Some vegetables are to be planted in spring, and it is important for us to know how to start bedding plants. I'd like to share my experience of bedding vegetables here.
First of all, I select seeds and do some primed treatments. I think, the most important thing of this procedure is to select healthy seeds. Of course, the time must be the right time for them to be planted. In the procedure of soaking, the temperature should be controlled between 131F to 140F. I have the dry seeds soaked for 15 minutes in warm water, stirring constantly, and then soak them in water of 82-86F about six hours. After that, I use a piece of wet cloth to pack the seeds. I think that the temperature in the daytime should be 77-86F, and at night 64-68F.
Then, according to my experience, the soil for the bedding should be disinfected, 50 - 80g of fungicide for per cubic meter of soil to guard against damping-off disease and other kind of diseases. Each vegetable requires a certain depth of the soil. The main idea is that we should not make it hard for the seeds to grow out of the soil. That's the thumb tip from me. If sunshine is too bright and strong, I would make a light shade for them; and if it is rainy, I would try to use some lights once I find it is necessary. Also, the soil should be well watered, and we need to check the temperature of the water to make sure that it goes with the temperature for planting primed seeds.
When there are two leaves above the earth, it is the time to get them transferred to our garden. We need to water them every three or four days. Remove the weeds, if there is any. The soil should be loose, and the moisture of it should be appropriate. We should pay special attention to the temperature and humidity, for they are fatal to the seedlings. I had one very bad experience. Once, I planted some cucumber primed seeds, and there was a sudden change of the climate. The temperature changed dramatically, which led to the waste of all of my efforts. Just a few plants of them survived.
We should cultivate them very patiently and carefully. One acre of vegetables requires the efforts of one hundred acre of grains, I think.
