The Cupertino Courier

Gardening

Seeds planted early could end up as snacks for snails

By Tony Tomeo

It is still rather early to be planting seed for warm-season vegetables like beans, black-eyed peas, corn, cucumbers, melons and squash. Planting them early will not get them growing any faster when the weather gets warmer. They will only germinate while weather is still cool, and grow slower than they can get eaten by snails. For the same reason, it is too early to plant seedlings of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.

However, it is not too early to start vegetable seedlings in flats in the home or a greenhouse, or even a sheltered warm spot in the garden. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant are typically planted as seedlings because it is so much easier than planting their seed directly in the garden, and because only a few plants of each are needed. Cucumbers, melons and squash are very easy to grow from seed directly in the garden, but are also easily planted as seedlings.

When it comes time to plant vegetable seedlings, it is convenient and inexpensive to purchase the necessary seedlings in the nursery or garden center. A single six-pack of tomato plants, for example, does not cost much more than a package of tomato seed but provides about all the plants that one garden needs, and they are ready to plant. A package of seed costs only a bit less, but need to be sown and grown for a few weeks before getting planted in the garden.

The advantage to growing vegetable seedlings from seed is that there are many more varieties available as seed than there are as seedlings. Nurseries and garden centers typically stock only a few different types of tomatoes, fewer peppers and even fewer eggplant. Their seed racks, though, have many more varieties to choose from. Seed catalogs have so many choices that it is difficult to decide which ones to grow. Many vegetable varieties are available only as seed.

I actually got all my vegetables as seed this year. I prefer to plant the cucumbers, melons and squash seed directly into the garden later with all the seed-grown beans, blackeyed peas and squash. The tomatoes, peppers and eggplant seed will get planted in flats now so that they will be established seedlings when I plant them in April or May.

Potting soil in flats is just fine for most seedlings. I use the flats that are used for rooting cuttings in production nurseries, which are the same flats that groundcover is grown in. I can fit about seven rows of seven seedlings in each flat. They grow just fine in a sheltered place in the garden where snails, birds and squirrels cannot get to them. A warm garden greenhouse would be even better.

Nurseries, garden centers and even hardware stores sell even better flats that are divided into separate cells. Many even come with plastic lids to create a greenhouse-like environment without a greenhouse. However, seedlings grown under cover or in a real greenhouse need to be acclimated to the garden for a few days, being brought back inside for cool nights, before getting planted.

Flower of the Week: 'Spring Bouquet' laurustinus

"Spring Bouquet" laurustinus seems to be the Latin or botanical name for a type of laurel, Laurus tinus. However, the real Latin name, Viburnum tinus Spring Bouquet, reveals its true identity as a viburnum. Spring Bouquet is derived from the slightly fragrant, compact clusters of small white flowers that bloom through winter to early spring. Unlike laurels, Spring Bouquet laurustinus gets only about 5 feet tall and wide and is densely foliated from the ground up. The leathery, forest green leaves are about 2 inches long.

Spring Bouquet laurustinus makes a great shorn hedge, but is even better as an informal, unshorn screen. Shorn hedges of Spring Bouquet laurustinus should be shorn in spring or early summer after bloom has finished. They can be shorn again later in summer, but should be done early enough for new secondary stems to mature enough to bloom by winter. If shorn too late, bloom will be delayed as new growth matures slowly in cool winter weather. Unshorn hedges only rarely need awkwardly vigorous stems pruned down. As long as it has plenty of sunshine, Spring Bouquet laurustinus is not at all demanding, and will be happy with just about any soil that is not constantly wet.

Listen to Tony Tomeo's 'New Image Garden Report' Friday mornings at 8:10 a.m. on KSCO-1080 AM (or online at www.ksco.com). He can be reached at www.ttomeo@newimagelandscape.com or 408.358.2574.