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Index : Vegetable Gardening
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- 13. Seeding Winter Vegetables Directly into the Garden - Top
- With warm weather ushering in the fall gardening season, there is no need to start your vegetable seeds in trays, pots or flats. Just plant them directly into the garden to save time and effort.
Most vegetables for fall and winter planting do just fine grown from seed planted in the garden bed. These seeded types include; lettuce, chard, spinach, carrots, beets, radishes, peas and cabbage.
To have success starting seed directly in the garden, soil preparation is a must! First in the process is to mix lots of organic matter into the soil. The best types are bagged compost, bagged and composted manure, and potting soils high in peat. For the purpose of mixing into the ground, purchase the least expensive and largest bag size of potting or top soil.
Don't skimp on organic matter! Regardless of the type your using, at a minimum mix a 4 inch layer of organic matter into the top 12 inches of soil. If your working the soil for the first time, you will have to remove any rocks and break up any hard chunks of soil. Till the organic matter in with a garden spade or shovel. It is important to loosen the soil and thoroughly mix in the organic matter. The object is to create loose, loamy garden-type soil conducive to the growth of tender vegetable plant roots.
At the time of seed bed preparation, also mix into the top 12 inches of soil a high phosphorous fertilizer, such as ammonium phosphate (16-20-0) at the rate of 2 -3 pounds per 100 square feet of bed area. Phosphorous stimulates root development and the nitrogen (16%) contained in ammonium phosphate will stimulate growth of the cool season leafy vegetables. Other fertilizers containing both nitrogen and phosphorous may be substituted for ammonium phosphate.
After raking and leveling the garden bed, create a smooth surface to plant seeds. The flat side of a garden rake is great for removing small rocks and clumps of soil. Water the bed with a gentle shower of water using a garden hose attachment. Water enough to wet the soil down to a depth of 12 inches.
A smooth seed-bed surface can also be created by spreading a thin layer of sand over the area to be seeded. This is critical for small seeds such as carrots and radishes that must have good contact with fine soil particles to sprout properly.
It is important to plant seeds at the proper depth. Planting too deep will prevent seeds from pushing up through the soil surface. Just barely cover small seeds such as carrots with just one-quarter inch of soil. Medium seeds should be covered no deeper than three-quarter inch. Follow instructions on the seed packet for planting depth and spacing.
Cover seeds with a fine layer of sand or soil. It's best to run soil through a flour sifter to make sure it is finely screened. Sift back and forth over the seeds until the proper coverage has been achieved. For larger seeds it may be necessary to create a furrow to place the seeds in prior to covering.
After the seeds have been covered, water small seeds with a misting bottle to keep from disturbing them or washing them away. Larger seeds can be watered with a gentle shower from a hose attachment. To hold in moisture until the seeds germinate, cover with toilet paper, burlap or newspaper a single sheet thick. Keep the covering moist until the seeds germinate. Toilet paper may be left on. As the seedlings emerge they will push up through it. Burlap or newspaper however must be removed as soon as the seeds germinate.
It is critical not to allow the soil to dry out during seed germination and as the seedlings are growing. This is the most important time for watering! It may be necessary to thin the seedlings to the required spacing. Do this by cutting the excess seedlings off at the ground with a scissors. Do not pull the seedlings up as this could damage the surrounding plants. Continue watering on a regular basis, keeping the soil evenly moist, but not wet.
"Garden Roses" will be the topic for this week's garden demonstrations. They will be presented on Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Pima County Extension Center, 4210 N. Campbell Ave (central); and at 1 p.m. at the Wilmot Library (east), and on Friday at 1 p.m. at the Oro Valley Public Library (northwest).
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona, 520-626-5161.
- Updated: September 28, 2003
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