Читать книгу The 20-30 Something Garden Guide - Dee Nash - Страница 30

On the left is a tag you can cut out to attach to a wooden plant stake for I.D., if you like. If you do, cover it with adhesive, waterproof tape. I tend to use plastic markers instead and just write the variety on them; partly because I rarely use the entire package of seeds in one go. However, on this tag, BI lists all kinds of pertinent information like how deep to sow the seeds and when to thin them. They even tell you how far apart to thin your tiny plants.

On the right side, they explain how ‘Red Sails’ grows and that it makes a great patio container variety. This package will plant eight 10-foot rows. That’s a whole lotta lettuce. Note, most people don’t use the entire package, and if they do, lettuce seeds are very small. You usually have to thin them when direct sown. So, unless you use a small-seed planter, like a dial seed sower, you probably won’t get eight 10-foot rows. I think there are better things to do in life than worry about spacing tiny lettuce seeds, but that’s just me.

Below this information, they tell you it is recommended to sow ‘Red Sails’ seeds directly outdoors. Plants often have a preference about how they want to be sown. Some like indoors, or they take too long to grow in one season unless you start them early. On the bottom of the packet you see the sell-by date and when the seed was packed. Don’t stop there, either. Inside the packet is more information about your lettuce.

Check out Renee's seeds, too. And the grandfather of seed companies, Burpee, whose seed packets give all their information in English and Spanish. They also include a zone map showing when plants should be grown in your area.

Confession: It took me a very long time to attempt seeds. I think I feared failure. Don’t let nerves stop you from growing plants from seed. It can be very rewarding to grow an entire plant from something no bigger than a grain of rice. I wish I had possessed the courage to start sooner!

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