VOA健康报道2023--Starting Plants from Seeds

Starting Plants from Seeds

As spring progresses in the northern half of the world, stores are offering gardeners many choices for seeds.

Starting a garden from seeds, rather than buying young plants, is a low-cost way to enjoy many kinds of flowers and food crops.

Looking through catalogs that offer mail-order seeds is one way to get them. Choosing seeds from racks at local nurseries or garden centers is another way.

Starting plants seeds

Jessica Damiano writes about gardening for the Associated Press. Here is what she says about starting plants from seeds:

In April, there is enough daylight to start garden seeds without the aid of electric lights. Some seeds can be planted directly in the garden. Others will have to be started in containers inside the home or under a shelter.

Many people have the opinion that you are not a real gardener unless you start at least one thing you grow from seed.

You can always buy young plants already growing at the store, but seeds give you the right to say you know how to grow a plant from the beginning. The cost is also far lower.

In fact, starting seeds is easy. Everything the plant needs to germinate¹, or start growing, is in the seed. All you have to do is put it into soil that is a little wet and not let the soil dry out while the seed does its thing. If there are any special requirements, they are usually printed in the simple directions on the back of every seed container or packet.

The one thing you might not find in those instructions is the suggestion to put mycorrhizal fungi² around larger seeds or to put a little on smaller seeds. You should be able to find these special fungi where you buy seeds.

Fungi are a form of life that is neither plant nor animal. Mushrooms are among their common forms.

Mycorrhizal fungi are special. They form a symbiotic³ relationship with some plants and help provide water and nutrients⁴ to them.

Many nurseries now carry two kinds. They are called endomycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi. Annual plants -- ones that grow for one season -- and many garden crops associate with endomycorrhizal fungi.

Some plants do not need them at all. This includes members of the cole family: cabbages, kohlrabi and kale. Broccoli⁵ and cauliflower also do not use fungi. So, you do not need to add it.

Besides fungi, Damian warns against soaking your seeds in hydrogen peroxide, as some experts often suggest. There are bacteria living on all seeds that are supposed to be there. Peroxide will kill them. The bacteria have developed to help in germination⁶ and growth. They also put microorganisms into the soil that work in partnership⁷ with many plants.

Planting big seeds is easy, and it is a good idea to get the assistance of young people to help in the job. Very small seeds, like celery seeds, need a little equipment. Put the tip of a pencil in water and then use it to pick up each seed. It will hold one seed as you put it into its starting container.

When choosing containers to start plants, Damiano advises against buying new plastic ones. She suggests using any old plastic containers or using newspaper or cardboard⁸. You can use egg containers or anything that is available. But remember to put drainage⁹ holes in each one. If you do not add holes, water can build up in the bottom and cause the seeds to rot.

Damiano reminds growers that it would be a shame to grow something in a container and then forget what it is called. Write the names of all your seeds on the containers you are growing them in.

And it is never too early to think about the next growing season. Once you have established plants in your garden, consider letting some "go to seed." This means you are growing them for their seeds, not for crops. That way you will have your own seeds for next year's garden, and you will not have to buy them at all.

Words in This Story

gardener –n. someone who grows and cares for plants in a garden

thumb –v. to turn the pages of a book

catalog –n. a book containing pictures and descriptions of things you can buy and how they can be ordered

rack –n. a support that holds products for sale in stores

germinate –v. the process of a seed starting to become a plant

symbiotic –adj. a relationship or link between two organisms which helps both survive

drainage –adj. related to something that helps move water away from where it might become a problem or cause damage

shame –n. a feeling of unhappiness or guilt

1 germinate   

v.发芽；发生；发展

参考例句：

• Seeds will not germinate without water.没有水，种子是不会发芽的。
• Can thin and hollow seeds germinate?瘦瘪的种子能够发芽吗？

2 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

3 symbiotic   

adj.共栖的，共生的

参考例句：

• Racing has always had a symbiotic relationship with betting.赛马总是与赌博相挂钩。
• Engineering completely new symbiotic relationship is obviously not an imminent possibility.筹划完全新的共生关系显然是可能性不大。

4 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。

6 germination   

n.萌芽，发生；萌发；生芽；催芽

参考例句：

• At the onset of germination, the hypocotyl elongates rapidly by cell enlargement. 萌发开始时，下胚轴依靠细胞增大而迅速伸长。 来自辞典例句
• Excessive moisture is unfavourable for soybean germination. 水分过多对于大豆萌发是不利的。 来自辞典例句

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

8 cardboard   

n.硬纸板，卡纸板

参考例句：

• She brought the shopping home in a cardboard box.她将买的东西放在纸箱里带回家。
• There is a sheet of stiff cardboard in the drawer.在那个抽屉里有块硬纸板。

9 drainage   

n.排水系统，下水道，排水，放水

参考例句：

• This is a drainage area.这里是排水区。
• Bad drainage caused the land to be flooded.排水不利容易使土地淹水。