Setting up a nursery
Step 1
Clear vegetation and weeds. Dig the soil well so that there are no lumps and the ground is level
Step 2
1 week before planting, add a 7 cm layer of compost or well-rotted manure. Use 1 wheelbarrow full of manure for every 3 square metres. Mix into the soil. Water the bed.
Step 3
Raise the nursery bed 15-20cm high and 1 metre wide then level well.
Step 4
Make small drills 3cm deep and 20cm apart, by hand.
Step 5
Soak the seeds in mixture of 50g PEARL in 20lt water just before planting them. This will prevent soil borne diseases attacking seedlings.
Step 6
Mix seeds with some soil then thinly spread along the drills. Water with care then cover the seeds lightly with soil then mulch with dry grass
Germination
Your seeds will start to germinate after 5-7 days. Remove the grass and put a shade over the nursery bed.
The shade should be 1m high. Put grass on the top but make sure some sun light can get through.
Remove weak seedlings. Plant them in another bed.
Keep the soil damp but not wet. Too much or too little water is bad for your seedlings.
Too much water
Nutrients in the soil are washed away.
There will be less oxygen in the soil.
The plant will fall over and the stem will rot. The plant can die.
Too little water
The plant wilts.
The plant cannot take up nutrients well so growth is poor.
