Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
The same applies for crops in the fall garden. In the late
season, broccoli can be direct seeded, but giving it a
four-week head start by growing seedlings inside and then
transplanting them will accelerate the harvest.
One place where I have used this technique to good effect is
with a crop that most authors will tell you not to transplant:
corn. Grown on the agribusiness scale, seed for sweet corn is
usually coated with a fungicide to keep it from rotting in the
ground. Seed corn is prone not just to rot but to being eaten
by wire worms. In addition, it doesn't all germinate at the
same time. On a very large scale, this all evens out. But on a
small scale—say growing 48 plants in a 4-foot × 8-foot raised
bed—it can be a problem. Transplanting seedlings is an ideal
solution.
What I do is start 64 seedlings indoors about two weeks
before the first frost-free date. It's important to not try any
longer than two weeks because corn grows a taproot, and
after that, transplant shock can be too great. After two weeks,
some may not have germinated, and some will be taller than
others. What I do is pick the 48 most uniform plants and
transplant them into the bed. I keep the others handy for a
week just in case cut worms or some similar pest strikes.
You can use this technique for most crops outside of root
crops. By starting from seed indoors, you gain an advantage
of anywhere from two to six weeks.
Example Timeline
The following table is part of the calendar for my own
mini-farm in New Hampshire, so the exact dates may not
