The Busy Woman s Garden Book 



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 hot- 

 bed. 



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