CHAPTER II HOTBEDS, COLD FRAMES AND FLATS

So important is the preparatory work performed by a well started and conducted hotbed that its use cannot be too insistently recommended. The smallest, least ambitious home garden is dependent upon the use of artificial heat in the starting of such plants as cabbage, cauliflower, peppers, tomatoes and the like, either in hotbeds on the home grounds, flats in the windows or plants grown in commercial greenhouses; these, owing to the long season required to bring them into bearing, cannot be started in the open ground; especially is this true of such heat loving things as peppers and tomatoes.

Owing to the quite general practice of buying these plants of the commercial gardeners or florists a much smaller area of ground is devoted to their growth than would be the case were the plants grown in one's own hotbeds where the13 initial cost would have been that of a few packets of seeds. Purchased plants are by no means immune from late frosts or the assaults of cut worms and not infrequently demand successive replantings before a satisfactory stand is secured. With a well stocked hotbed this does not spell so great a disaster, as only the labor of resetting is demanded and this is not of much moment as the lines and points of setting are already laid down and the hills of tomatoes, eggplants and peppers already supplied with their spade full of manure. In a generous sized garden where perhaps a hundred plants of a kind are grown the saving in the cost of plants will cover the construction and maintenance of an ordinary hotbed and the cost of a bed of the best concrete construction, which will last almost a lifetime, will be covered in a reasonably short time.

There is nothing about the construction or care of a hotbed that offers any obstacles to its possession and I have about come to the conclusion that the only reason more gardeners do not have them is because they cannot borrow them; they are the14 only thing about a garden that some one can't and doesn't borrow and if some one would invent a portable one it would undoubtedly become popular.

The requirements are simple:—A sunny location, protected from prevailing winds—usually from the west, and on the north by a wall, building or fence. Being started in the early days of spring—from February, in the vicinity of the Ohio river, to late March or early April in the vicinity of the Great Lakes; they require a background that will hold the heat of the sun instead of allowing it to escape.

A well-drained position should be chosen and it should be as handy to the house and garden as practicable, especially the former as, once it is planted and plants up and growing, it will require frequent supervision in the changeable weather of early spring. Under a bright sun the temperature rises very rapidly in a glass-covered hotbed and it is necessary to see that it does not rise high enough to injure the plants; equally the temperature falls rapidly in an open bed when15 the sun goes under a cloud, and the sash must be adjusted to meet these deviations of temperature; often a moment's work in raising or lowering the sash will spell success or failure in the conduct of the bed.

A pit or excavation in the ground for holding a supply of fermenting manure to furnish heat for the bed is the first step in the construction of the hotbed; the size and depth of this will depend somewhat upon the number of plants it is desired to produce and upon the rigors of the climate and the prevalence of late springs and frosts. As a general thing, for the ordinary home garden a bed three feet by twelve is sufficient, but the added expense of a few additional feet is so slight and the use of a bed so appeals to one once one realizes its convenience, that it is seldom a mistake to make it too large as, aside from the sowing of seed, it may be used for starting roots of bedding plants, cannas, dahlias, begonias, tuberoses, caladiums; the striking of cuttings and many garden operations that have formerly been done in a bungling, cumbersome16 way in the house or with the costly assistance of the florists.

The depth of the pit should not be less than three feet and four, from the top of the frame, is better, as it is upon the depth of the manure that the length or duration of the heat depends. A shallow pit will give a quick heat which soon gives out, usually when most needed, during a sudden cold wave, and as the expense of a foot more or less counts for little it is best to be on the safe side and have sufficient heat.

If economy must be observed or the bed is for temporary use, a rough frame of boards will answer every purpose; it need not even extend below the surface of the ground, but merely rest upon it, but such construction is not to be recommended except for temporary structures or where it is desired to remove the frame as soon at it has served its purpose in supplying plants for spring planting; but a well built, permanent hotbed has by no means served its mission with the passing of the spring months, it may be profitably kept in commission the year around.

