When y’all get back from your summer vacations, it’ll be time to start sowing seeds for your fall garden. Here are a few tips that may help things germinate more easily:
1. To help seeds germinate fast, soak them in water overnight, which will coax them out of dormancy.
2. If you can’t plant your plumped-up seeds right after a drenching rain, thoroughly water the bed or row the day before putting them in the ground.
3. To further insulate seeds from the drying effects of strong sun, it helps to plant the seeds slightly deeper than you would if planting them in spring. One trick that works every time is to plant seeds in a slightly recessed furrow, water well, and then cover the seeded furrow with a board for three to four days.
4. When sowing in wide beds, shade the seeds with an old blanket or a piece of wood lattice held aloft over the bed with bricks for several days.
5. The repeated watering needed to get seeds up and growing sometimes causes a crust to form over germinating seeds, slowing or blocking their timely emergence.
6. A light sprinkling of grass clippings will help prevent crusting, or you can cover seeds with potting soil or screened compost to keep the surface crust-free.
The sun is still a hot bother here on Skidaway in late August so bear these tips in mind when considering when to start seeds in your plot! (7/30/12)
