140 VEGETABLE FORCING 



Flats are a great convenience in shifting the plants 

 about the premises and in utilizing space. (Fig. 46.) 

 They may be easily carried or carted here and there, to 

 provide the best conditions for growth, or to supply 

 young plants to the workmen as they transplant into the 

 permanent beds. It is possible to control soil moisture 

 conditions more perfectly in flats than in beds, which is 

 a most important factor in growing good plants. 



Finally, plants grown in flats, especially if an inch of 

 rotten manure has been placed in the bottom of the boxes 

 before they are filled, may be shifted and transplanted 

 with more soil adhering to the roots than is usually 

 possible with bed-grown plants. 



Flats should be made in such dimensions that they may 

 be placed on beds or benches without the loss of any 

 space. Their exact depth does not seem to be of special 

 importance. It has been demonstrated that just as good 



Fig. 47. Flat with wire-mesh bottom. 



plants can be grown in boxes only 2 inches deep as in 

 those of twice that depth. Deep boxes require more soil 

 and they are heavier to handle. It is more difficult, too, 

 to remove plants from them with a large quantity of soil 

 adhering to the roots. Perhaps the only important ad- 

 vantage in favor of deep flats is that they do not 

 require such close attention in watering as do boxes 

 that are only 2 inches deep. Some growers use 



