In the Garden with Judy- Week 6, 5-28-10
Hello summer! It’s hot! Lows are predicted in the low 90’s today, but since weather is predicted in the 70’s to 80’s for the next few days, I’m not discouraged by this early brief heat wave. It’s prime sowing season, so I’d like to talk a little bit about sowing depth and watering.
Improper depth is one reason for germination failure. If seeds are planted too deep, they won’t have enough strength to emerge. If they’re planted too shallow, they may dry out.
Some seeds need dark, and some seeds need light to germinate, so it’s very important to follow the recommended sowing depth.
1/4″ is a common depth for a lot of small vegetable seed varieties including carrots, endive, escarole, and lettuce (1/8″-1/4″). If you think about it, this is really shallow! Today, I’m planting all the above varieties. My method of planting these varieties is to scatter the seed into nicely tilled soil then pat them in—you really don’t need to bury them. Simply take a clump of soil and lightly scatter it over the top to cover the seed and water it in. The water will help settle the soil in around the seed.
½” is a common sowing depth for mid-sized vegetable seeds like beets and Swiss chard. To sow them, I poke them lightly into the soil then scrunch a light amount of soil over the top. After you water them in, a few seeds may float to the top. Just poke them back down into the soil. A unique fact about these two varieties is that the ’seeds’ are actually fruits. There are multiple seeds inside each fruit (seed). Imagine planting an entire orange with multiple seeds inside. When these seeds germinate, you may need to pinch off the extra seedlings.
Large-seeded varieties like beans need to go deeper. They need to be sown around 1″ deep. To plant them, I first erect a teepee made of three or more tall stakes inside the raised bed. Then, I make a little trench around the base of each pole and scatter the beans around each stake. After that, I correct the spacing to make sure they’re at least 2″ apart and fold soil down on top of them.
Keeping new plantings watered is critical to germination success. It rained last night, but because it’s hot today, it’s not enough to keep the seeds that I planted the other day from drying out. When I poke my finger in the soil, I can tell that the top ½” is dry. That means that I need to water. A hose with a soft spray nozzle will allow you to water gently. Keep moving the spray around, so no areas are flooded and make seeds float and clump together. You may need to water twice a day if that top layer of soil is drying out too quickly. Once the seedlings emerge, you won’t have to be quite that diligent, because the roots will be deeper in the soil and able to find moisture below the top crust.
I’m moving on to planting broccoli and quinoa next. This time of year, I’m tempted by so many wonderful varieties, but the limits of space and time keep me in check. I’ve been known to go overboard! It’s hard not to daydream about the lovely fresh meals I’m going to enjoy from this simple garden. This daydream has inspired me! I think I will thin the lettuce again and make another fresh salad with the pretty chive blossoms, so I can invite the neighbors over to dinner and share it with them.