This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Last week, we told how to choose a place for a home garden andhow to prepare the soil. Now we discuss planting the seeds.
Planting seeds directly into theground can save time and effort over starting them in containers.First, though, you must till the garden. Digging and turning overthe ground loosens the soil. Remove rocks or anything else that willblock young plants or roots.
Make sure the soil contains some water, but not too much. Seedsshould be planted to a depth of about three to four times theirlength. If they are planted too deeply, they will not grow.
Some vegetables, like carrots and lettuce, have very small seeds.This makes it difficult to space them evenly in a line. Combinesmall seeds with a little soil to make a mixture that is easy tospread.
Use a tool to dig a straight row in the soil. Plant small seedsby pouring the mixture along the row. Then cover the seeds withenough soil to protect them from strong sun and to keep them cooland wet, but not too wet.
When young seedlings come up, make sure they are spaced asdirected by the seed manufacturer or an expert. Remove plants thatare too close together. This process is called thinning. Removeextra plants when they have grown two sets of leaves. This may seemlike a waste. But removing extra plants permits the rest to producea bigger, healthier crop.
You can plant larger seeds in groups of about five. By plantingseveral seeds together, you can choose the best seedling and removethe others. This method is especially important if you are plantingolder seeds. The older the seeds, the more you must plant. Corn,eggplant, melons, squash and tomato seeds do best when planted ingroups this way.
Some plants do best when they are planted in wide rows. Theserows can be from twenty-five to seventy-five centimeters wide.Spread the seeds around the wide row. Cover them lightly with soil.Onions, radishes, carrots, beets, lettuce, peas and beans grow bestwith this method.
With some plants, wide rows can produce a larger crops andrequire less work. The closer grouping limits the space for weeds,or unwanted plants, to grow.
Next week, we discuss how to care for and harvest crops.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by MarioRitter. Our thanks to Larry Bass from the North Carolina StateUniversity Extension Service for his expert advice.