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If, however, the construction must be along economical lines waste lumber and old window sash may be employed very satisfactorily. Having dug the pit of the required depth and width and length—three feet if old sash are to be used will be the best width and is desirable anyway as it can be easily reached across and can be placed close to a building and so occupy much less ground than where the usual florist sash is used, a frame consisting of four upright posts two by four inches and six feet long for the two rear posts and five feet long for the front, to give the necessary slant to the frame, should be used; on these the boards for the sides and ends should be nailed, the end boards sawed to a true slant that the sash may rest evenly upon them; the frame is then lowered into the pit and the soil leveled off around it and made firm so that no cold air finds entrance. To such a frame the sash may be hinged at the back and notched sticks adjusted to hold it at any desired angle.

In the permanent cement hotbed the pit is dug as before, then interlined with boards to form18 a mould and the space filled in with a good cement mixture, paddling it smooth on the side next to the boards and allowing the boards to remain in place until the cement has hardened.1 Before the cement has set, however, a frame of two by four must be fitted on top of the cement to receive the sash. Long spikes should be driven through the timbers at intervals to be pressed into the cement to insure a good joint. It is also an advantage to arrange for partitions through the bed by nailing cleats of wood on the inside of the wooden form at points where the sash will meet. This will form slots in the concrete into which thin boards can be slipped to separate such plants as require much heat from those requiring less heat and much air. The partitions should not extend much, if any below the surface of the soil so the slots need not extend19 below the top foot of wall. These partitions are not really necessary but often come in very handy and are so easily arranged for that their occasional use justifies their presence. Where they are employed the sash can be left open where required far more safely than if they were not in use. Cabbage and cauliflowers do best if given plenty of air and even a tinge of frost will not injure them, while it would be fatal to such heat loving plants as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and many tender flowers and bulbous plants.

The double sash is a great protection for hotbeds started very early, but as a rule there is little occasion for starting the beds before the middle of March or early April in the northern states as it is only necessary to give the plants about six weeks' start of open ground operations. Usually we make our out-of-door planting about the twentieth of May at the north and correspondingly later as we go south, but if we count back six weeks from "Corn planting time," the country over we will have reliable data for starting the hotbed. Plants left too long in the bed deteriorate20 and should be scheduled to be got into the ground as soon as they are fit; if this is done they will not suffer from over crowding nor will it be necessary to transplant; though this is always an advantage with certain plants. If to the hotbed is added the convenience of a cold frame to which the cabbage and cauliflower can be transplanted as soon as they show rough leaves it will be a decided advantage and the room thus secured in the hotbed can be used to transplant tomatoes, peppers and the like, thus giving better rooted, stockier plants.

Fresh horse manure is used for heating the bed and must be procured from stables where a number of horses are kept that sufficient may be obtained at one time. It is not necessary for the small hotbed to pile the manure and turn it over two or three times before putting it into the pit; much time and labor is saved by putting it at once in the pit, tramping it down as filled in until it is within five or six inches of the level of the ground outside. Care must be taken that it is tramped down evenly, especially in the corners,21 or it will settle unevenly and cause the soil to sink in places. The earth may be placed on at once if the manure is steaming when put in the pit. Good, mellow loam, containing a portion of humus or leaf mould is the best hotbed soil and it should be fine and free from all roughage of sticks and stones and hard lumps of soil. Putting the top inch or two through a sand screen is a good practice as this gives a fine soil suitable for the finer seeds.

Usually the bed will be in condition for sowing in twenty-four hours, if the manure is heating well—and this can be ascertained by thrusting a fork down into the bed and leaving it a few moments, withdrawing and feeling of the tines, when the temperature can be quite accurately gauged—or a thermometer may be forced down through the soil upon the manure for a test. From four to five inches of soil will be sufficient if the season is late—slightly more if the season is early and the plants likely to remain long in the beds, and it must be leveled off as flat as possible so that in watering the water will22 not run and wash the seeds out of the ground.

