The colorful picture and notional epithet on the seed bundle at your garden centre lure you to corrupt . But before you get take by and select more varieties than you have infinite to establish , take a minute to read the packets .
You may be surprised to learn that many of the flower and vegetable varieties for sales event are not well suitable to your location . Others do best in a sealed character of soil or refinement conditions or need to be started indoors well in progress of planting .
To serve you take flush and vegetable varieties wisely , you call for to know how to interpret the seed packet boat . Here are some things to look for when buying source .
VARIETY – Most seed packet list the name of the variety and tell you if it is a hybrid . Flowers also are identified as annuals , biennials , or perennials . yearbook are plant that grow , blush , and drop dead in one growing season . Biennials bloom the 2nd year after planting and in general die after anthesis . perennial are those plants which come up class after yr .
DATE – For adept event , corrupt only source that is mob for the current year . The escort is generally stamp on the back flap . Although you might be capable to happen seeds packaged for last year at a discounted price , these are probably not a good bargain . wretched storage circumstance will reduce the viability of seeds . So , unless you know the cum was stored under proper conditions , always buy fresh .
GERMINATION – This pct recite you how many seeds will produce plant under idealistic conditions . However , keep in mind that the long time of the seeds as well as how and when you plant them also will affect germination . For cum sown directly in the ground , the sprouting rate may be about 75 to 85 percent for vigorous come . I with less vigor may only germinate 10 to 50 percent . If you start seed indoors in flat under ideal conditions , count on a slightly high sprouting charge per unit .
cultivation – Most seed packets will contain selective information on how and when to constitute , admit the telephone number of days to seed sprouting and Clarence Day to glean . parcel also will mention spacing requirements , height and spread at maturity , thinning book of instructions , emergence habit , and special cultural considerations .
WEIGHT – Unless you are buying bulk source by weightiness , you’re able to be lead astray by the size and shape of the packaging . Be trusted to check the weight to determine yield and how much to buy . Most mailboat bring home the bacon information on the number of seed , or in some instances , the distance of row the packet will embed . This is particularly of import with higher priced seeds like geranium that may only have five to ten seed per package
interpret THE SEED PACKET
By Dr. Leonard PerryExtension Nursery and Greenhouse Crops SpecialistUniversity of Vermont
