Proper Transplant
Care Contributes
To A Healthy Garden
ardeners interested in grow
ling a productive garden
M cannot afford to he lazy
when it comes to transplants. Ac
cording to Larry Bass, extension
horticultural specialist at North
Carolina state University, strong
transplants contribute to a healthy
garden.
To improve the health of your
transplants, Bass offers these sug
gestions.
First, sterilize the growing media
you use for the transplants. This
will prevent the seedlings from be
ing killed by the fungus that causes
damping-off disease. Vou can pre
pare a goodgrowing mix by com
bining one part good garden soil,
one part shredded peat moss and
one part sharp sand. Sterilize the
mix by baking it in an oven for ap
proximately one hour at 210 de
grees.
Other types of growing media
can Ik bought at local garden cen
ters or from seed auu g.udcn supply
catalogs, the specialist said.
The most widely available seed
starting medium is vermiculite,
which is sterile when purchased.
However, Bass warns, seedlings
cannot be grown in vermiculite for
very long because it contains no nu
trients. The seedlings must be given
a water-soluble fertilizer regularly
or transplanted to sterile soil when
Troubleshooter's Guide To Composting
m Compost has a bad odor.
Problem: Not enough air. Solution? Turn it.
? Compost is damp and warm in the middle but
nowhere else.
Problem: Pile too small. Solution: Collect more
material and mix old ingredients into a new pile.
? Heap is damp and sweet-smelling but still will
not heat up.
Problem: Lack, of nitrogen. Solution: Mix in a nitrogen
source like fresh manure, bloodmeal, grass clippings.
the second pair of true leaves form.
Concerning containers suitable
for transplant growth. Bass said
they should he clean, sturdy and fit
into the space available for growing
plants in the home. All of the con
tainers must have drainage holes to
allow the excess water to run off.
W<*w1<>n flats and plastic trays
are good choices for starting a large
number of seedlings in a limited
work area. Other popular containers
are pots made of compressed peat,
disks of pressed peat that swell to
pot-like cylinders when soaked in
water, and peat cubes.
Some of the simplest containers
can be found in the kitchen, such as
aluminum foil frozen food trays,
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cottage cheese dishes, bottom
halves of milk cartons, ice cream
cartons anil paper cups.
Once the seeds have germinated,
they must have sufficient sunlight.
Place them on a sun porch or a win
dow with a southern exposure if
possible. If bright sunlight is un
available, use fluorescent lights.
It you use fluorescent lights, a
fixture containing two 40-watt cool
white fluorescent tubes spaced
three to four inches apart is suffi
cient. Place the seedlings six to
eight inches from the tubes and
leave the light on for 14-16 hours a
day. As the plants grow, be sure to
raise the lights to prevent leaf burn.
Bass said.
Water on the basis of touch, and
check the pots daily to make sure
they are kept moist.
To fertilize the seedlings, use a
water-soluble house plant fertiii/er
such as 20-20-20. The first fertiliza
tion should take place a few days
alter the seedlings h;ive emerged.
For the first application, use the fer
tilizer at half-strength. If the seed
lings look yellow, fertilizer is need
ed. the specialist said.
Before being placed in the gar
den, the plants should be "hard
ened-off." a process that toughens
the pkints to withstand the outside
environment. This usually should
be done over a two-week period, he
said. Harden the plants by setting
them outside during the day and
bringing them in at night. Be carefi
il not to let them get caught in a
frost.
J&o
31Wn ?- forden ?
?s^ 1 OL W L* <r>
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