The sowing of the seed is one of the fascinating phases of gardening that every born gardener enjoys and the watching for the breaking of the soil with the tiny green seed leaves is a joy indeed. Unlike open air planting, there is rarely a failure in seed germination if good seed is used. The ideal conditions of warm soil, mellow, moist soil of just the right consistency; protection from changes of weather all make for a high per cent of plants from the sowing, and the chief difficulty is often an embarrassment of plants—that is they come up too thickly, a trouble that is easily obviated by sowing quite thinly, holding back a portion of the seed for later sowings if needed, or for a later crop.

Each variety of seed must be given a little plot of ground by itself and should be separated from its neighbor by thin strips of wood pressed into the soil; this not only helps in identifying plants of similar appearance, but also prevents the washing together of the seed when too much water is applied. Where two or three different varieties of23 the same plant—as Early Dutch Cabbage, Danish Roundhead, Early Summer, etc., are sown it will be well to alternate the plots with some other vegetable so as to leave no chance for mistakes in setting out the plants later on. A row of lettuce or radishes may be interposed if desired; at any rate the presence of the strips of wood will aid greatly in keeping them distinct.

Each plot of seeds must be plainly labeled with thin strips of wood marked with the name of the seed and the date of sowing. If seeds of certain plants have been purchased of different seedsmen it will be well to indicate the source on the labels, in this way one can compare the fertility of the two purchases of seed and decide which is the more desirable.

There is a great difference in the germination of different garden seeds, certain varieties appearing in from three to five days—as cabbage, radishes, etc. Others—like peppers, parsley and the like—require from two to three weeks to appear above ground and one should not lose faith in the "Quickness" of the seed until a reasonable24 time has elapsed, nor will it be desirable to dig them up every day or two to see if they are growing; this will discourage rather than accelerate the process.

If the soil in the hotbed appears dry when sowing the seed it should be carefully watered by means of a fine-nosed watering pot or a whisk broom dipped in water, care being taken that not enough water is used at a time to wash the soil or disturb the planting. If any seed is uncovered it must be recovered. Seed sown under the protection of sash, either in hotbed or cold frame, does not require to be covered as deeply as when in the open ground, often about as much soil as will entirely cover it is sufficient, always so in the case of fine seed which should be sown broadcast in sections and covered by sifting fine soil or clean sand over and pressing all down firmly with a piece of board. Larger seeds may be sown in drills, opened a quarter of an inch deep and the earth drawn over them and pressed down.

Plants that make a rather high growth, even in the hotbed, like tomatoes, should not be planted25 in front of lower growing things, but should be in the rear or extend entirely across the bed; tomatoes, for instance, are apt to overtop such plants as peppers, which grow quite slowly in the hotbed. Endive, parsley, lettuce and onions, all are plants which do not assert themselves very strongly at first and should not be crowded for room or sunshine.

When all the planting is in and the soil watered, if necessary, newspapers should be spread over the soil and the bed closed and germination awaited. If the sun is very hot it may be necessary to raise the sash before the plants appear, but where this is done care must be taken that the papers are not disturbed by the wind, as if blown about the soil will dry out and check or kill germination.

As soon as a plot of seeds breaks ground the little seedlings will need air and light and the paper should be removed from this portion and replaced on top of the glass, held in place with pieces of wood or anything that will prevent its blowing about; this will only be necessary until26 the plants are able to stand full sunlight, which will be as soon as they have grown their first pair of real leaves. As the young plants increase in size more and more air and sunshine should be given them and due attention to watering must be carefully observed. Lath screens to temper the sun will be necessary and will be needed to replace the sash when the plants are large enough to dispense with it during the heat of the day; these, in turn, may be replaced by wire screens if there is any danger of predatory cats, chickens or children, for it is the work of but a few moments for an entire planting to be destroyed by any one of them. Puss likes nothing better than to get into that nice warm hotbed and roll on the soft warm ground and as for Biddy!

