SOWING:
Gardening, Gardening Tips, Urban Farming Sep 10, 2020
Sowing is the process of planting seeds. In sowing, generally little soil is placed over the seeds. It is the process in which we place seeds in the holes or pits at equal predetermined distances and depths.
DIFFERENT METHODS OF SOWING:

- Direct sowing
- Transplanting
A) DIRECT SOWING:
Placing seeds directly into the holes at predetermined depths and distances. It is also called as dibbling.

Advantages:
- Less seeds are required.
- Germination is rapid and uniform.
- Seedling vigor is good.
- Weeding and harvesting is easy.
- Seeds sown evenly at desired rate, gives greater precision.
- Easy maintenance.
Crops which require Sowing are :

LEAFY VEGETABLES-Palak, Methi, Coriander, Amaranthus, Dill, Chakotha, Chilkarve, Gongura, Arave
FRUIT VEGETABLES – Tomato, Bhendi, Brinjal, Chili, Cabbage,Cauliflower,Knolkohl
ROOT VEGETABLES – Carrot, Radish, Beetroot, Onion
CREEPERS– Cucumber, Bitter gourd, Bottle gourd, Ridge gourd, Snake gourd, Creeper Beans, Karamani, Bush beans, Avare
DEPTH OF SOWING:

CROPS | DEPTH |
Fruit vegetables | 1-1.5 inches |
Cabbage, cauliflower, knol khol | 1-1.5 inches |
Root vegetables | 1-1.5 inches |
Leafy vegetables | 1 inch |
creepers | 2-2.5 inches |
TIME OF SOWING:

Time plays the major role as the seed needs the feasible conditions for complete germination for the proper growth.
Sowing can be done in any hours
Number of Vegetable Crops in Different Containers:
Vegetable crops | Evergreen MPB | Square MPB | Medium Grow bag | Large Grow bag |
Tomato | 5 | 3 | 2 | – |
Chilli | 5 | 3 | 2 | – |
Capsicum | 5 | 3 | 2 | – |
Brinjal (LG) | 5 | 3 | 2 | – |
Brinjal (RP) | 5 | 3 | 2 | – |
Cabbage | 12 | 5 | 2 | – |
Cauliflower | 12 | 5 | 2 | – |
Broccoli | 12 | 5 | 2 | – |
Chinese cabbage | 16 | 9 | 4 | – |
Bhendi | 24 | 16 | 10 | – |
Bush beans | 20 | 16 | 6 | – |
Creeper beans | 8 | 3 | – | 2 |
Knol khol | 30 | 20 | 8-10 | – |
Raddish | 40 | 16 | 12-15 | – |
Beetroot | 30 | 16 | 12 | – |
Carrot | 40 | 16 | 12-15 | – |
Onion | 30 | 16 | 12 | – |
Cucumber | 5 | – | – | 2 |
Bottlegourd | 4 | – | – | 2 |
Bittergourd | 6 | – | – | 2 |
Ridgegourd | 5 | – | – | 2 |
Snakegourd | 5 | – | – | 2 |
Flat beans | 5 | – | – | 2 |
Creeper beans | 8 | 3 | – | 2 |
Dolichos beans | 5 | – | – | 2 |
Karamani | 5 | – | – | 2 |
Clusterbeans | 6 | – | – | 2 |
2) TRANSPLANTING:

It is the process of moving a fully germinated seedling i.e with 2 to 3 true leaf stages to the permanent growing container.
It is mainly done for crops like tomato, cabbage, brinjal, cauliflower, lettuce, parsley, pakchoi, celery, Chinese cabbage, which needs shallow spacing
- Eg : a) Brinjal takes 8 to 10 days for germination and 6th to 8th week is the optimum age for transplanting.
b) Tomato takes 7 to 10 days for germination and 5th to 6th week is the optimum age for transplanting.

NOTE:
1. In gourds(creepers) , the sowing should be done vertically by identifying the root and shoot portion to obtain proper germination of seeds.
2. If a plastic sheet is placed over the protray, it will germinate sooner due to excess heat.
Keywords :
Seeds, sowing, transplanting, spacing, germination, sapplings, dibbling, container, vegetables, selection of seeds
Write up by:
Kavita B M
(BSc.Agri)