CHAPTER VII 



GAINING TIME IN EARLY SPRING 



IT is not always possible to have a hotbed in 

 connection with the small back-yard gar- 

 den but it is possible and quite necessary that 

 some means of starting crops early may be ar- 

 ranged. There are certain vegetables like the 

 tomato which require a long period to mature 

 the fruit, and these must be started several 

 weeks before the frosts have passed. There 

 are other crops like lettuce and beets which 

 require a short period to mature but which, if 

 started in the house or under glass, may be 

 harvested early and supplanted by other crops. 

 Flats. One of the simplest and best meth- 

 ods of gaining time in the early spring is by 

 the use of a flat, which is a box any convenient 

 size and three to four inches deep. Holes 

 should be drilled in the bottom of this shallow 

 box to insure proper drainage. Pieces of 



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