Coalless Greenhouses That Produce 



W. C. McCOLLOM 



Carrying On with Kerosene or Wood — Food Crops That Need Very Little Heat 



ALTHOUGH the Fuel Administra- 

 /\ tion has ruled on a sharp cut in 

 J \ coal for greenhouse purposes dur- 

 ing the coming winter, that need 

 not mean that owners are to close them in a 

 panic of dismay. Complete closing will 

 result in serious loss, and a winter of abund- 

 ant snows would be destructive because the 

 accumulation on the roof will cause roof sags — 

 not only breaking glass, but seriously strain- 

 ing the structure. The owner who closes 

 his greenhouse during the 

 winter has surrendered to a 

 condition that is by no 

 means hopeless. 



We must be prepared for 

 some sacrifice in these 

 times. Of course the new 

 conditions make our tasks 

 harder. It is much easier 

 to bank the fire with coal 

 at five o'clock in the even- 

 ing, and forget your green- 

 house until the following 

 morning when everything 

 is found warm and com- 

 fortable, than it will be to 

 give attention to other 

 means of heating, such as 

 wood or kerosene. As a 

 matter of fact, little, if 

 any, heat is required during 

 the day. Successful green- 

 house gardeners bank their 

 fires the first thing in the 

 morning, and in many 

 cases turn off the valves 

 because they realize that 

 too much heat will cause considerable trou- 

 ble. 



Here are Real Facts 



r^HEORY is good; but facts are more im- 

 -*- pressive! Last winter, when for weeks 

 the thermometer hung around the zero point, 

 there was under my observation a greenhouse 

 range of approximately 4,500 feet of glass that 

 was successfully operated entirely on wood 

 fuel. The owner was eating fresh green beans 

 when his friends were trying to become ac- 

 customed to the kind that come in tins; 

 when spinach was scarce, he and his family 

 were enjoying it freely; and other crops of 

 food value were his in abundance. 



I know of another greenhouse that was op- 

 erated with the ordinary No. 3 Perfection oil 

 heaters (consuming one gallon of kerosene 

 each per night). Two in a greenhouse 11 x 30 

 did very nicely until the outside temperature 

 fell below 10 degrees Fahrenheit during the 

 month of December and, as the vegetable 

 crops were then about finished, it was 

 decided to close the greenhouse until the 

 following spring. The oil heaters were set 

 in operation again in March and in a 

 very short time vegetable crops were being 

 gathered. 



There are many thousand greenhouses 

 in the country and the amount of food stuffs 

 that they could produce would be a staggering 

 total: Three crops of lettuce during the winter 

 at I sq. ft. per head. Three crops of cauli- 

 flower 1] ft. square per head. Beans, toma- 

 toes, beets, carrots, spinach and other vege- 

 tables are of the easiest culture. The space 

 underneath the bench may be devoted to chic- 

 ory, rhubarb, asparagus, seakale, and mush- 

 rooms. Even bush limas, peas, onions, pars- 

 ley, peppers, eggplant, radishes, Swiss chard 

 and turnips are all possible if the start be made 

 at the proper time. I here is no vegetable 

 that cannot be forced. 



Four Open Paths 



' I "'HERE are four paths open to the green- 

 -*- house owner this winter. 1, (to be at 

 once put aside), is the closing of the house. 

 2, operating entirely on wood fuel (which 

 can be done quite conveniently in many sub- 

 urban localities). 3, operating with kerosene 

 stoves, which is quite possible, being merely 

 a question of multiples. 4, and by far the 

 most practical, is to get possession of the 

 allowed quantitv of coal using it only in 



Oil heaters, burning kerosene, have been successfully used to keep greenhouses in operation. Many crops 

 will thrive with only moderate heat 



emergencies, relying on oil or wood for 

 general heating. 



Ordinarily there are but eight or ten weeks 

 of very severe freezing weather in the latitude 

 of New York and that is by no means continuous 

 and where it has been customary to start the fire 

 in September or October wood or oil heaters 

 may be relied upon entirely until January 1st. 

 During severe weather coal will be used, 

 but will be cut off immediately the weather 

 modifies. By following a plan of this 

 kind it may be possible to operate a green- 

 house at 100 per cent, efficiency on the 

 50 per cent, coal allowance of the Fuel 

 Administrator. 



Tomatoes give satisfactory crops under glass. Here's the 

 kind of plant you should start with at this time 



1% 



What Results May Be Expected 



r ET us take for example, a greenhouse 

 -*— ' 18 x 50. A house of this size has ap- 

 proximately seven hundred square feet of 

 benches. Allowing three crops of lettuce, 

 we should obtain twenty-one hundred heads 

 in return for our winter's effort. Of cauli- 

 flower, we should obtain in the neighbor- 

 hood of sixteen hundred heads; or from 

 twelve hundred to fifteen hundred pounds 

 of tomatoes. 



Time to Start Now 



PHE proper time to start 

 A preparations for the win- 

 ter garden under glass is 

 August. Seeds for the forc- 

 ing crops should be pur- 

 chased at this time, and 

 crops that are slow in matur- 

 ing, such as bush limas, 

 tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, 

 cucumbers, parsley, spinach 

 (both types) and Swiss chard 

 should be sown. Use quick 

 maturing types and where 

 through long years of selec- 

 tion, superior forcing varie- 

 ties have been developed 

 (as with tomatoes) these 

 special strains should be 

 used. While local condi- 

 tions sometimes influence 

 the value of certain varie- 

 ties, yet for general purposes 

 the following varieties will 

 be found satisfactory for 

 greenhouse culture: In 

 Beans: Black Valentine, ex- 

 tremely productive, with Sutton's Master- 

 piece a second choice. The wax podded 

 beans do not force very well as they are 

 susceptible to rust. In bush limas: Ford- 

 hook will be found satisfactory. Early Model 

 is the best beet; good color, perfectly round 

 and quick in maturing. Either type of Swiss 

 chard may be used. Of cabbage: use only 

 the very early varieties such as Copenhagen. 

 Of carrots: Early French or Chantenay. In 

 cucumbers the large English forcing types 

 are superior in results, but White Spine is 

 very productive. The Early Long Purple 

 eggplant will mature much more quickly than 

 the larger fruited types. Big Boston, May 

 King, Ideal, and Golden Queen are the best 

 forcing types of lettuce. Any type of onion 

 may be used as they are used when half 

 developed. Ruby King and Bull Nose are 

 the best adapted peppers. With peas the 

 varieties used most commonly are Little Mar- 

 vel, Laxtonian, or American Wonder, of 

 wrinkled varieties, and New York market 

 as the best round seeded type. Long Season 

 is the best spinach. New Zealand spinach 

 should by all means be sown. It can be cut 

 throughout the entire winter from one sowing. 

 Tomato varieties that are particularly adapted 

 for the greenhouse are Stirling, The Don. 



The Factors in the Case 



A S TO the conditions in the house, the 

 **■ atmosphere is absolutely under the 

 control of the operator. In order to make 

 the greenhouse productive you must have a 

 good rich, wholesome soil and it should be 

 made ready at this time. Get a good turfy 

 top soil and incorporate with it about one- 

 third of its bulk of well rotted manure, using 

 about one twelfth part of bone meal and lime 

 to neutralize the acids in the soil. This 

 should be turned several times, chopping the 

 sod to thoroughly incorporate the manure 

 with the soil. A compost heap should be 



