A few hours before removing plants from the seed bed or plant bed
they should be well watered and the water allowed to soak into the
soil. This will insure a portion of the soil adhering to the roots
and prevent the plants from wilting. If the plants have been properly
thinned or transplanted it is often possible to run a knife or trowel
between them, thus cutting the soil into cubes that are transferred
with them to the garden. Where the soil does not adhere to the roots
of the plants it is well to puddle them. In the process of puddling,
a hole is dug in the earth near the plant bed, or a large pail may
be used for the purpose, and a thin slime, consisting of clay, cow
manure, and water, is prepared. The plants are taken in small bunches
and their roots thoroughly coated with this mixture by dipping them
up and down in the puddle a few times. Puddling insures a coating of
moist earth over the entire root system of the plant, prevents the air
from reaching the rootlets while on the way to the garden, and aids in
securing direct contact between the roots and the soil.
Previous to setting out plants, the land should be worked over and put
in good condition, and everything should be ready for quick operations
when a suitable time arrives. The rows should be measured off, but it
is well to defer making the furrows or digging the holes until ready
to plant, in order to have the soil fresh. The time best suited for
transferring plants from the plant bed to the open ground is when there
is considerable moisture in the air and clouds obscure the sun, and if
the plants can be set before a shower there will be no difficulty in
getting them to grow. During seasons when there is very little rain at
planting time, or in irrigated regions, evening is the best time to set
the plants. It is possible to set plants in quite dry soil, provided
the roots are puddled and the earth well packed about them. When water
is used in setting plants it should be applied after the hole has been
partially filled, and the moist earth should then be covered with dry
soil to prevent baking. Where water is available for irrigation it will
be sufficient to puddle the roots and then irrigate after the plants
are all in place. Plants should be set a trifle deeper in the garden
than they were in the plant bed. The majority of plants require to be
set upright, and where the dibble is used for planting care should be
taken that the soil is well pressed around the roots and no air spaces
left.