Time to sow seeds

Amarjeet  Batth

As the rainy season comes to an end mid-September onward,  humidity levels decrease and the night temperature falls. This is the time to plan and grow seeds of the winter annuals. The seedlings get ready within three to four weeks and are transplanted in the flower-beds or pots between mid-October and mid-November. The flowers start blooming from December onward and continue flowering till March.

Procuring seeds 

Seeds are either stored from the last year’s crop or can be purchased from the market. Prefer buying hybrid seeds of long duration flowering annuals.

Growing seedlings

If you are planning to grow seedlings, then prepare small raised nursery beds of about 15-20 cm high and 60- 90 cm wide under partial sunlight location.  This should be done to avoid water logging. A nursery medium can be prepared by taking: one part of soil, one part of river sand, one part of well-rotten farmyard manure and one part of leaf mold. Add DAP 30 grams per sq m and mix these thoroughly. Pass through a wire mesh to break the lumps. Drench the nursery medium with 0.2% bavistin to take care of soil born diseases. Alternatively, earthen or wooden pans can also be used to germination of seeds. The nursery medium must be moist before the seeds are sown. Tiny seeds of petunia can be mixed with small quantity of sand for even broadcast. Other seeds should be sown in rows 4-6 cm apart at a depth of 0.5-1 cm depending on the seed size. Mist the nursery bed immediately using a hand spray pump. Chloropyrofos 20 EC powder can be dusted along the borders of the nursery beds to prevent ants to carry away he seeds. Thereafter, the bed should be covered with a news paper or ‘sarkanda’ and kept moist throughout by regular misting till the seeds germinate in two weeks. Uncover the nursery beds as soon as the seeds germinate.

Preparing flower beds

The flower bed should be weed free, well drained and at a sunny location. In a hundred square feet area (10’X10’) put six to seven baskets (or 5-6 kg) of mature well-decomposed farmyard manure and DAP 500 grams. Mix the ingredients thoroughly. A good leveled bed prevents leaching of nutrients to low lying areas. 

Handling seedlings

The seedlings are ready for transplanting at 3-4 pair of leaves stage. Transplantation must be done in the evening.  While gently removing the seedlings from soil one should ensure that the soil around the delicate roots remains attached.