PLANTS FROM SEED

The instructions usually given are to cover flower seeds to from three
to five times their own depth. You may, if you like, take a foot-rule
and try to measure the diameter of a begonia or mignonette seed; but you
will probably save time by simply trying to cover small seeds just as
lightly as possible. I mark off my seed rows with the point of a lead
pencil--which I have handy back of my ear for writing the tags--sow the
seed thinly, and as evenly as possible by shaking it gently out of a
corner of the seed envelope, which is tapped lightly with the lead
pencil, and then press each row down with the edge of a board about as
thick as a shingle. Over the whole scatter cocoanut fiber (which may be
bought of most seedmen) or light prepared soil, as thinly as
possible--just cover the seeds from sight--and press the surface flat
with a small piece of board. A very light moistening, with a plant
sprinkler, completes the operation.

The temperature required in which to start the seeds of any plant will
be about the same as that which the same plant requires when grown.
Germination will be stronger and quicker, however, if ten to fifteen
degrees more, especially at night, can be supplied. If this can be given
as what the florists term "bottom heat," that is, applied under the seed
box, so much the better.

Until germination actually takes place, there is little danger of
getting the soil too warm, as it heats through from the bottom very
slowly. The box may be placed on the steam radiator, on a stand over the
floor radiator, or on a couple of bricks on the back of the kitchen
range; or the box may be supported over a lamp or small kerosene stove,
care being taken to have a piece of metal between the wood and the
direct heat of the flame. For the first few days it may be kept in the
shade, but as soon as the seeds push through they must be given all the
light possible.

If the seed flats or pans are prepared by the newer method suggested
above, they will probably not need any further watering, or not more
than one, until the seeds are up. The necessity of further watering, in
any case, will be shown by the soil's drying out on the surface. In the
case of small seeds, such as most flower seeds are, the moisture in the
soil will be retained much longer by keeping the box covered with a pane
of glass, slightly raised at one side. If the box is to be kept in
bright sunlight, shade the glass with a piece of paper, until the
seedlings are up, which will be in a day or so with some sorts, and
weeks with others.

From the time the little plants come up, until they are ready to prick
off in other flats or into pots, the boxes should never be allowed to
dry out. If they are being grown in winter or early spring, while the
days are still short and the sun low, they will require very little
water, and it should be applied only on bright mornings. In autumn and
late spring, especially the latter, they will require more, and if the
boxes dry out quickly, you should apply it toward evening. In either
case, do not water until the soil is beginning to dry on the surface,
and then water thoroughly, or until the soil will not readily absorb
more. If you will take the pains, and have the facilities for doing it,
by far the best way to keep the seed boxes supplied with moisture is to
place them, when dry, in an inch or so of water (as described for seed
sowing) and let them soak up what they need, or until the surface of the
soil becomes moist. This does the job more evenly and thoroughly than it
can be done from the surface, and is also a safeguard against damping
off, that dreaded disease of seedlings which is likely to carry away
your whole sowing in one day--a decaying of the stem just at or below
the soil.

From the time the seedlings come up they should be given abundance of
light, and all the air possible while maintaining the required
temperature. It will be possible, except on very cold dark days, to give
them fresh air. Never, however, let a draft of air more than a few
degrees colder than the room in which they are blow directly upon them.
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