The first point is about the time of sowing.
Different ornamental plants have different sowing periods, and the same ornamental plant can sometimes have different sowing periods due to the different flowering periods that people need. Generally, the annual ornamental plants of Thunderbolt are sown in spring; Open-field biennial ornamental plants, mostly sown in autumn to overwinter with seedlings under protective conditions. The sowing period for greenhouse ornamental plants often depends on the desired flowering period, with no strict seasonal restrictions, but the coldest and hottest seasons are generally avoided.
The second point is about the method of sowing.
There are three types of sowing methods: spreading, strip sowing and on-demand sowing. Spreading is the spreading of seeds evenly over the bed. This method is more seed-intensive, and the seedlings are sometimes unevenly sparse and poorly ventilated, so it is suitable for small seeds and a large number of seeds, and is also used in pot sowing. Strip sowing is to sow seeds in a ditch according to a certain row spacing on the furrow surface. This method has a low seedling yield, but saves seeds, and is convenient for loosening soil and weeding at the seedling stage, and is commonly used when sowing seeds in hotbeds and shallow boxes. On-demand sowing is the placement of seeds one by one according to a certain plant spacing and row spacing. This method is suitable for the seeds of large grains and precious ornamental plants.
The third point is about the specific sowing method.
a) Sowing seeds in the open field.
Prepare the land before sowing. Because the seeds of ornamental plants are generally small, the requirements for land preparation are very detailed. After raking the land, make a furrow, break the soil clods on the furrow, flatten it, remove impurities, and then fill the bottom of the foot with water, and when the soil is loose, carefully level it again. The seeds are then sown according to the determined sowing method. For small seeds, fine sand can be mixed to see if the seeds fall evenly. After the seeds are planted, they are covered with fine, previously sieved soil.
The depth of the soil cover can generally be equivalent to two to three times the thickness of the natural placement of the seeds. After mulching, the seeds are slightly compacted with wooden boards so that the seeds are closely connected to the soil. It is then covered with a layer of straw, pressed with a wooden stick or secured with a straw rope to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.
b) Greenhouse sowing.
Greenhouse sowing mostly uses shallow pots and shallow wooden boxes. Seeding pots are generally shallow pots with a diameter of 30 cm and a height of about 10 cm. The seeding box is generally about sixty by forty by ten centimeters. The soil used is loose soil rich in humus. First, cover the drainage hole with broken tiles, and then fill in coarse-grained soil and cinder, which is about one-third of the depth of the pot, so as to facilitate drainage. Then fill the top with soil and gently press it, leaving one centimeter of potting soil to the edge of the pot.
When sowing general seeds, you can first use a watering can to water thoroughly, and then sow the seeds and cover the soil.
Some very small seeds, such as puff flowers, primroses, etc., are pressed into the soil with wooden planks after sowing, and do not need to be covered with soil. If you cover it with soil, it may not grow. Small seeds can be sown in pots and other water containers after sowing, and the depth of human water is about half of the height of the pot, until the potting soil is all wet, this method is called pot soaking method.
In order to maintain a moist environment, the pot (box) can be covered with glass, plastic sheeting or newspaper after sowing. If you cover glass and plastic sheeting, you should wipe off the condensed water droplets on them every day to prevent them from dripping off the surface of the pot and washing away the seeds.
After the seedlings emerge, they should be gradually ventilated to remove the mulch and moved from the shady place at the beginning to a sunny place for normal management.
Then it is necessary to pay attention to the management after sowing.