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The Rural Voice, 1982-03, Page 28GARDENING For early vegetables later, start your seeds inside now by Shelley Paulocik Although winter winds may still be blowing, now is the time to begin this year's garden if you want to m aximize your pleasure and produce. How? By starting plants you'll later transfer to the garden. Why? Well, there are several good reasons. There is no cheaper way to obtain fruit, vegetables, or flowers than from seed, and nowhere will you have as good a selection of varieties as in the seed catalogue. A little time and money spent now to start seeds, will enable you to produce those fruits and flowers, such as green peppers and snapdragons. that require a longer growing season than ours, and to vastly expand your harvesting period of other produce. There is also less likelihood of introducing new diseases nad insects into your garden if you raise your own transplants. Besides, the job itself will bring you pleasure. Here's what you'll need. Do some careful shopping and choose varieties that best meet your requirements. Consider such things as a disease resistance, freezability, flavour or season. Containers for growing transplants can be anything from a proper plant tray to a recycled milk carton as long as they hold an adequate depth of soil, two to three inches; allow for proper drainage of excess water; and are not contaminated with diseases or insects. If you are re -using plastic pots or flats clean them thoroughly and sterilize them with a weak bleach solution, one part to nine. Initially, the starting media must provide the proper environment for germination of the seed. To do this the mixture must hold adequate water to break down the seed coat; contain air spaces to provide oxygen for the seed's respiration; and resist surface crusting to ensure seedling's emergence. In either your own mixture, or a commercial one, these functions will be filled by perlite, sphagnum moss (not to be confused with peat moss), and vermiculite, in a ratio of 2:1:2. Unless you have a greenhouse or another good source of natural light. you will need artifical lights. Specialized fluorescent grow -lights are the most effective and efficient, although a combination of one warm white tube and either a cool white or a daylight tube is a PG. 26 THE RURAL VOICE/MARCH 1982 good alternative. Twin -tube fixtures provide sufficient light intensity for a 16" wide area. For those using a natural light source, the amount of light directed to the plant can be boosted by flat white or aluminium reflectors. Finally, you will want a labelling system to keep track of varieities and planting dates. Use whatever you have on hand -paper. metal, plastic - and an indelible pen to avoid any confusion. Before you begin sowing seed read the seed package's instructions carefully. Their guidelines, together with your desired harvesting dates, will help you calculate how many and how often and when you should plant. They will also mention if the seeds require pre-soaking. and whether the plant can tolerate root disturbance. Most plants benefit from an early, indoor transplanting which encourages new root growth and the development of stockier plants. Others. for example melons and morning glories, cannot tolerate any uprooting and should be started in peat pots or pellets which are transferred to the garden as a entire unit. If you are not planning to transplant the seedlings once indoors, begin with the growing mixture described in the final paragraph. or be prepared to fertilize on a weekly, rather than a bi-weekly. basis. Now to get something growing. Prepare the mixture you require. Fill your containers, and then level and firm evenly. Moisten the media and let it settle for several hours. Distribute the seeds as evenly as possible, either in rows or at random. Cover with moist mixture to a depth of three times the diameter of the seed, and gently firm. Label the contents. Cover the container to maintain the humidity without cutting off all the air. and set it in a warm spot, for instance the top of the refrigerator, where the soil temperature will be maintained between 75-90°F. Check daily to see there is adequate moisture and air movement. and watch for emergence. Once the seedlings are up they must have light. Move them to their light source where they'll receive twelve to sixteen hours daily. If you're using fluorescent lights devise an adjust- able set-up so the plants are just below, but not touching, the tubes. If you are using window light, rotate the containers a quarter turn daily to prevent leaning. The soil temperature should be reduced to 60-70°F, and even lower if the lighting isn't ideal. Water the plants when a soil check at one inch indicates dryness and try to avoid both wilting and waterlogging. The seedling also needs space to ensure it is receiving its fair share of all these requirements. Thin by clipping, rather than pulling, the weak and excess seedlings. During the first two weeks of growth the seedling has no need for nutrition beyond that stoned in the seed or the cotyledon (seed leaves). Only as it develops its first "true" leaves, those typical of the adult plant. does the seedling require fertilization. Use a general-purpose, soluble fertilizer. for example 20-20-20. at half-strength. If you've paid careful attention to all the plant's requirements there should be no problem with the damping -off fungi that cause withering of the stem. and sudden collapse and death. Captan is one fungicide that will combat the problem. When the seedlings produce their first true leaves they should be transplanted. The growing media you prepare or buy differs from the starting mixture only in that it contains a source of nutrients. Variations are endless but a good starting point is one part vermiculite or perlite for drainage, one part compost or leaf mold for water retention, and one part potting soil or loamy garden soil for nutrition. Sterilize garden soil to reduce the chances of damping off by heating the moist soil in a shallow pan at 180°F for one.hour. Begin the procedure by watering the seedlings lightly to ease their removal. Fill the containers with the growing mixture. Level, firm, and moisten. Hol ding the seedling by the leaves, not the fragile stem, gently lift or "prick out" the plant with the handle of a kitchen fork. Get as much soil around the roots as possible without disturbing the neigh- bouring plants. Replant the seedling in its new home, setting it slightly deeper than before. and gently firm soil in and around the roots. Keep these transplants out of the light for a day and improve the humidity with a tent of damp newspapers or a plastic bag. Then return the plants to their light source. Continue to provide the transplants with adequate moisture, up to sixteen hours of light daily. and feed every ten to fourteen days with the soluble fertilizer at full strength. Shelly Paulocik graduated from the University of Guelph in 1979 where she majored in horticulture. She manages the Garden Centre at the Belgrave Co-op on Highway 4.