266 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



who claim that plants grown in this manner produce 

 earlier cabbage than spring-grown plants. (3) An ex- 

 tensive grower of plants in Pennsylvania sows in very 

 cool greenhouses early in September, transplants and 

 holds in flats during the winter months. With a very 

 low temperature the plants make a slow, stocky growth 

 and with some hardening before transplanting in the 

 field the best results may be expected. The most serious 

 objection to the plan is the expense of operating houses 

 for so long a period. (4) If earliness is not an impor- 

 tant factor, the sowing may be made in hotbeds or cold 

 frames about March I, and the seedlings transplanted 

 directly to the field. When this 'plan is adopted the seed 

 rows should be not less than 3^ inches apart and the 

 plants thinned if necessary. (5) The plan which is 

 now almost universally practiced in the North is to sow 

 in hotbeds or greenhouses in January or February. If 

 several hundred thousand plants are to be grown it is 

 desirable to begin sowing about January 25 and to sow 

 at intervals of a day or two until February 5. This will 

 make it possible to transplant without any of the seed- 

 lings becoming spindly or drawn. For details of this 

 method see Chapter XVI. 



350. Growing late plants. Glass is not required in 

 growing late plants. The common practice is to sow in 

 the open, and transplant directly to field or garden. 

 Many failures are due to the use of inferior plants. It 

 is important that every possible effort be made to secure 

 strong, stocky plants, ready for the field when all condi- 

 tions are favorable for setting. It is an advantage to 

 have the seed bed near the field to be cropped, so that 

 the plants can be shifted without much loss of time or 

 drying of the roots. 



In selecting and preparing the seed bed, excessive fer- 

 tility should be avoided, for very rich soils produce weak, 

 succulent plants likely to succumb under field conditions. 



