Chapter XV: The Outdoor Seed-Bed

“LET me see,” said Billy. “What lesson is this?”

“It’s the fourth lesson,” Mary Frances counted on her fingers. “I remember perfectly.”

“Right you are,” replied Billy, rising and bowing; “and I shall begin this lecture by reciting a little piece of poetry, called—

TWO LITTLE ACORNS

Two little acorns
Sitting on a stem—
One little acorn
Says, “Ahem!”
Other little acorn
Says, “Oh-ho!
I wonder, now,
What makes us grow?

“I don’t know,
But this I see;
It must be someone
Wiser than we.”
Other little acorn
Says, “Oh-ho!
Indeed, indeed,
That must be so!”

Billy made a deep bow, and Mary Frances clapped her hands; then Billy opened his note book, cleared his throat, and began:

GARDEN LESSON No. 4

THE OUTDOORS SEED-BED

Having found how to get the outdoors seed-bed ready, we
will next learn how to plant the seed.

Of course, you have made your list of the seeds needed,
and have received them from the dealer.

If possible, it is best to run the planting of the rows
or drills north and south so that _the sun will shine_
upon the rows of plants all day, from the east in the
mornings; from the west in the afternoons.

You will need a garden line to make a straight first
row.

TO MAKE A GARDEN LINE

1. Cut two sticks about as large around as a broom
handle, each eighteen inches long.

2. Point the ends so that they may be easily stuck into
the ground.

3. Tie one end of a strong twenty-five foot cord to
each stick. Roll the cord on the stick.

TO USE THE GARDEN LINE

1. Decide where you wish the first row of plants to
grow.

2. Push the stick, not having the roll of cord, down
into the ground at the end of this imaginary row.

3. With the other stick in hand walk back, unrolling
the cord until you reach the other end of the imaginary
row of little plants. Try to make this row very
straight, as all the other rows will be measured from
it.

By the way, this row should be quite near the edge of
the bed, so that you will not have to step on the loose
“feathery” soil.

4. Drive the other stick down into the earth, drawing
the cord tight.

PLANTING IN DRILLS

1. Prepare the rake to mark the little rows, or drills,
for the seed. Have ready three good-sized corks. Stick
the middle tooth of the rake half way through one cork.

2. Do the same to the two end teeth.

3. Run one end tooth of the rake along the stretched
garden line keeping all the teeth parallel with the
line. Continue to use the rake across the entire bed.
This is a convenient method of getting straight rows.
Make the drills (hollows) about a half inch deep.

BROADCASTING

Seed are often not sowed in “drills,” but are
“broadcast;” where plants are to be thinned out when
they come up, and not to be transplanted, the _drills_
are better.

_Broadcasting_ is throwing the seeds lightly over the
surface of the ground, so that each will fall a little
way apart from the other, like sprinkling with pepper
from a pepper shaker.

COVERING THE SEEDS

After the seeds are sown, draw the earth lightly over
them either with your hands or with the back of the
rake. It is best to sow seeds just before a rain,
except when the seeds are very small; then, just after
a rain. If there is no rain, sprinkle lightly, but
thoroughly dampen the earth.

Pat the earth down gently with the palms of your hands
or with a board.

A board is much the better if seed has been broadcast.

The reason? Oh, yes, the reason is that the soil will
be too light and airy unless firmed.

The little seed rootlets need close-packed light earth,
with no lumps. Just imagine how tiny they are, and how
near to them must be the tiny grains of sand for them
to take hold on.

TO MARK THE BEDS

After the seeds are planted, drive down at the ends of
the first and last rows little stakes, marked with the
names of the kind of seed planted in the section.

“Perhaps you think you will remember what kinds of seed you’ve planted; but one is never certain. Once I thought I had planted carrots and when the plants grew, I had beets. It is not safe to try to remember.

“So much, then, for how to put seed babies into their beds.

“By and by, they are going to wake up, and we must understand how to take care of them. The best way to learn how to take care of them is to find out what they are, and what they need.”