CHAPTER VI 



THE HOTBED AND COLD FRAME 



MUCH time may be gained in the out- 

 door culture of vegetables if a hotbed 

 and cold frame are available. It is necessary 

 to start certain vegetables early in order to get 

 a crop by the end of the season, and it is also 

 necessary to sow the seed of certain crops, 

 transplant the seedlings to the cold frames and 

 finally to the open, after the spring frosts have 

 passed, in order to get more than one crop from 

 the same soil in one season. The advantages 

 of the hotbed and cold frame are: (1) time 

 may be gained in spring by starting the plants 

 before the frosts have passed; (2) certain 

 plants which require a long season in order 

 to mature may be started; (3) it is made possi- 

 ble for certain plants like the tomato to pro- 

 duce a large crop before frost (especially true 



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