An ounce of seed will sow fifty feet of drill. If
the soil is light, cover the seed one inch deep; if heavy, half an
inch; pack the ground lightly, and cover the drill with a good
dusting of that fine compost we spoke of, or any fine manure. This
gives the young plants a good send-off. By the use of the hoe and
hand-weeding keep them scrupulously clean during the growing
season, and when the tops are killed by frost mow them off. I
should advise sowing two or three seeds to the inch, and then when
the plants are three inches high, thinning them out so that they
stand four inches apart. You thus insure almost the certainty of
good strong plants by autumn; for plants raised as directed are
ready to be set out after one season's growth, and by most
gardeners are preferred.
In most instances good plants can be bought for a small sum from
nurserymen, who usually offer for sale those that are two years
old. Strong one-year-olds are just as good, but under ordinary
culture are rarely large enough until two years of age. I would
not set out three-year-old plants, for they are apt to be stunted
and enfeebled. You can easily calculate how many plants you
require by remembering that the rows are to be three feet apart,
and the plants one foot apart in the row.
Now, whether you have raised the plants yourself, or have bought
them, you are ready to put them where they will grow, and yield to
the end of your life probably.
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