Fkbuuary 23, 1022 



The Florists^ Review 



23 



PLANTS IN PAPER BANDS 



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FOB FLORISTS' USE. 



By A. W. HARRIS. 



Advantages and Disadvantages. 



Paper plant bands and pots are no 

 longer an experiment. A few years ago 

 I met a group of market gardeners at 

 a horticultural convention; they were 

 telling of using paper bands which had 

 been made up by hand for more than 

 twenty years back. They were well 

 satisfied with the results obtained, but 

 said that, where a great number had to 

 be used, the extra cost of the labor in- 

 volved in preparing the bands was 

 greater than the benefits derived. 



In the last few years there have been 

 several makes of paper bands and pots 

 placed on the market. It requires more 

 time to make up some of these than it 

 does for others, and the greatest saving 

 is effected with those varieties which 

 are nearest completion when put into 

 use. This is especially true where large 

 numbers are used. 



The space in greenhouses, hotbeds 

 and coldframes is necessarily limited, 

 and the cost of production will be 

 largely a matter of how economically 

 that space is utilized. Therefore, only 

 the required amount of space should be 

 given to each plant, no more, no less. 

 It is impossible to get the required spac- 

 ing when growing the plants in flats 

 and boxes, unpartitioned. Even though 

 the surface spacing may be correct, the 

 roots of some of the plants are sure to 

 encroach upon the territory of the oth- 

 ers, in which case all will suffer. The 

 crowding of root space by each other 

 has the same effect as 

 their being crowded by 

 weeds and when trans- 

 planting it is impossible 

 to separate the tangled 

 roots without stripping 

 off the hair-like feeding 

 rootlets. Space is econ- 

 omized by growing plants 

 in square pots or bands. A 

 2%-inch clay pot contains 

 7.57 cubic inches. A 

 square band l%xl%x2% 

 inches contains 7.65 cubic 

 inches. A 2-inch clay pot 

 contains 3.16 cubic inches. 



Bench Space. 



Placed in rows on a 

 bench so that the pots of 

 one row fit into the spaces 

 between the pots of an- 

 other row, a 21/^-inch pot 

 takes up 6.84 square 

 inches, a 2-inch pot takes 

 up 4.80 square inches, 

 while a 1%-inch band 

 takes up only .3.06 square 

 inches. Now, in cubic con- 

 tents the 1%-inch band 

 has more than twice as 

 much room as the 2-inch 

 pot and slightly more 

 room than the 2%-inch 

 pot, while it takes up less 

 than three-quarters of the 

 space occupied by a 2-inch 



pot and less than one-half the space oc- 

 cupied by a 2%-inch pot. 



Experience has shown that two and 

 one-half or three inches is the best 

 depth for plant bands, as with this 

 depth there is plenty of nourishment 

 for the plants as long as it is proper 

 for them to remain in the flats. If the 

 plants are left too long in the bands, 

 the roots will have spread at the bot- 

 tom, which will cause a setback when 

 they are moved. 



Savings. 



The labor involved in growing plants 

 consists mainly in planting, transplant- 

 ing, watering and moving from one 

 place to another. In the original plant- 

 ing it makes little difference, when it 

 comes to labor, where it is done, but it 

 makes a great deal of difference when 

 it comes to transplanting whether we 

 transfer the plant bodily, together with 

 its proper quota of earth, well enclosed 

 in a dirt band, or whether we dig it 

 out of a box of soil, at which time great 

 care must be exercised to prevent in- 

 jury to the plant. In the event that the 

 plant is injured, still more labor is in- 

 curred in replacing it. 



In moving from place to place where 

 bands are used a flat containing 100 

 plants or more may be picked up and 

 carried to the new place. For those 

 who ship young plants, the bands are 

 indispensable, as they are handled with 

 less labor and without danger of injury 

 to the plants. All that is required is to 



Copyright, 1922, 



A. W. Harris. 



Flat with Adjustable Side for Holding Plants in Paper Bands. 



crate the flats and they are sure to ar- 

 rive at their destination in good shape. 

 The cost of plant bands as compared 

 with earthen pots is small, and there is 

 no breakage. 



Larger and more mature plants are 

 secured by starting them early. The 

 transplanting setback, which necessa- 

 rily occurs every time a plant is dis- 

 turbed, can be taken care of under the 

 glass, where it can be more easily con- 

 trolled. Only when grown in bands 

 or pots, are large plants transplanted 

 without a setback. 



It has been found by experience that, 

 because there is no setback, plants 

 grown in paper bands make greater 

 growth than plants otherwise grown in 

 the same time and with the same 

 care. Plants grown in paper bands 

 are not injured in transplanting, as 

 their root system is not disturbed. They 

 do not wilt, but will continue their 

 growth and arrive at maturity from two 

 to three weeks earlier than when trans- 

 planted from a flat in which they are 

 grown in loose soil. This is especially 

 true in trying to transplant when the 

 ground is dry, as it is in the south 

 when planting a fall crop. By using 

 plants in bands, one can plant during 

 the driest weather. 



Not only is the plant band method of 

 growing adaptable to such plants as are 

 ordinarily started under glass and later 

 transplanted to the open field, but plants 

 which are not ordinarily started in that 

 way may have the advantage of an early 

 start. Among this latter class of plants 

 are sweet peas, squash, cucumbers, 

 melons, sweet corn, beans, 

 etc. Plants growing in 

 paper bands will require 

 only one half of the water- 

 ing which is necessary for 

 those growing in round 

 pots. This is true because 

 the space between the 

 pots gives a greater evap- 

 oration surface, while with 

 the square bands, the 

 only evaporation that 

 takes place is from the 

 surface of the earth, 

 which is nature's way. 



Drainage. 



If flats are used, be sure 

 there is plenty of drain- 

 age. There sliould be sev- 

 eral cracks in the bottom 

 three-sixteeiitlis or one- 

 quarter of an inch wide. 

 Even fine soil, after once 

 watered and settled, will 

 not go through such a 

 crack to any great extent. 

 If there are not enough 

 cracks, bore one-half inch 

 holes in the bottom boards, 

 and plenty of them. If 

 the benches are used, treat 

 them in tlie same way. 

 "When making new flats 

 construct them so that one 

 side is detachable by nail- 

 ing angle pieces of heavy 

 galvanized sheet iron to 

 each of the ends. This 



