CHAPTER VI 

 GLASS STRUCTURES 



MARKET gardeners are using the cold frame, hotbed, 

 and greenhouse more and more each year. Some find 

 that they cannot get along without hotbeds or a small 

 greenhouse, or both. Some are giving up the work out- 

 side and devoting more of their time to the more extensive 

 work inside. Home gardeners find hotbeds and cold 

 frames of special value in starting early cabbage, tomatoes, 

 celery, and flowers. In some of the Southern states cold 

 frames are used to winter over cabbage and cauliflower. In 

 the Northern states spinach may often be planted in a cold 

 frame in August or September and wintered over, coming 

 on early in the spring. 



Advantages. Some type of glass structure is desirable 

 for the market gardener for the following reasons: (1) to 

 get early plants; (2) to start plants, such as celery, that 

 may be set in the field after other crops; (3) by starting 

 some plants under glass, weeds, insects, and diseases are 

 more easily .kept in check; (4) better use of manure in soil can 

 be had under glass; (5) hotbed manure is well decayed 

 and can be used to advantage on many crops; (6) the 

 difficulty of obtaining manure is driving many gardeners 

 to more intensive gardening under glass. 



Cold Frames. The term cold frame is applied to 

 frames covered with glass and used to protect plants in 

 winter, or for forwarding them without any heat other than 

 that derived from the sun. It is the simplest form of glass 

 structure. They are generally made 4^ feet or 6 feet 

 wide and of any length or depth that convenience may 



