156 THE beginner's garden book 



bed is not too hot (is not over ninety degrees), you may put 

 on mats and shutters as well, and leave them for two or three 

 days. At any rate, put them on at night. But watch the 

 frames daily, and if the soil threatens to dry out, water it. 

 Before very long you will see the cracking of the soil, then 

 the appearance of the lines of fine green. Then the delicate 

 work of caring for the hot-bed will begin. 



Part of it is not so delicate after all, sinqe it is but handling 

 the plants much as they were handled when in fiats. They 

 must be regularly watered. Watering should be done care- 

 fully, with a fine and gentle spray. And as we have learned 

 with our flats and pots, it should be thorough and seldom, 

 rather than slight and often. The plants will root deeper if 

 the best water supply, is not near the surface. When they 

 have reached their fourth leaf, or when they begin to crowd, 

 they should be thinned, and soon after that they should be 

 transplanted. Indeed, you may find that the very first 

 thinnings, if carefully pulled, may be set in another part of the 

 hot-bed, and will root and grow. Thinning and transplanting 

 should be done exactly as with the flats, though you will not 

 find the work as convenient as when you had the flats before 

 you on the table. Do not try to transplant unless the seed- 

 lings have been freshly watered. Give them plenty of space 

 — and now you will be glad that you have so much room. 

 If you can, pot your tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, your 

 marigold, calendula, and asters. When you have done so, 

 plunge the pots in the earth ; that is, sink them to their rims. 

 They will be slower in drying out, and will not be so much in 

 the way. But the plants should not be allowed to root 

 through into the soil below; therefore, every day or two, 

 lift them in their nests, and turn them part way about. 

 No, this part of the work of taking care of the plants is not so 

 difficult after all. 



