ylelds huge ha rvesrt

There s nothing more rewardmg for
Lucllle Deasy than to convert an 89-cent

~package of seeds into hundreds of beauti- -

ful flowers.
~And that’ just what the San Luis
- Obispo woman does many times over on



a portion of her Davenport Creek Road

property, where she and her husband,
Neil, carpet one acre with vegetables and
- flowers.

“T do it to give pleasure to people and

pleasure to myself and hopefully to make
“a profit,” Deasy said of her labors, which

in contrast to Neil’s vegetable hobby, is a

bona-fide — albeit small — business.

“If 1 could make a profit of $2,500 a

year I would be perfectly satisfied,” said
Deasy, who sells her cut flowers to

florists and the Farmer’s Malfket from

late spnng through the fall.

Retired four years ago from the bxg-
city life, Mrs. Deasy isn’t interested in
_growing a business ‘“‘where I just manage
people — that’s not why I'm doing it.”

She’s doing it because she loves flow-
ers.

And after two years of nurturing thou-
sands of tiny seeds to healthy, fragrant
blooms on their way to appreciative
customers, Deasy knows what works and
what doesn’t.

Here’s the way she recommends doing '

=it
(1) Put sterile soxl suc h as pottmg mix,




it
“It’s unportant t to have stenle soxl



‘because you run into fewer problems,”

~ Deasy said. “And you have to be su?’e
~ you have the soil very moist.

(2) Then fill your flats with the soll and
sprmkle the seeds over it.

Through ‘trial and error, we've found
that, generally speaking, it’s better to
hardly cover the seeds with anything,”
Deasy said. “Just press ‘them down a
httle ”

(3) Now cover each flat with plastic,

after making sure the soil is “very damp,
very damp.”

m.mema the flat so you





ourhands«»‘ S

- one pack

'have a xnmrgmenhouse,” said Deasy ,‘
“and put it in a sunny place.”
~ (4) In about fivp days, peek under the

: plast!c cover. If it looks like most of the

seeds have germmated promptly remdve :
the plastic. : N
“'l‘he first week xs the ‘most crucial,”
Deasy said, explaining that most seeds
will germinate within that time. E
If the cover is not removed as soon as

' the seedlings burst through the Soil, “‘you

have to worry about ‘damping off,” ”
?éa§y said. “That’s when the roots break

(9) Durmg the next month or so, water
“the flats as needed, fertilizing the seed-
lings each time you water with a very
dilute, water-soluble fertilizer that’s got a
very high phosphorus content.

“This is the second crucial pen
Deasy said. “You simply can’t overwater :
or underwater. And you cannot leave
town at that point.”

Watch the seedlings carefully, water
them as soon as the soil or plants look
dry, and use only a “little tiny bit of
fertilizer every time you water them
from now on,” she recommended.

(6) When the seedlings reach a helght
of about a %-inch, “prick out” or thin out
the rows.

~ While most commercial growers Just
{hrow out the thinned ones, Deasy can’t
bear to waste them.

=T make'another whole flat,” she said.

- (7) Once the plants are about 3 or 4
mehes tall or ‘““as soon as you can handle

~ them without hurting the_m,” transplant

them mm your garden.

“If you’ re going to grow a lot nt.- :
flowers,”” Deasy said, ‘‘the important
thing is to allow your rows to be. spaced
widely enough so tools can help you. So
you can use your hoes and cnwators.

(8) Weed water agd» ertilize yoa 5
garden regularly. ,»,- ?

“I've kept Maps growmg fifi' SIX T
months by fi ing,” Deasgnggifi