After
This was traditionally done by gardeners using the back of a rake or even by walking on the soil after planting, but it is now considered detrimental to the soil.
What is firming the soil?
This is the main risk when watering too heavily, as seeds can be washed away and result in this kind of patch in the seedbed.
What is a bare patch?
This method of pre-emergence weeding uses a flame to kill weeds just before crop seedlings appear, and is particularly used for crops like Carrot, Parsley, and Parsnip.
What is flame weeding?
This is the typical range of days it takes for most crop seedlings to emerge after sowing.
What is 3 to 28 days?
This practice involves removing crowded, damaged, or inferior plants to allow the best ones to thrive.
What is thinning?
This practice involves writing the name, variety, and planting date of your crops and placing it in the bed after planting to keep track of your garden.
What is labeling?
A general rule for watering seedbeds is to water when this percentage of the surface has dried out.
What is 50%?
This technique involves lightly scraping a spring rake across the bed a few days before seedlings are expected to emerge, killing any already emerged weeds without harming the crop.
What is raking or spring raking?
This is a common issue in direct sowing where some areas of a bed are sown too thinly while others are too thick, making the germination process unpredictable.
What is uneven sowing or irregular sowing?
The best time to do this is on cloudy days or in the evening, when the soil is moist. It's also important to do it early, especially if plants are very crowded.
What is thinning and weeding?
This practice should be done before planting your crops, especially if the plants will need support structures like stakes, cages, or trellises, to avoid damaging young plants.
What is setting up support?
Clue: This is the term for the harmful condition that occurs when the soil is excessively watered, leading to the seeds being deprived of oxygen.
What is waterlogging?
This method of pre-emergence weeding involves covering the seed drill with opaque paper, then removing the paper just before the seedlings emerge, exposing and killing weed seedlings that have already germinated.
What is sowing seeds under tape?
If a bed has sparse emergence, one option to address it is to do this, but it can be time-consuming for slower germinating seeds.
What is re-sowing the thin areas?
After thinning, this action should be done to help the remaining plants recover and to ensure they don’t suffer from root damage.
What is watering the plants?
This gardening technique is recommended over firming the soil, as it ensures good seed-to-soil contact without compacting the ground.
What is watering the beds?
When the surface of the soil grows a green coat of this, it can indicate over-watering, though it's usually not a serious problem.
What is algae?
This crop benefits from raking or spring raking even after its shoots have emerged because it is not harmed by these actions when still small.
What is Corn?
If a crop tolerates transplanting, this is an option to fix sparse emergence by moving plants from denser areas to thin ones.
What is transplanting?
As seedlings grow, gardeners reduce the frequency of watering but water more deeply to encourage this behavior in the plants.
What is deep root growth?
This is a backup practice for when your garden labels get lost or moved by curious pets or children, ensuring you still know what you've planted and when.
What is keeping a garden journal?
A sign of over-watering that can affect seedbed quality is when this happens to the soil, preventing proper air exchange.
What is soil sealing?
This type of crop, typically slow-growing and less competitive, is especially suited for flame weeding as a pre-emergence control method.
What is Carrot?
This is an option for sparse emergence if you prefer to accept the uneven growth and not intervene too much.
What is living with it?
Some gardeners thin in this many stages to ensure plants grow well, especially if pests like slugs are a concern.
What is three stages?