CHAPTER 42 



Window Gardening 



By A. W. Cowell 



In charge of Landscape Gardening, The Pennsylvania State College 



The prime requisites in raising plants in the house are proper soil, 

 good drainage, equable temperature, the correct amount of sunlight and 

 regular care in watering and re-potting. Contrary to superstition, no 

 better geraniums can be grown in a tomato can than in a piece of fine 

 pottery. So you may choose your own receptacle so long as it fits the 

 plant it is to house — being neither too large nor too small. 



Drainage. — Good drainage is brought about by having an opening 

 in the bottom of the receptacle — at least half an inch in diameter, and 

 for very large jars or tubs, three or more openings. Over these lay pieces 

 of broken pottery to prevent the dirt from falling through. Good drain- 

 age allows any excess of moisture to escape and provides for free circula- 

 tion of air through the soil. This prevents it from becoming soggy and 

 sour. 



Soil and Exposure. — Good soil is often difficult to secure. Many 

 planters take chances and use what is handiest. This is a mistake. Even 

 the blackest woods earth is not always most suitable to use. Soil which is 

 clayish and bakes is not good; neither is light, sandy soil. A combina- 

 tion of the three types, however, is satisfactory, and a soil recommended 

 by a practical florist is one made up as follows: 



Skim off the sod thinly from a bit of pasture land and take the loam 

 directly under the sod for the ground matter of your soil ; mix together 32 

 quarts of this loam with 4 quarts of black woods earth and 4 quarts of sharp 

 sand. For the plant-food, mix together 8 quarts of decomposed manure, 1 

 quart of air-slaked lime and 1 quart of ground bone (bone meal). Now mix 

 and mix and mix these two piles together, sift through a sieve-of a quarter- 

 inch mesh, and you have a soil suitable for the most "persnickity" of 

 plant tastes. 



As to light, for flowering plants generally, a south or east window is 

 best. Some foliage plants and ferns like the sunless windows or interior 

 of a room. Their numbers are few, however, and this is unfortunate. 



Method of Potting. — To pot up the plants, cover the drainage material 

 in bottom of the flower pot with an inch or two of the soil prepared as above 

 described. Then place the plant roots flatwise into the soil, holding the 

 stem erect while soil is sprinkled in until the pot is nearly full, and press 

 down firmly but not too hard. Now sprinkle a light covering of soil {not 



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