Starting Fall Vegetables from Seed

Autumn Gardens Offer Quality Produce

Sep 15, 2009 Robert Dailey

Gardeners know the secrets of making seeds grow in the fall. They also know that many vegetables grow just as easily from seed as they do from seedlings.

Good seeds, well-prepared garden beds, proper watering use of compost, and ruthless thinning are some of the secrets.

Quality Vegetable Seeds

Look for guarantees from the seed company. Companies that produce the best seeds guarantee them. They certify that the seeds are fresh and free of disease. If the seeds don’t germinate, a reputable company will replace them or refund your money.

Seeds purchased from a reliable company will also have a longer shelf live. If you don’t use all the seeds this year, save them in a cool, dry place and use them next year. In fact, good seed can be stored for several years if they are stored properly.

Check Old Vegetable Seeds for Viability

Some vegetable seeds do not store well. Corn, onions and parsley are several. An easy test exists to determine if saved seeds are viable. Lay down three or four sheets of paper towels, place a number of seeds (10 or 15) on them, and then cover with several other paper towels. Dampen the paper towels with water. Don’t apply too much water. The paper should feel like a wrung out sponge. Take everything and place it in a plastic bag and put it on top of the refrigerator. Check the paper towels every few days and add water if needed. After a week or 10 days, open the package and see how many seeds have germinated. If less than 70 percent of the seeds germinate, it’s probably time to throw the remainder of the seeds out and buy a new supply of seeds.

Preparing Vegetable Seed Beds

• Straight rows. This is the most common method of planting seeds. It’s simply a straight row, into which a furrow has been dug along the top. Spaces between the rows are used for the gardener to access the crops for weeding, irrigating, insect control and harvesting. Seeds are placed in the furrow and then are covered with the required amount of soil. Most seed packets describe how deep to plant seeds. While straight row beds are easy for the gardener to access, it’s doesn’t make efficient use of garden areas, especially small areas.
• Wide Beds – These beds are used for smaller vegetables where scattered seed produces more than furrow planting. Radishes, carrots, beets and lettuce are some plants that do well in wide bed gardens. Wide beds use space, sunlight and nutrients more efficiently. However getting to the plants make the gardening a little more difficult than straight row planting. Wide row beds generally require hand weeding.
• Square-Foot Gardening – Popularized on television, square foot gardening is very similar to wide bed gardening. The process is incredibly efficient for smaller spaces. Unlike wide bed gardening, seed is not scattered. Instead one-foot squares provide individual plant beds. A raised bed is required for square-foot gardening. A simple box made of four pieces of wood, and filled with soil will suffice.
• Planting Vegetables on Hills – Crops like squash, melons, pumpkins and other vine crops do well planted on hills. The hills allow the vine roots to grow out from the plant, accessing more water and nutrients.

The copyright of the article Starting Fall Vegetables from Seed in Desert/Water-wise Gardens is owned by Robert Dailey. Permission to republish Starting Fall Vegetables from Seed in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Fall cabbage