Home Gardens, Part 2

By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: September 16, 2003

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Last week, we told how to choose a place for a home garden and how to prepare the soil. Now we discuss planting the seeds.
Planting seeds directly into the ground can save time and effort over starting them in containers. First, though, you must 1)till the garden. Digging and turning over the ground loosens¹ the soil. Remove rocks or anything else that will block young plants or roots.
Make sure the soil contains some water, but not too much. Seeds should be planted to a depth of about three to four times their length. If they are planted too deeply, they will not grow.
Some vegetables, like carrots and 2)lettuce², have very small seeds. This makes it difficult to space them evenly in a line. Combine small seeds with a little soil to make a mixture that is easy to spread.
Use a tool to dig a straight row in the soil. Plant small seeds by pouring the mixture along the row. Then cover the seeds with enough soil to protect them from strong sun and to keep them cool and wet, but not too wet.
When young 3)seedlings come up, make sure they are spaced as directed by the seed manufacturer⁴ or an expert. Remove plants that are too close together. This process is called thinning. Remove extra plants when they have grown two sets of leaves. This may seem like a waste. But removing extra plants permits the rest to produce a bigger, healthier crop.
You can plant larger seeds in groups of about five. By planting several seeds together, you can choose the best seedling³ and remove the others. This method is especially important if you are planting older seeds. The older the seeds, the more you must plant. Corn, 4)eggplant, melons, 5) squash⁵ and tomato seeds do best when planted in groups this way.
Some plants do best when they are planted in wide rows. These rows can be from twenty-five to seventy-five centimeters wide. Spread the seeds around the wide row. Cover them lightly with soil. Onions, radishes⁶, carrots, 6)beets, lettuce, peas and beans grow best with this method.
With some plants, wide rows can produce a larger crops and require less work. The closer grouping limits the space for weeds, or unwanted plants, to grow.
Next week, we discuss how to care for and harvest crops.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. Our thanks to Larry Bass⁸ from the North Carolina State University Extension⁹ Service for his expert advice. I'm Steve Ember.
注释：
1) till [til] v.耕种
2) lettuce [5letis] v.（植）莴苣，生菜
3) seedling [5si:dliN]n.秧苗，树苗
4) eggplant [5e^plB:nt] n.茄子
5) squash [skwCF] n.南瓜
6) beet⁷ [bi:t] n.甜菜

1 loosens   

v.解开( loosen的第三人称单数 )；放松；松弛；（使）放松

参考例句：

• With a wrench he loosens the nuts which fuse the fuel line between tank and engine. 他用钳子扭松了接连油箱与发动机的油管上的螺钉帽。 来自辞典例句
• This connection has a right-hand thread (loosens counterclockwise) . 这种接头有右手螺纹（逆时针方向松开）。 来自互联网

2 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

3 seedling   

n.秧苗，树苗

参考例句：

• She cut down the seedling with one chop.她一刀就把小苗砍倒了。
• The seedling are coming up full and green.苗长得茁壮碧绿。

4 manufacturer   

n.生产厂商，制造公司，厂主

参考例句：

• A manufacturer can amplify the demand of a product by advertising widely.厂商能用大做广告的方法来扩大人们对产品的需求。
• Prices are laid down by the manufacturer.价格是由厂商制定的。

5 squash   

n.壁球，摺皱不堪，拥挤嘈杂的人群，浓缩果汁，美国南瓜；vt.压扁，压制；vi.变扁，压榨

参考例句：

• He is drinking lemon squash.他正在喝柠檬露。
• She sprained her ankle playing squash.她在打软式墙网球时扭伤了脚踝。

6 radishes   

n.（做色拉用的）小萝卜( radish的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a bunch of radishes 一捆萝卜
• These radishes of mine taste as good as pears. 我这萝卜赛梨。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 beet   

n.甜菜；甜菜根

参考例句：

• He farmed his pickers to work in the beet fields. 他出租他的摘棉工去甜菜地里干活。
• The sugar beet is an entirely different kind of plant.糖用甜菜是一种完全不同的作物。

8 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

9 extension   

n.伸长，扩大，伸展；延长，延期；延长部分，扩大部分；电话分机

参考例句：

• The pupils disliked the extension of the term.小学生们不愿延长学期。
• Our extension is nearly finished.我们的扩建部分已接近完工。