LAST WEEK we. talked
about bringing some scents
back to the garden with the
addition of a few fragrant,
winter-blooming plants.

Geoff
Tobiasson

OVER THE GARDEN GATE

Though common sénse seems to
indicate that most good scents
have little in common with good
sense, I thought it only sensible to
drag it out as a‘segue for this
week’s effort: Bringing. Some
Cents Back tc the, Garden —
Starting the Garden From Seed. °

With the nightly news droning
on about our current crisis in con-
sumer confidence, many of us are
‘suffering from aa over-sensitive
pocketbook. Starting plants from
seed can help on two fronts.

Besides the obvious matter of
dollars and cents, how do you ex-

pect to fifi your time now that you.

can no longer afford that golf
vacation? This is a perfect oppor-
tunity for: you to introduce

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_ planting

yourself to the immense satisfac-
tion that can be obtained by
growing piants from seed.

First, let me go over a few
basics lest 1 make it sound too
simple.

There are already many out
there who use the limited successes
of the past as justification never
to try again. Most of these people
went into it thinking that all thar
was needed was a bare patch of
ground, a few seeds and a let-
nature-take-its-course attitude.

Unfortunately, in nature most *

seeds fai] to germinate and, even
if they do, most of the seedlings
quickly fall victim to disease, in-
sect attack or common neglect.

A seed is defined as an em-

‘ ‘bryonic plant in a dormant condi-

tion, requiring only the right en-
vironmental conditions to stimu-
late it into growth and develop-
ment. As such, it could be called
the gardener’s perfect do-it-
yourself kit. It comes complete
with all that is necessary to start a
new plant. Al! you do is add
water’ and ‘“‘presto,’? a baby
petunia.

. Until you allow it to die, that
is.

The act of bringing the dor-
mant, embryonic plant out of its
seed state is called germination.
This is brought about by allowing
the seed to have the proper
amounts of moisture and air at a
temperature. Water is
most important, although it alone
will not ensure germination. Too
much water and not enough air or
too low a temperature will cause
the seed to remain in dormancy
and eventually rot.

The implications of this become
apparent when following the
instructions for the

environment

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A e36

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A SEED is defined as an embryonic plant in a dormant condition, requiring only the right en-

vironmental conditions to stimulate it into growth and development.

various seeds we try to grow in
the garden. The common pea, as
an example, can and should be
planted directly into the soil in
late February or early March at a
depth of one to two inches. This
will result in a nice crop of fresh

peas some time in the summer.

Try the same thing with the
seed of impatiens and you will be
buying your replacement plants by
June.

Peas require little oxygen and
slow germination in damp, cool

conditions. Impatiens seed, on the
other hand, must receive more
oxygen; therefore it is spread over
the surface of the soil rather than
entirely covered. This need for
good air circulation also means
that the soil and surrounding air
must remain moist and humid
rather than damp or wet as.wet
soils drive out all the oxygen.
Lastly, soil temperatures must
femain at a constant 21° to 23°C
(70° to 74°F) as compared to the
5°C (41°F) that the pea finds toi-

erable.

As you can see, all plants have
different minimum requirements
and tolerances for the germination
of their respective seeds.

The key to successfully growing
your garden from seed is un-
derstanding what these minimurns
are and doing your best to meet
them. .

Next week, I will offer some
suggestions for starting some of
the seeds that are best germinated
indoors.

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