Vegetable Growing 



By Various Authorities. 



VEGETABLE GROWING UNDER GLASS. 



By Nichol.\s Butterb.\ch. 



Hot bed culture of lettuce is practiced by many private 

 gardeners, who use sashes heated with fermenting 

 manure. The amount used depends upon the month in 

 which the hot beds are made. Those made in December 

 and covering the whole winter should contain about two 

 feet of manure, while those made in March fifteen inches 

 of it will be found sufficient. 



In preparing the manure, collect the amount of fresh 

 manure needed into a compact heap and dampen or wet it 

 uniformly without soaking it. After fermentation is in 

 progress'the heap should be turned and all lumps shaken 

 out, working the lower strands into the center. If the 

 manure shows some dry spots, use the watering pot 

 again. 



After the second fermentation has begun it is ready 

 for the hot beds. Place it evenly into the bed in layers 

 until it reaches within eight inches of the top, tramping 

 down every layer. Use at least four inches of soil, and 

 by the time the bed is ready for the seed there will be an 

 air space of eight inches. Fermentation will begin in a 

 few days and continue after the soil is put upon the 

 manure in the bed. If it is well made, the soil will keep 

 warm for several weeks. 



When the temperature comes down to about seventy 

 the seed can be sown. The bed must be aired before the 

 young plants appear, as the seed may rot by overheating. 

 Air should be given even in cold weather and more as 

 the season advances and the plants increase in size. The 

 heat should not be allowed to rise above 74 in the day 

 time, and not below 50 at night, if possible. Mats or salt 

 hay, or shutters should be used to cover the beds in cold 

 weather. After young plants are well started they may 

 be transplanted in a gentle bottom heat. 



Most headed lettuce is grown in solid benches in forc- 

 ing houses; the moisture is more uniform and the tem- 

 perature cooler. In preparing the beds have about 3 or 

 3J4 inches of well-rotted stable manure: no artificial 

 fertilizer should be used. For the first planting in au- 

 tinnn, the young plants are taken out of doors ; they 

 should be sown without manure six weeks before plant- 

 ing in the forcing houses, and they should be transplanted 

 once. Thev are planted about 8 inches apart each way, 

 well ventilated and watered on every bright day. and the 

 temperature kept as steady as possible about 60 in the 

 day time and about 45 at night. The house should have 

 an abundance of light and be exposed to the sun. 



More failures are due to unsuitable soil in growing let- 

 tuce than to anv other cause. Light, clean, well-rotted 

 sod is, in mv opinion, the best. All head lettuce wants 

 lighter soil than the leafy or loose varieties. The soil 

 should be composed of much sand and very little clay to 

 allow the water to. soak in quickly and yet to hold it. No 

 doubt an experienced grower can get good results from 

 almost any soil, if conditions are studied carefully, al- 

 though it 'is better to select the soil nature adopted for 

 the purpose. 



To grow the first, or November crop, will take irom 

 eight to ten weeks. The mid-winter crop requires from 

 two to three weeks longer. Six weeks after the first sow- 

 ing, another is made in flats, and this will take the place 

 of the first crop later on. 



The greatest enemy to lettuce is the green fly. or aphis. 



If it once gets a good foothold, it is hard to eradicate. It 

 generally appears when the houses are kept a little warm. 

 Another evil is lettuce rot. This is due to the fungi 

 Botrytus vulgaris, which generally takes hold if the 

 houses are kept too close and wet. The best and only 

 remedy 1 know is to raise the temperature and give plenty 

 of air. Another lettuce trouble is mildew, which is in- 

 duced by certain changes of temperature or too much 

 water and soft plants. Top burn is another trouble 

 which usually occurs after a cloudy spell in winter, and 

 then the sun suddenly appears and the temperature in the 

 houses runs up rapidly. Most failures in lettuce forcing 

 are due to bad ventilation and unwholesome soil. 



CAULIFLOWER. 



The cultivation of cauliflower under glass is a 

 simple matter. Houses adapted for lettuce are suitable 

 for cauliflower. The seed for the first crop should be 

 sown in August in flats, and the young plants trans- 

 planted in pots. When the pots are filled with roots they 

 ought to be shifted. If they are not put in pots, they 

 should be transplanted twice. 



The soil should be 8 inches deep in the benches. 

 "Snow Storm" can be planted 18 inches by 2 feet. Erfurt 

 Snow Ball and other varieties should be planted 2 feet by 

 2 feet. They want plenty of manure, plenty of water and 

 as much air as possible. It is very seldom necessary to 

 bleach the heads in winter ; only later in the season, in 

 April or Ma}-. Snow Ball can be carried through the 

 winter in hot beds, but if sown in February or March it 

 will be just as early and more satisfactory. 



The radish is everybody's vegetable. It can be grown 

 either in hot beds or forcing houses. . Although half 

 hardy, it is one of the most sensitive of vegetables. If 

 grown in too high a temperature it grows too many 

 leaves and becomes pithy; and if exposed in cold frames 

 its growth is stunted. It should be grown quickly in 

 order to be crisp and have good flavor. The seed is 

 usually sown in the bed where it is grown. Gardeners 

 transplant the radishes from the seed the same as they 

 do most of their other crops, in order to check top growth 

 and increase root action. The results of transplanting 

 radishes is an open question and gardeners are of diflfer- 

 ent opinions respecting it. These are points which each 

 gardener has to decide for himself. Seeds may be sown 

 in rows from 3 to 4 inches apart for the smaller varieties, 

 and from 5 to 6 inches apart for the others, about l^ to 

 i-<-inch in depth. 



The soil should be sandy loam, about one-third of well- 

 rotted stable manure. The depth of soil required varies 

 with the various houses. The small shape sort require 

 about 4 inches, and the longer-rooted varieties about 6 

 inches. The soil should be firm ; good drainage must be 

 provided ; sods along the manure will answer the pur- 

 pose. The soil should be moist enough so that no water- 

 ing will be required before the young seedlings appear; 

 that is, four or five days after sowing. Thinning out 

 should be done eight or ten days later. Two or three 

 plants to the inch are not too much for the smaller va- 

 rieties, and one to the inch for the larger. If they are 

 allowed to grow too thickly they will form no bottoms. 

 .\n occasioiial cultivation with the hand weeder must not 

 be neglected. 



