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How to Test Old Seeds Before You Plant

Some kinds of seeds must be sown soon after ripening or they will not grow. Others retain their life (viability) from one year to another depending on the conditions under which they are stored. A test for germination can easily be made before planting time by cutting a circle of flannel or paper towel to fit the bottom of a plate.

By marking the material in four divisions, four different kinds of seeds may be tested at one time. The cloth is moistened and ten or 25 seeds placed on each division.

Cover with another plate or with a pane of glass to hold in the moisture. Label each kind of seed planted including the date planted. Inspect the seeds from time to time. Count the number that sprout. If none germinate and the seeds are choice ones, test a second time.

Hardcoated seeds are slow to germinate. Kicking the seeds slightly may enable them to grow. Some seeds may require a period of cool or freezing temperatures. If none grow after giving them ample time for germination, the seeds are probably no good and it would be useless to plant the remainder of the lot.

A farmer may have a bag of seed corn left over, or he may want to test some of his own new crop oats or wheat. The rag doll method is good for such tests. A piece of white cloth 12 by 15 inches is moistened well. A hundred grains are counted and placed on the material.

Lay a piece of waxed paper over the grains and roll up. Place the roll in a plastic bag closed with a rubber band. After five to seven days on a kitchen shelf or counter, inspect the grains to see how many have germinated.

The degree of germination will enable the farmer to determine if the grain is fit for planting. If only a small percentage of the seeds sprout, they should be discarded or larger amounts planted on a given area.

Tests of small lots of seeds are made in which the testing is not done to determine the percentage of germination but to find out whether the seeds will grow. The seeds in this case are not discarded after testing but are kept right on growing.

Lily seeds may be tested by putting them between folds of old nylon hose placed in a shallow container in which a layer of vermiculite moistened with liquid plant food solution has been spread. (Follow directions on the package for making the solution.) Spread a similar layer of vermiculite over the hose.

To inspect the seeds one simply lifts the top portion of the nylon hose. As soon as a good number have gerrninated all can then be easily transferred to flats or to an outside bed. Several lily growers have been soaking lily seeds before planting, both old and new seeds.

Cooled, boiled water is mixed with a bit of soluble fertilizer such as Hyponex. When growing from seeds for lilies, the seeds are placed in small glass jars, each labeled as to variety of seed, and enough solution poured over the seeds to moisten them well.

After a week or ten days, the seeds that germinate can easily be picked out and planted. Those that have not swelled are discarded. Lily seeds that are naturally slow to germinate are soaked for a longer period, 30 to 60 days.

The jars are kept in a light window, but not in the sun.

March 28 2009 | Gardening | No Comments »

Lawn Care And The Right Tools For The Job

It has not been that long ago, that the first blades of grass were cut down about only 150 years ago. During those days people used as grass cutting scythe and did it all by hand, and many were lucky it even worked moderately. Nowadays, there are over a dozen different tools that have been designed that people use to keep their lawns in pristine shape.

The lawn mower is just the most basic of all lawn care tools and it is hard to imagine a living organism that actually needs to be cut and sliced off to be kept healthy. As a professional lawn care worker once said, Grass just likes to be cut, and to accomplish this a good, quality lawnmower is essential.

Though a lawn mower is an expensive investment, if it is taken care of it can last a lifetime. You will need to keep the blade sharpened, the spark plugs clean and the air filter changed if the mower has one, and change the oil as needed.

Keeping your lawn neat and clean is not just a matter of clipping it , you will need to do more than just this alone. You will need a trimmer or edger and there are two types available; an old fashioned two blade model and one that uses a string that gets shot out of the trimmer. Taking the trimmer along the edge of patio bricks, ledges and edges will help maintain the good appearance of your lawn. The string type of trimmer is less expensive and although the string will need to be periodically replaced, it is better at saving time and effort in the long run.

To place fertilizer evenly throughout the lawn and other chemicals and compounds that will keep your lawn free of weeds and looking its best lawn care advice highly recommends the use of a spreader. One of the spreaders available to use almost looks like a smaller lawn mower and has a tub with small holes and a roller to dispense the compounds. A positive fact about this type of spreader is that they are easy to use and they are adjustable for use on different projects. The second type of spreader is a hand-held model, which is usually plastic and has a handle. This type of spreader is perfect for patching small areas of lawn and distributing dry fertilizer.

A rake is also used for much more than just raking up piles of leaves in the fall time, leaves left on the ground can pile up and it can cause the grass to overheat or get to little water. In areas of the country that experience snow, the grass at the end of the season gets compacted and turns into thatch. Blades overlay each other and this results in air not being able to properly reach the soil and while dethatching can be done with a power tool, a rake is also effective. A shovel spade is needing for digging post holes and moving dirt and planting plants, and many other projects you could be doing around the yard.

March 27 2009 | Landscaping | No Comments »