PLANTING FROM SEEDS IN THE GARDEN

Direct-seeding straight into the garden is the easiest and least expensive way to grow vegetables. But you may not have the sort of climate that will let you direct-seed some vegetables; the seedlings may take longer to grow, making them a lot more susceptible to weather conditions than transplants grown indoors.
The vegetables to grow from seed are those that will mature within the span of your growing season and those that don't like to be transplanted. If your growing season will accommodate them, all these vegetables do well grown from seed in your garden: beans, beets, carrots, collards, corn, cucumbers, dandelions, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, okra, peas, peanuts, pumpkins, rutabagas, soybeans, spinach, squash, turnips, and watermelons.
Preparing the soil for direct-seeding Soil preparation is the key to successful planting. The first step is to dig up and turn over the soil to a depth of eight to 12 inches—hard work, but a good way to spend a crisp, early spring day. It's important that the soil is neither too wet nor too dry when you dig. Soil that's too wet will compact or form into large clumps that will be so hard when they dry out that nothing short of a sledgehammer will break them. If the soil is too dry, the topsoil will just blow away. Before you get into a good day's digging, pick up a handful of soil and squeeze it; if it forms into a ball that will hold together, yet crumbles easily, the soil is ready to work.
Adding organic matter. Organic matter enriches the soil and improves its ability to control moisture, so add organic matter in the spring to benefit the new season's crop. If you planted a green manure or cover crop in the fall to protect the topsoil, dig it all back into the soil now as organic matter. Do the same if you laid mulch over the soil instead of planting a cover crop; dig the mulch in as you turn the soil. You can also dig in compost that has been simmering nicely
all winter.
Fertilizing. You should fertilize your vegetable garden twice a year. As part of your spring soil preparation, dig in a complete, well-balanced fertilizer (10-10-10 or a similar formulation) at the rate of one pound per 100 square feet or 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Work the fertilizer evenly into the soil. This application will keep your plants supplied with nutrients until about halfway through the
growing season. Then you'll apply the same fertilizer at the same rate, but instead of spreading it over the whole area you'll side-dress by distributing the fertilizer in trenches between the rows of plants.
Removing obstacles. When you're preparing the soil, remove all stones, rocks, and lumps, and all the assorted debris that has accumulated over the winter. This is especially important if you're planting root crops, because they'll fork and split if they have to contend with large obstacles; but all seeds do better in well-worked soil. Just before planting, rake the seedbeds smooth and level off the surface by drawing the back of your rake across the soil.
Spacing and sowing the seeds Sowing seeds sounds like a straightforward procedure; but like most of your other gardening activities, there's a procedure to follow to ensure success. One of the easiest mistakes to make is to plant the seeds too deep—or to assume that all seeds are planted at the same depth.
How deep you plant seeds depends on their size; They need only enough soil to cover them and supply moisture for germination, and seeds that are buried too deep may not be able to struggle through the soil surface. The planting guide at the end of this chapter tells you exactly how deep to plant seeds of each vegetable variety. The rule of thumb is that seeds should be covered up to twice their diameter at their largest point. That means if a seed is half an inch in diameter, plant it an inch deep; if the seeds are so small you can hardly see them, just press them into the surface of the soil. After you've set seeds at the correct depth, firm the soil by tamping it with your hands or (gently) with your foot. This prevents the soil from drying out too fast; it also helps keep rain from washing away both the soil and the seeds.
Spacing seeds is critical, because if plants are forced to grow too close together they may produce a poor yield or no yield at all. If the seeds are large enough to handle, like beans and peas, it's fairly easy to space them correctly. With tiny seeds or seeds vining crops like cucumbers, melons, squash, and watermelons. Keep an eye out for these pests and hand-pick or wash them off the plants quickly, or spray the plants with carbaryl before they can spread disease. Detailed information on pest control and disease prevention is given in "Keeping Your Garden Healthy."
Don't let your seedlings die of thirst. Adequate watering is essential to young plants in their early stages of growth. Be careful when you water your seedlings, because a forceful blast of water can damage them permanently or even wash them right out of the ground, but be generous. Water to a depth of six to eight inches to encourage deep rooting and stronger growth. If your area is likely to have heavy rains when you're waiting for the seeds to germinate, apply a very light mulch over the seedbed — this will also help to retain the moisture that's in the soil. Don't overdo the mulch or put it on so thickly that the germinating seeds can't push through it.
Give plants room to grow. Thinning is another essential task in the early stages of the seedlings' development. Refer to the planting guide at the end of this chapter for specific instructions on spacing each variety. Thin when the plants are young — when they have formed two true leaves. If you wait too long they may already have suffered from being overcrowded. Thinning is a job that a lot of gardeners do with some reluctance. It seems wasteful to throw out all the extra little seedlings, but if you don't do it you're condemning all your plants to overcrowding and a miserable existence fighting for food, light, and water. You're also defeating your own purpose, because overcrowded plants will give you a poor crop.