The Seed Packet Instructions
A community garden coordinator hands you a translated seed packet and a one-page council notice. The seed packet says: 'Sow seeds 1 cm deep. Keep soil moist but not waterlogged. Germination in 10–14 days at 18–22°C. Thin seedlings to 30 cm apart when they have two true leaves.' The council notice says: 'Allotment holders must not use sprinklers between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. from June to August. Hand watering only. New beds must be mulched within seven days of planting.' A gardener tells you she planted seeds three days ago, waters them every morning with a hose, and plans to thin them 'once they look crowded'. She has not mulched. Today is 12 June.
1. Using both texts, list three actions the gardener should change and explain the evidence for each.
Read the worked answer
- Watering method and time. She waters every morning with a hose. The council notice bans sprinklers 9 a.m.–6 p.m. June–August and requires hand watering. Morning hose use is likely to fall in the banned window, so she should switch to hand watering, ideally before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m.
- Thinning timing. She plans to thin 'once they look crowded'. The packet specifies thinning when seedlings have two true leaves, not when crowded. She should watch for two true leaves and then thin to 30 cm.
- Mulching. She has not mulched. The notice requires new beds to be mulched within seven days of planting. She planted three days ago, so she has four days left.
The key skill is cross-referencing two documents: the packet gives plant-care facts, the notice gives legal constraints, and the answer must combine both rather than treat either alone.
2. The gardener says her seeds have not germinated after three days, so the packet must be wrong. Evaluate this claim.
Read the worked answer
The claim is not supported. The packet states germination takes 10–14 days at 18–22°C. At day three she is well inside the expected window, so no germination yet is normal. Her conclusion confuses 'not yet' with 'failed'.
A stronger response would check the conditions instead: is the soil temperature within 18–22°C, and is the soil moist but not waterlogged? Her daily hose watering may be keeping the soil too wet, which the packet warns against. She should wait until at least day 14 before doubting the packet, and in the meantime adjust watering to keep soil moist rather than soaked.