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Start Your Plants From Seeds
Propagating your own plants from seeds is much more rewardingand less expensive than buying seedlings from the garden supplyshop. One of the first things you will need is a box or trayapproximately 3 to 4 inches deep, 12 to 14 inches wide, and 20to 24 inches long.Once you have your planting box, fill it with a suitable seedraising mix. A good medium would be 80-85% washed river sand and15-20% peat moss. If you prefer to buy a bag of seed raisingmix, visit your local garden supply store. One you have yourmedium, fill the box almost to the top, and then pat down themedium firmly.Prepare the medium for planting your seeds by making rows acrossthe box. They should be one quarter to half inch deep and 2inches apart. The seed should be distributed 8 or 10 to the inch in the rowsand then be covered. Move the box to a warm shaded place. It is important to water regularly during germination, howeverthe soil should be kept moist not wet. If the water startsrunning out the bottom of the box you are over doing it and thesoil will become waterlogged. If this happens, the seeds couldrot and fail to germinate. If you can cover the box with a piece of glass or even saranwrap, this will hold the moisture, creating a microclimate,which will hasten germination. Once the seedlings germinate thelid can be removed and the seedlings can gradually be introducedto stronger light – next to a window would be ideal. When the plants are one inch to an inch and a half high theyshould be thinned to one or two inches apart in the row, to givethem space enough to make a strong stocky growth. If you wish tokeep the plants that have been thinned, they must be planted twoinches apart each way in boxes similar to the seed box. When the weather becomes mild, the box of plants should be setout of doors part of the time so that the plants will harden inpreparation for transplanting to the garden later. Give theseedlings a good watering just before transplanting so that aball of earth will stick to the roots. By raising seedlings in this controlled climate of germination,they will be hardier and flourish. You will also have the addedsatisfaction of having done all the work yourself.For more information on gardening, visit the link at the bottomof the page. For more information, visit http://gardensupplyguide.com andhttp://www.gardeninfocenter.com
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