehyde. Two and one-nalf
tablespoonsful of 40 per cent COM
mercial formaldehyde or eight
ounces of 6 per cent dust will
treat a bushel of soil. Mix thor
oughly with the soil and water.
Seeds may be sown within "a
hours after treatment. The soil
may be sterilized by baking in the
oven and will be ready to Use
when potato buried in the cen-
ter of the soil is baked. (This is a
rather smelly method)
Perhaps better method of con-
trolling this disease is to SOW
seed in a bulb-pan. fat. or box
filled with soil to within an inch
of the top and then covered with
a layer of vermiculite (plant add
or pulverized spaghnum moss. The
finer grade of vermiculite is used
for seed sowing.
Ordinary spaghnum moss may
be pulverized when dry by rubbing
through a screen made of quarter
inch hardware cloth. Either mate
rial should be moistened before
sowing the seed. Seed sown in
vermiculite should be covered with
a light Q/16 to 1/8 inch) layer
and need not be firmed. A layer
of the smaller particles of moss
may be used to cover the seed, it
should be lightly flrmed.
Disinfect Some Seeds.
Before sowing seeds Of the
brassicas cabbage, cauliflower.
brussels sprouts, etc. they should
be treated with one of the seed
disinfectants to destroy seed-borne
diseases. Several are on the mar
ket and are we'll worth the cost
and the few minutes 1t takes to
apply them. SIS
The use Of hormones on seed is,
according to the Ohio Agricultural
Experiment Station. unlikely to
give much benefit. In few cases
1t was found that indoleacetic
acid compounds resulted in q
higher percentage termination Of
the seed than untreated seed.
The timing Of the seed sowing
& quite important In that they
should reach normal planting size
by the time the weather is favor
able to out-of- doors growth. II
the plants reach this stage too
soon it may be difficult to hold
them In good condition, and they
will be checked or stunted. A
general planting schedule was
given on this page January Is.
Sow the seeds thinly so that they
will have space IN which to grow.
Surface Cam Be Covered.
Seeds germinate best with bot
tom heat. During this period
they do not need sunlight but
they must be kept moist. Usually,
glass or paper cover over the
eontainer will keep the surface
soil sufficiently moist to aid ger
mination. AS soon as the sprouts
begin to appear above ground the
container should be placed In q
anuzsunluElau m