It is surprising the number of things that may be started in the hotbed and transplanted into the open ground as soon as the weather permits, thus gaining at least a month's start in the garden. A great many of the vegetables that are always sown in the open ground—beets, string or lima beans, endive, lettuce—all may be started in the hotbed27 and planted out and will give one very tender and succulent vegetables to use while the main crop is maturing from open ground sowing. Once one has acquired the hotbed habit one will never have quite room enough for one will always be wanting to try something more. One of the most satisfactory pushing forward of vegetables is achieved in planting melons and cucumbers and squash on pieces of sod in the hotbed. Of course cucumbers for pickles should always be sown rather late in the open ground but fruit for slicing for the table may very profitably be started on sod and transferred to the open ground when all danger of frost is passed and so be ready a good month sooner and what is, perhaps, quite as important, escape the ravages of the striped cucumber beetle, that exasperating foe to vine culture.

A cold wet spell at planting time often results in a loss of the entire planting of Lima and string beans, but if one has taken the precaution of planting a half pint of seed in the hotbed and transplanting them along about the twenty-first of May, one can wait until the first of June, if28 necessary, to plant the main crop and be assured of a successful stand of plants which will bear quite as early as if planted in unsuitable weather and soil; this is of especial moment owing to the high price of this class of seed; all varieties of seeds have advanced in price but the difference is most marked in seeds of the various legumes—peas and beans, of all varieties which command a price that makes especial care in their planting advisable.

Cold Frames

Supplement effectively the hotbed or, in mild climates, take their place. They are, to all effects and purposes a hotbed—minus the heat—and so do not require the excavation of a pit. The part above the ground is similar to that of the hotbed, being supplied with sash and given the same slant to shed water and concentrate as much sunshine as possible. For spring use it should front the south and occupy a well-drained position, but for mid-season use an east exposure is often29 desirable. If one wishes to use it to transplant things from the hotbed, then a temporary frame of boards made to bolt together may be constructed that may be taken apart and stored away when no longer required; if used for transplanting the sash should be in a position a week before it is needed so that the soil may become warm and friable, then the little plants of cabbage, cauliflower and the like may be transferred without any appreciable check in the growth and what there is will be advantageous as it will result in the formation of a mass of fibrous roots which will give them an additional chance in the struggle for life in the open. Even screens of cheese cloth will give sufficient protection in any but frosty weather and blankets may supplement these on cold days if glass is prohibitive on account of its excessive price.

A well-spaded bed of good soil, enriched with a little well decayed manure—that from last year's hotbed will answer, or bone meal may be used or a commercial fertilizer, for the plants will30 need food at this stage of their growth, should be prepared and the frame set on this or sunk a few inches into the ground to insure warmth and prevent the ingress of small rodents which somehow show a peculiar penchant for hotbeds and cold frames and have been known to destroy a whole planting of seeds in a single night. A little nitrate of soda scattered between the rows of cabbage and cauliflower will work wonders in the growth of these plants and is to be recommended at this stage of their growth and again when transplanted into the open ground.

Other forms of plant protection are found in the frameless beds protected by lath screens; these are used mainly during the summer months and are especially adapted for growing pansies from seed to be transferred to cold frames in the fall and grown on until time to plant out in permanent beds in spring; for growing violets in like manner and also for starting cabbage seed to be held over winter in cold frames for early spring planting.

