Gardening Indoors and Under Glass | Page 9

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.
The secret of growing the little plants until they are ready for their first
shift is not so much in the amount of care given, as in its regularity.
Tend them every day--it will take only a few minutes time. When the
second true leaf appears they will be ready for their first change, which
is described in Chapter VI.
[Illustration: A new scheme of sub-irrigation for flats. Some porous