Chapter 8 Part 1
Plant your seeds and starts, making sure that you,
A) Plant seeds at a depth equal to their size i.e. bigger seeds get more soil cover.
B) Orient your seeds/starts with drip locations to provide the best odds for early success.
C) Keep any unplanted areas of soil covered/protected from the elements.
Note:
- Bonemeal/rock phosphate provide phosphorous to help starts to root up.
- Pole beans need poles to support them/bush beans don’t need support
Materials:
- Seeds/starts
- Small shovel
- Cardboard or sacks as ground cover
- Bonemeal/rock phosphate
- Lime
- Eggshells & cages (if you’re planting tomatoes)
- Poles/trellis if you’re planting pole beans or climbing peas
- Cardboard/sacks to cover the soil
Chapter 8 Part 2
Continue planting using the following tips and tricks,
- Space plants based on their adult/future size – some plants can be spaced every foot but some (tomatoes, cabbages etc) need to be every 2 feet.
- Crushed eggshells are good in the hole when planting tomato starts.
- Plant tomato starts deep, use cages, pack the soil tightly around ALL starts.
- Plants that sprawl are best at the ends of the beds i.e. cucumbers/squash.
- Volunteer plants are likely vigorous (don’t save squash family volunteers b/c of cross-pollination!).
- Seeds need moisture and warmth for germination (not light) so you can cover the seeds until they sprout!
Materials:
- Seeds/starts
- Small shovel
- Cardboard or sacks as ground cover
- Bonemeal/rock phosphate
- Lime
- Eggshells & cages (if you’re planting tomatoes)
- Poles/trellis if you’re planting pole beans or climbing peas
- Cardboard/sacks to cover the soil
Chapter 8 Part 3
As we continue to plant, keep the following tips in mind,
- Carrots & onions are good companions.
- Reseeding lettuces gives you fresh salads through the growing season.
- Parsnip seeds need to be fresh to germinate.
- Planting middle rows in the bed first is easier.
- Sprinkle lime on the soil if you have wet winters – it will help neutralize the soil pH.
- Cardboard blows away in wind, it needs to be held down.
- Potatoes are the easiest to plant!
- Soil needs to be heaped on potatoes as they grow to keep the sun off.
Materials
- Seeds/starts
- Small shovel
- Cardboard or sacks as ground cover
- Bonemeal/rock phosphate
- Lime
- Eggshells & cages (if you’re planting tomatoes)
- Poles/trellis if you’re planting pole beans or climbing peas
- Cardboard/sacks to cover soil
Chapter 8 Part 4
As we finish planting, keep in mind the importance of visualizing your bed ahead of time! A little work now saves a lot of time later!
Materials
- Seeds/starts
- Small shovel
- Cardboard or sacks as ground cover
- Bonemeal/rock phosphate
- Lime
- Eggshells & cages (if you’re planting tomatoes)
- Poles/trellis if you’re planting pole beans or climbing peas
- Cardboard/sacks to cover soil
