"Doug Kanter" wrote:

This is the best reason to put a twig in the ground at each end of a row,
run a string between the two, and follow that line when you sow seeds (at
least until you are able to recognize sprouts). Even if a hard rain scatters
some of the seeds, it's unlikely to scatter all of them. The ones near that
straight line are your guide.
Not doing strict rows, but I did leave markers. With some seeds it
would be SO easy to drop them and not even notice. I seeded very
little, 2-3 seeds where I wanted one plant. What a PITA! I used an
eyedropper to suck the seeds up with some water and dropped them where
I wanted. It was time consuming and I got sloppier. Towards the end I
had about 6-8 basil seeds and I wanted just one plant--I think I just
dumped the seeds on the ground. As tedious as it was, I haven't had to
thin much and this new guy popping up is the first weeding I've needed
since I started 5 weeks ago.

We also have had a lot of dreary and wet weather last 2+weeks so rain
runoff washing seeds around was a possibility. I reworked the top 18"
of soil and after 2 weeks it settled unevenly, slopely to the left and
to the center on one side. Unfortunately seeds have been sown so I
can't just throw more dirt down and even it out. After things are
growing off the ground some I can amend the tops and even it out more
to fix the slant.

For shallow seeds, like carrots, sprinkle the row with builder's sand (or
even kids' play sand) after sowing. It'll help keep the soil from crusting
over, and cushion heavy rainfall. For all seeds close to the surface, get a
misting attachment (Dramm makes a brass one that's perfect), and water with
that instead of other methods which may float the seed all over the place.


DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)