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March 23, 1922 



The Florists^ Review 



47 



2SE52S252S2525S2SSS252525E52SE5 



PLANTS IN PAPER BANDS 



PLANTS I'VE GBOWN IN BANDS. 



Early Tomatoes. 



In the article headed, "Plants in 

 Paper Bands," in The Review for Feb- 

 ruary 23, I told of the advantages, and 

 some disadvantages, incident to growing 

 greenhouse plants in paper pots and 

 bands. To add specific details to those 

 general statements, I shall here tell 

 about various kinds of plants I have 

 grown in paper bands and how they 

 were handled. 



Earliest tomatoes are started about 

 January 31, but I do not grow many of 

 these. By setting-out time, May 20, they 

 will be large plants in bloom and in 

 fruit and will sell at 25 cents each. The 

 seedlings are transplanted several times, 

 being graded each time to one size, weak 

 ones being discarded. About the middle 

 of April they are placed in 4-inch bands. 

 A later sowing, made about February 

 20, will take 3-inch bands. March 15 

 I sow my largest crop. These are trans- 

 planted once or twice, depending upon 

 the season, and then in April they are 

 placed in 2-inch bands. These sell at 

 from 40 to 50 cents per dozen. Another 

 sowing is made about March 31, and the 

 strong plants are placed directly in 

 the 1%-inch bands, and sell at from 

 25 to 35 cents a dozen, depending upon 

 the season. Last year the season was 

 «arly and a great number of my plants 

 were too large. March and April were 

 warm and sunny and the plants grew 

 rapidly under the glass. 



Cabbage, Cauliflower and Kohl-Babi. 



Early cabbage, cauliflower and kohl- 

 rabi are started in February for the 

 earliest plants and, by being grown 

 •cold, they are held back. Stocky plants 

 are produced, which are transplanted 



Copyright, 1SC>1>. hy A. W. Haiils. 



By A. W. HARRIS. 



Pansy in Paper Pot. 



and graded several times and are finally 

 planted in 2-inch bands the lastN of 

 March or the first of April, depending 

 upon the season. If these plants are 

 grown warm, they are apt to make heads 

 in the bands. They should sell at from 

 35 to 50 cents, depending upon the mar- 

 ket. I make my main sowing of late 

 cauliflower and kohl-rabi about March 

 15, transplanting and grading them 

 once or twice and placing them in 1%- 

 inch bands in April. These sell at from 

 25 to 35 cents a dozen, but the flats 

 go considerably cheaper. Sometimes a 

 later sowing is made, the plants being 

 transplanted direct to the bands. I 

 have had some demand for late cab- 

 bage in bands, which are started about 

 March 31 and transplanted once to flats, 

 from which they are sold. Grow all of 

 the above-mentioned plants as cool as 

 possible, giving them at all times plenty 

 of air, and your customers will come 

 back for more. 



Eggplants and Peppers. 



Eggplants and peppers are started in 

 February and are handled the same 

 as tomatoes. They are graded toNtwo 

 sizes, which are placed in 3-inch ^nds 

 early in April. These plants do not make 

 the rapid growth that tomatoes do, o^t 

 should be grown warm and kept as close 

 to the glass as possible. One year I 

 had a number of pepper plants, part of 

 which were in bands and part in 2%- 

 inch pots. These were on a shelf close 

 to the glass. The evaporation was rapid 

 in late April and May, and, although 

 these plants were the same size when 

 started, those in bands more than dou- 

 bled the size of those in pots by May 20. 



Pansies are started January 1, and 

 grown much like cabbage, except that 

 they are placed in 2-inch bands in 

 March. If they get too much heat, they 

 are liable to string out. They should 

 also be pinched back at first. 



Melons and Cucumbers. 



Melons and cucumbers are sown sev- 

 eral seeds in 3-inch and 4-inch bands or 

 pots about April 15. These must be 

 kept warm and, as soon as they come 

 up, are placed where they will get plenty 

 of sun. Special care must be taken in 

 watering, as the ground should not bo 

 kept soggy or the plants are likely to 

 damp off. When the plants are from 

 two to three inches high, all but two or 

 three of the strongest are removed. 



Sweet peas are sown in 2-inch bands 

 and handled like cucumbers, except that 

 they are started about April 1 and 

 grown colder. 



The earliest asters are started about 

 March 1, handled like tomatoes and 

 placed in 2-ineh bands in April. Later 

 plantings, from March 15 to April 15, 

 are made in 2-inch or l-^-inch bands. 

 There are a number of other seedlings, 

 such as antirrhinums and a lot of an- 

 nuals, that can be grown in bands^ut 

 the same general direction^-'vfillcovt 

 their care, if the nature of the plant^ 

 is kept in mind. 



It must be remembered that the dates 

 mentioned are for the latitude of south- 

 ern Minnesota. 



\ Plants from Cuttings. 



Last year I had a number of carna- 

 tion and chrysanthemum cuttings in 

 bands. The carnations were placed in 

 1%-inch bands in December, January 

 and February, and when transplanted 

 to the field in May were in better shape 

 and more easily handled than the ones 

 I had in 2i/^-inch clay pots, and they did 

 not require one-half the space needed 

 by 2%-inch pot plants in the bench. 

 The chrysanthemums were jilaced in 

 2-inch bands in March, pinched back in 

 April and benched in June. They made 

 some of the best plants I have ever had. 

 The carnations were in the bands several 

 months, and the bands were still in good 

 condition when the plants were set out. 

 The work of transplanting was much 

 faster than that of the pot plants. I 

 also started several hundred vincas in 

 1%-inch bands in January and Febru- 

 ary, planting these in the field in May. 

 The bands remained in good condition 

 and the plants handled perfectly. Last 

 season I grew a good many Mme. Sal- 

 leroi geraniums in 2-inch and 3-inch 

 bands, placing the cuttings in the bands 

 direct from the cutting bench, and grad- 

 ing the cuttings to two sizes. These 

 were good plants when sold in May and 

 June. 



Proper Spacing Necessary. 



There are a number of other cuttings 

 which I have grown successfully, such 

 as coleus, daisies, feverfew, sweet alys- 

 sum, etc. The main point to bear in 

 mind is not to have these plants in the 

 bands so long that either the top growth 



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Tomato in Paper Pot. 



