starting and Growing Plants Indoors 



Now is the time to sow seed of early 

 vegetables and annuals that you 

 intend to grow during the summer. 

 Of course you have looked over the cata- 

 logues, and selected just what you want 

 in order to prevent delay and consequent 

 disappointment. 



If you have your hotbed prepared you 

 can sow your seed at once. Sow the 

 seeds in rows about three inches apart, 

 and cover very lightly. Deep covering 

 is a thing to be avoided, as is sowing too 

 thickly. Save some of the seeds for a 

 second planting. If the seedlings come 

 up too thick and crowded, they will be 

 unable to get sufficient light and air to 

 develop into strong, sturdy plants. Fair- 

 ly large seeds, as cabbage and lettuce, 

 may be covered an eighth of an inch or 

 so, but very small seeds should be press- 

 ed into the soil with a smooth, flat piece 

 of wood and just covered from sight. 

 This treatment applies to most seeHs, 

 whether they be started in the hotbed, 

 greenhouse, or living rooms. 



HOUSE CONDITIONS 



There are many amateurs who lack 

 lx)th hotbed and greenhouse. They must 

 make the most of the conditions that ob- 

 tain in the house. Even then there is no 

 need to despair, for with a little thought- 

 ful preparation very fine plants can be 

 raised under such adverse conditions. 

 The equipment needed to accomplish this 

 is of the simplest, and incurs no very 

 great exfjense. 



A light, sunny window where there is 

 room for a generous table or shelf, and 

 where the temperature is not likely to 

 drop below forty-five degrees on average 

 nights, is the first essential. An occa- 

 sional drop below forty will not prove 

 fatal, but each time this occurs it means 

 the progress is just so much retarded. If 

 repyeated at all frequently, it will be at- 

 tended with very unsatisfactory results. 



GOOD SOIL NEEDED 



The next essential thing to light and 

 warmth is soil, one light and porous be- 

 ing the most satisfactory. No doubt you 

 have some stored in the cellar. Turn this 

 over and ascertain its "physical condi- 

 tion." Richness is no advantage, in fact 

 it is often a drawback. A soil that will 

 retain moisture, and at the same time be 

 porous enough to allow any surplus 

 moisture to drain off at once and which 

 will not tend to form a crust, is the most 

 important factor in success with seeds. 

 If your soil is not in this condition you 

 can easily make it so by the addition of 

 leaf mould or very old spent manure and 

 sand. 



If you are not able to get soil in such 

 a condition as this, better purchase .1 

 bushel or two from the local florist, hut 

 whatever you do have it in just the right 



Henry Gibson, Staatsburg 



condition, for "well begun is half done," 

 and with proper soil half the trouble of 

 raising seeds is overcome. 



SUITABLE BOXES 



From your grocer you can get a few 

 haddock boxes, which are of a very con- 

 venient size for this purpose, and have 

 the advantage of being very light. Fail- 

 ing these, you can get some cracker 

 boxes. These sawed lengthwise into two 

 inch sections and bottomed so that nar- 

 row spaces, say half an inch, are left 

 between the boards, will provide you 

 with the most useful of boxes for starting 

 vegetable and large flower seeds. 



For very fine seeds, such as begonias, 

 heliotrope, and petunias, a few seed pans 

 — which are easily obtained from any 

 florist for a nominal sum — are more con- 

 venient to handle. Cigar boxes are use- 

 ful for this purpose, but they are apt to 

 dry out too quickly. 



ENSURE GOOD DRAINAGE 



The matter of thorough drainage is so 

 important that besides having porous soil 

 and open-bottomed boxes, still further 

 precaution should be taken by filling the 

 boxes about one-third full of some coarse 

 material. The coarser pieces of soil or 

 sphagnum are the most desirable for this 

 purpose. On this place enough of the 

 prepared soil to come just a little below 

 the edge of the box, so that when water 

 is applied later it will not run over the 

 top. Press the soil down in the corners 

 and along the edges firmly with the fin- 

 gers and level and firm off the surface. 



Plenty of moisture in the soil is neces- 

 sary to ensure good germination. Give 

 the boxes a good soaking the day before 

 planting, or place them in a sink or tub 

 after planting and let just enough water 

 soak up through the soil from the bot- 

 tom to moisten the surface. This is in- 

 dicated by the soil turning a darker 

 color. Let them drain until all drip 

 ceases before placing them where they 

 are to remain until the seedlings appear. 



The next problem is to get the seeds 

 to come up strong. This should take 

 place in anywhere from four days to ai» 

 many weeks, according to variety. The 

 surest way of doing this is to apply what 

 florists term "bottom heat." Where 

 steam, hot water, or hot air radiator> 

 are installed this is easily arranged. 

 .Simpy place the seed box over it, ele- 

 vated- on two or three bricks. Other- 

 wise the kitchen range may be utilized or 

 an oil heater may be broug'ht to serve a 

 useful purpose. Care should be taken in 

 the latter case to have a piece of metal 

 between the direct heat of the flame and 

 the box, which should be far enough 

 from it to prevent it getting more than 

 nice and warm. 



Such a degree of heat as' is hereby 

 obtained will tend to dry out the soil 

 very rapidly. This may be counteracted 

 to some extent by placing panes of glass 

 over the boxes, raised about a quarter of 

 an inch at one end. Until the seeds be- 

 gin to break ground they are as well kept 



Phlox •nd Petunia* in the Garden of Mr. Jai. Gad«by, Hamilton, Ont. 



a 



