34) Sowing leek or summer carrots using a sink mat and a “shift fall tray”

In this tip:

• Introduction
• A)# Sowing leek
• B)# Sowing summer carrots
• C)# How many seeds and where

.

Sowing summer carrots or leeks on a flat garden soil surface using a sink mat and shove drop tray.

.

Introduction:

This tip describes sowing leeks or summer carrots on a flat garden surface, using a sink mat and a shift fall tray (shove drop tray).

In    tip 37  leeks or carrots are sown in sowing holes in the soil, using a mat and shift fall tray (shove drop tray).

In     tip 33     you can read how to make or adapt these tools.

In this tip you can read how to sow leek or summer carrots and how to prepare sowing.

.

A)# Sowing leek

A1) Sowing leek in a group

At sandy soil, you can sow leek in a lowered sowing bed. In there, soil does not dry out fast, water does not flow away during watering, and it indicates the sowing spot. Below a description with photos.

• Use a board to shove aside the dry top layer of garden soil.

• Mark the sowing bed;
  • Lay the mat on the moist garden soil.
  • Make a furrow a few inches around the mat. This marks the sowing bed.
  • Remove the mat.

• Make the sowing bed about 5 centimeters (2 inch) deep. Scoop moist garden earth into a bucket.

• Add fine-grained manure or compost to the earth in the bucket.

• In the bucket, mix the manure (or compost) and the garden earth.

• Deepen the sowing bed to about 10 centimeters (4 inch).
• Put the garden earth that you scoop out on a small heap next to the sowing bed. This earth is used later to form a top layer in the sowing bed.

• Put the mixture from the bucket into the sowing bed.

• Use a (furrow) board to equalize the mixture.
• Put enough mixture in the sowing bed. After equalizing, the top of the soil is about 5 centimeters (2 inch) below garden level.

• Put some garden earth from the small heap into the sowing bed.

• Use a (furrow) board to equalize the garden earth in the sowing bed.
• Put enough garden earth in the sowing bed. After equalizing, the top of the soil is about 3 centimeters (1.2 inch) below garden level.mixture.

Leek seeds will be sown on (in) this top layer of garden earth. When plants are growing, the roots can find manure or compost some deeper in the soil.

• Spray water in the sowing bed;
  • Use a watering can with fine shower head.
  • Hold the shower head close above the soil.
  • In this way, the soil doesn’t get clogged.

• Wait until water has sunk into the soil.
• Put the mat in the sowing bed.

• Use the shift fall tray (shove drop tray) to sow leek seeds in the mat holes.
• When a seed is next to the mat hole (photo above, top right), use tweezers, your finger or a small stick to shove the seed into the mat hole.
• After sowing, lift the mat carefully from the soil. Then the seeds remain in place on the soil.

Leek seeds sown with a sink mat. The seeds are “far apart” on the soil.

• Scatter a thin layer of crumbled moist garden earth on the seeds. Thickness about 0.5 centimeters, 0.2 inch. Leek seeds germinate well in the dark.

• Cover the sowing bed with a dinner-tray (upside down), a stepping board or a piece of corrugated plate.
• Make sure there are air holes towards the sowing bed.
• Put bricks on top against blowing away.

By covering the sowing bed, the soil doesn’t dry out and the seeds aren’t washed away during heavy rain. Under the (semi) transparent corrugated plate, the soil gets warmer so faster germination.

Remove the coverage when first leek plants are visible.

Emerged little leek plants, just visible.

Sowing leek using the mat and the shift fall tray goes fast; 100 seeds in 5 minutes.

.

A2) Sowing leek in rows

• You can sow 1, 2 or 3 rows of leek. Use a part of the mat.

• Scatter garden earth on the leek seeds.
• Cover the furrow, for example with a piece of corrugated plate.

Remove the cover when first leek plants are visible.

• Three rows of big grown leek plants.

Dug out and rinsed planting leeks.

.

You can use a ruler with holes to sow 1 row of leeks.

.

B)# Sowing summer carrots

B1) Sowing summer carrots in a group

Sow summer carrots in loose garden earth that has been manured previous year. The nutrients that are left from last year are okay for growing carrots.

So you don’t have to put manure in the soil. You may mix the garden soil with compost, that’s okay.

• Use a fork to loose the soil.

• Use a board to shove aside the dry top layer of garden soil.

• Mark the sowing bed;
  • Lay the mat on the moist garden soil.
  • Make a furrow a few inches around the mat. This marks the sowing bed.
  • Remove the mat.

• Use a wooden lath or so to make a sowing bed.
• Depth of  the sowing bed is about 5 centimeters (2 inch).

• Spray water in the sowing bed;
  • Use a watering can with fine shower head.
  • Hold the shower head close above the soil.
  • In this way, the soil doesn’t get clogged.

• Wait until water has sunk into the soil.
• Put the mat in the sowing bed.

• Use the shift fall tray (shove drop tray) to sow carrot seeds in the mat holes.
• When a seed is next to the mat hole, use tweezers, your finger or a small stick to shove the seed into the mat hole.
• After sowing, lift the mat carefully from the soil. Then the seeds remain in place on the soil.

Carrot seeds sown with a sink mat. The seeds are “far apart” on the soil.

• Scatter a thin layer of crumbled moist garden earth on the seeds. Thickness about 0.5 centimeters, 0.2 inch.

• Cover the sowing bed with a dinner-tray (upside down).
• Make sure there are air holes towards the sowing bed.
• Put bricks on top against blowing away.

By covering the sowing bed, the soil doesn’t dry out and the seeds aren’t washed away during heavy rain.

Remove the cover when first carrot plants are visible.

Emerged little summer carrot plants, just visible.

.

Two second of wait time:

Carrot seeds are small and lightweight. Wait 1 or 2 seconds after “falling” before you put the drop tube on the next mat hole.

.

At warm, sunny weather you can put a dinner-tray slanted like this. The soil will not dry out so fast.

.

B2) Sowing summer carrots in rows

• You can sow summer carrots in 1, 2 or 3 rows next to each other. Use a part of the mat.

Sown carrot seeds.

• Scatter garden earth on the seeds.
• Cover the furrow, for example with a piece of corrugated plate.

Remove the cover when first carrot plants are visible.

.

You can use a ruler with holes to sow 1 row of carrots.

Little carrot plants in a furrow.

.

C)# How many seeds and where:

When using a sink mat or sowing ruler, you can choose where and how many seeds to sow;

• One seed per hole. Plants will grow at a distance of 2 centimeters (0.8 inch).
• One seed per 2 holes, so skipping one hole each time. And skipping one row. Distance between plants will be about 4 centimeters (1.5 inch).
• Drop 2 seeds per hole. Leek plants must be thinned out later. Summer carrots need no thinning; 2 carrot plants can grow well next to each other.
• In     tip 37     there is a description of sowing in sowing holes using a mat (or ruler) and a shift fall tray (shove drop tray).