Getting the Garden Under Glass 



F. F. ROCKWELL 



Pennsylvania 



CHANGING THE BASE OF OPERATIONS FROM THE OPEN TO THE FRAMES AND THE GREENHOUSE FOR WINTER PRO- 

 DUCTION—WHY DRAINAGE IS SO IMPORTANT INDOORS 



EVERY good gardener, is quite 

 naturally determined to have a 

 better garden next year. The. de- 

 mand for good vegetable plants of 

 all kinds will be even greater next spring 

 than it was last, and any surplus of such 

 plants which the foresighted gardener may 

 have is sure to find a ready sale at good prices. 



Not too Late to Begin Now 



"\X7"HILE the gardener who is so fortunate 

 » * as to already possess some frames, or a 

 small greenhouse, has or should have winter 

 crops already started, nevertheless, it is not too 

 late for the new gardener to have a winter 

 "war garden" as well as making sure of a 

 supply of plants, both vegetables and flowers, 

 for next spring's garden and flower beds, pro- 

 vided prompt action is taken. If a "ready 

 made" frame, or a small greenhouse is ordered 

 now, and the soil to go into them is prepared 

 while you are waiting for it to arrive, you can 

 still get two or three crops of winter vege- 

 tables before the plants to be grown for setting 

 out in the spring will require much space. 

 The latter are started in February or early 

 March; but for six weeks or so, before they are 

 ready to transplant, will occupy very little 

 room. So you have practically all the space 

 available in frames or greenhouse to use 

 for a winter garden until April. 



While it is no part of the present purpose to 

 describe types of frames and greenhouses 



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Frame prepared on wet soil, with cinder base to secure 

 drainage 



Pots "plunged" in cinders or 

 fine gravel to prevent the rapid 

 drying out, while providing good 

 drainage 



which may now be had "ready made" at 

 reasonable figures; nevertheless, it will be in 

 order to assert now that they are entirely 

 practical. Note may be made in passing of 

 the heat-conserving possibility of "double 

 glazing" for both sash and small greenhouses. 

 In double glazed work, there is a thin layer of 

 air between the two sheets of glass which acts 

 as a' non-conductor, keeping the frames or 

 house as warm as though there was a mat 

 over it, and, at the same time admitting sun- 

 light. 



The first thing for the beginner at winter 

 gardening to realize is that it is an undertaking 

 distinctly different from gardening out-of- 

 doors. While the same general principles of 

 fertilizers, plant sanitation, etc., apply, yet the 

 conditions are not at all the same. The first and 

 most important difference is, that in gardening 

 under glass, practically everything is "up to" 



the gardener. If he does not water his plants 

 himself, they will grow thirsty. If he does not 

 attend to giving fresh air, they will soon fall a 



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Securing good drainage on a raised 

 bench — moss, leaf mould/screenings, 

 or some absorbent material should 

 be used under the soil, to prevent 

 a temporary surplus moisture from 

 passing out of the bench 



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C0NCH-E.TE, 

 WAUL— -k 



CONCRETE 

 WALK, 



Method of providing thorough drainage for solid greenhouse 

 bed built on the ground 



prey to disease. On the other hand, how- 

 ever, growing conditions are under his control 

 and not subject to the vagaries of the weather. 



Things that Need Attention 



A I HDO often, the new gardener under glass 

 \ looks for the cause of his troubles in the 

 supposed wrong selection of varieties, or in 

 having given a few degrees too high or too 

 low a temperature, when in reality, even with 

 perfect seed and growing conditions, he would 

 have met failure because of mistakes made at 

 the very beginning of his winter gardening 

 operations. Pay heed therefore, to the con- 

 trolling factors. 



The first essential is drainage. If the 

 soil be either too wet or too dry to furnish 

 the proper conditions of growth, little progress 

 can be made, and it is absolutely impossible 

 for the plants to make progress, no matter 

 what pains have been taken with all the other 

 factors influencing their growth. Out of 

 doors, drainage, even under unfavorable con- 

 ditions, will, to some extent, take care of itself. 

 Surplus water, if it cannot find its way down 

 through the soil, wdl tend to flow off over the 

 surface or will be decreased rapidly through 

 evaporation. In the frame or the greenhouse, 

 however, it is wholly subject to artificial con- 

 trol. Evaporation takes place very slowly, 

 and if precautions are not taken the soil may 

 remain in a soggy, water- 

 logged condition, fatal to 

 healthy growth, for days 

 or even weeks at a time. 

 And, unless he has been 

 forewarned, the grower 

 may not suspect what the 

 trouble is! 



The first step in making 

 sure of satisfactory drain- 

 age is to provide an ade- 

 quate means of escape for 

 any surplus moisture before 

 the soil is put into frames, 

 benches or solid beds. 

 When frames, coldframes or hotbeds are 

 built on soil which has a naturally porous sub- 

 soil, giving good drainage, no further attention 

 will be required than to see that the soil of the 

 frame is thoroughly spaded or forked up and 

 that no outside surface water can find its way 

 into the frames, in the case of heavy rain or 



130 



Plant raised above 

 bench level to secure 

 extra drainage and room 



melting snow. The frame should be made in 

 such a manner, that when the prepared soil is 

 put in it, the level will be above the soil level 

 outside the frame; or else protected from water 

 outside by being carefully banked up. If, 

 however, the ground upon which the frames 

 must be constructed is low, a layer of cinders, 

 several inches thick, should be placed in the 

 bottom of the frame. On very low soil that is 

 sure to be wet in winter or in spring, a long, 

 low mound of cinders can be made and the 

 frames built on top of this. Where the frame 

 has to be built on a hard, impervious sub- 

 soil, it can be dug out sloping toward the front 

 of the frame, and a line of ordinary, loose 

 jointed tile laid along the front, with a pitch 

 to one end, to carry off the moisture. All 

 these methods are illustrated in the accom- 

 panying drawings. 



Drainage in the greenhouse is even more im- 

 portant than that in the frames. Here one is 

 likely to encounter trouble in one of two ex- 

 tremes — the solid bed, usually, being so con- 

 structed that without the greatest care in 

 watering it will be too wet; while the raised 

 benches, on the other hand, are just as likely 

 to dry out too rapidly and will therefore re- 

 quire frequent heavy waterings, and so suffer 

 from being alternately too wet and too dry. 



What has been said in connection with pro- 

 curing good drainage in the frames applies, 

 with slight modification, to the solid bed in the 



Frame on clay sub-soil with slight pitch to end to provide 

 drainage 



greenhouse. Unless drainage conditions are 

 very good, it will pay to put in cinders or other 

 drainage material before filling in the bed with 

 the planting soil, even if the latter contains a 

 large proportion of manure. It is much safer 

 to err on the side of too good drainage. A 

 too light watering can readily be supple- 

 mented by another; but a heavy watering, with 

 poor drainage, may cause damage that cannot 

 be undone for days or even weeks. 



One of the secrets of having small plants in 

 pots thrive and grow rapidly, is perfect drain- 

 age — this applies with equal force to plants 

 that are in a semi-dormant condition and, mak- 

 ing little growth, require little water.. Pots 

 set on a bare, board bench are apt to get dried 

 out entirely, or baked. If, however, the bench 

 is filled several inches deep with small cinders 

 or sifted ashes, and the pots are sunk into 

 them half way, or up to the rim, it will be 

 easier to keep them moist without having them 

 too wet. They will also not be so likely to be 