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The Sand Box

Is used as an auxiliary to the hotbed for a nursery for those plants which are to be used in the house or conservatory during winter and must be kept in a growing, but not blooming, condition during summer and shifted from pot to pot as occasion requires. Though mainly essential in the growing of house plants it is often found of much use as a place to carry on such vegetable plants as one may desire to pot off for sale or for stockier growth, previous to setting in the open ground. The sand box consists of any shallow box of sufficient size to hold a considerable number of two to four inch pots. It should not, preferably, be over three feet wide but may be of any desired length. Five inches is a good depth. It should be elevated on some kind of support, at a convenient height to work at when sitting on a stool or box. When used for growing house plants it is usually placed in a rather shady spot on the east side of the house, but if used for vegetables it may be given a more sunny, exposed32 position; it should be filled with clean sand into which the pots are plunged to their rims and the sand is kept constantly wet. The pots should be turned around in the sand every day or two to prevent the roots, which escape through the hole in the bottom of the pot, growing in the sand; to prevent this also place a piece of broken crock or glass over the drainage hole. In potting off plants from the hotbed use a small thumb-pot at first and re-pot in one a size larger as soon as the roots form a network around the outside of the ball of earth: this condition may be ascertained by tapping the pot against the side of the box which will loosen the ball of earth and allow it to drop out on the hand. Plants that are to go into the ground in late May will probably not require re-potting, certainly not more than once, but this treatment makes stocky, well-rooted plants that command a better price than the untransplanted plants from the beds, though there is always an excellent market for all the products of the hotbed.

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Sowing Seed in Flats in the House

Is the simplest, and least satisfactory form of advance work in the garden; it belongs in the class of being "better than nothing," but for some plants is quite as successful as a hotbed, unfortunately that particular class is not embraced in a book on vegetable gardening, but belongs particularly to flower gardening and the special sorts dedicated to the warm conservatory and window garden.

However, if one has not, and cannot achieve, the advantage of a hotbed then one must make the most of what is attainable and resort to flats. These may be of any shape or size, but the usual florists' flats—about fifteen inches wide and twenty long and not over five inches deep—are of a practical size for general use; narrower ones which may be set on a window sill are also useful but will not give a large number of plants. Very convenient plant boxes which simulate a miniature hotbed, being about six inches high in the back and about four in front, of the usual flat34 size and supplied with a hinged lid of glass, are sold by the florists but are easily manufactured at home and are better than the open flats as they enable one to regulate moisture, the principal trouble—owing to the dry air of the living rooms, the shallowness of the soil, in growing plants in flats.

Several holes for drainage should be made in the bottom of the boxes and these covered with pieces of shard or glass and the boxes filled to within a half inch of the top with a good compost consisting of fibrous loam—that shaved from the bottom of sods—leaf mould, clean white sand and a little well-rotted manure, all thoroughly mixed and free from roughage.

The seeds should be broadcasted, if fine, drilled in if coarse, and the soil pressed down snugly over them. In the case of fine seed it is a good idea to cover with fine white sand instead of soil as this is less subject to the minute fungus which causes the deadly "damping off" so destructive to plant life and especially troublesome in growing plants in the house.

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As in the planting in the hotbed, the seed plots should be carefully labeled with name and date of sowing. After planting the seeds the flats should be set in a pan of water until the surface looks dark but not wet. They should then be covered with a sheet of white paper and glass and set in a warm, sunny window until germination takes place. Then the glass should be raised sufficiently to admit air and the paper removed and placed between the box and the window or a width of cheese cloth may be interposed between the glass and the box to temper the sunlight until the little plants have acquired their first pair of true leaves when they will be able to endure more heat and air which should be steadily increased until on mild days the window may be opened that they may benefit by full sunshine and air. As soon as the little plants are an inch high, transplant into other flats, setting an inch or more apart each way, and grow on as before or until they again crowd each other, when they may be transferred to small two or three inch pots and the sand box until time to go into the ground.

1 Or a trench as deep as the completed pit and as narrow as can be handled may be dug to outline a pit of the required dimensions, and filled with grout, well tamped down; when this has had time to harden sufficiently, the earth may be removed from the center and the cement given a finishing coat, and the wall brought to the required height above ground by the aid of a frame of boards.