Rows planted across. Radish and lettuce, a good 

 early combination 



Cucumbers planted to occupy the whole space 

 later 



Rows planted lengthwise. Lettuce and 

 The latter removed first 



Planning the Work of the Hotbeds— By Albert e. Wilkinson, & 



REAL EFFICIENCY IN GETTING AHEAD OF THE SEASON— COMBINATIONS OF EARLY AND PERMANENT CROPS 



IT IS not now too early to begin plan- 

 ning your hotbed. You must decide 

 how many sash will fill your require- 

 ments. The heating material should 

 be gathered together and all preparations 

 made for the starting of the beds in March 

 or by the end of February. 



The plans here submitted are actual work- 

 ing plans which have proved successful, and 

 can be adopted bodily or modified to fit your 

 special requirements, which is far better. 



First of all, set down on paper the vege- 

 tables and other things that you really need 

 in early spring. For instance, lettuce, rad- 

 ish, beets, carrot, bunch onions, spinach. 

 You can also plan to have the tender crops 

 — tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, etc. — ■ 

 during June and July, and by transplanting 

 from the hotbed maintain a steady supply 

 all through season. A good deal can be 

 gained by leaving some of these crops to 

 mature in the hotbeds themselves which 

 by the summer time, of course, will have de- 

 generated into mere frames. 



Plan I. shows a hotbed with the rows run- 

 ning the long way of the bed, north and 

 south. The combination is radish and 

 lettuce, sown March first to fifteenth. The 

 radishes will mature in from seventeen to 

 twenty-four days, if you are careful. The 

 lettuce is thinned at that time, or before, 

 so that it finally stands six inches apart in 

 the row. The lettuce thinnings are very 

 choice for consumption at that time and 

 the larger plants will all be used up six 

 weeks after planting at the latest. 



Plan II. shows a succession if the plant- 

 ings of No. I are used up quickly — in four 

 weeks. Therefore this plan can be put into 

 effect April first to fifteenth. The scheme 

 here is to continue the lettuce harvesting 

 season by transplanting a very few of the 

 thinnings from plan one, into the first two 

 rows of plan two, allowing the plants to 

 grow and produce more and larger leaf sur- 

 face or heads. Twelve good sized plants or 

 heads of lettuce can be obtained. 



Possibly the radish appetite has been 

 somewhat satisfied by plan one, so in plan 

 two only one row is grown. These radishes 

 are obtained from seed sown in the row. A 

 new vegetable spinach, is added, three rows. 



The general garden scheme must be 

 brought into consideration here, because 

 it will be necessary to have certain plants 

 ready for transplanting to the garden be- 

 tween May first and fifteenth in order to 

 obtain the greatest efficiency from your 

 garden. Six rows of plants transplanted 

 into pots, are here shown. Paper pots as 

 described later are used. The colder, har- 

 dier plants such as cabbage, cauliflower, 

 kohlrabi and brussels sprouts are planned to 

 be placed near the back of the bed, where 

 the cold air strikes in ventilating the bed. 

 These plants will not be so easily injured by 

 a change in temperature, whereas the pep- 

 pers, tomatoes and eggplants would be easily 

 injured or checked if subjected to the same 

 treatment. Therefore these latter plants 

 are located nearer the centre of the bed. 



The plants for these pots can be raised 



in another hotbed, in a flat or box in the 

 house near a sunny window, or purchased 

 from near by greenhouse men. Other veg- 

 etables than these mentioned can be used 

 according to your preference; clay pots, 

 veneer boxes, strawberry boxes, or tin cans 

 can be substituted for the paper pots. 



The plants are allowed to grow here for 

 from two to six weeks; then the bed is 

 cleaned out and plan III comes into use. 



Plan III. The idea here is to have a 

 main crop which will utilize the bed during 

 the summer. I have chosen cucumbers; 

 they should be ready for consumption in 

 July and from then on. Radishes are to 

 grow on both sides of the cucumber row, as 

 they mature quickly and therefore would 

 not interfere with the rapid growth of the 

 cucumbers. Lettuce is planned for the 

 middle of the bed, as it will utilize that 

 space longer and grow until the cucumber 

 vines demand the space. Melons or squash 

 could be substituted for the cucumbers. 



Plan IV. Here is another March plan: 

 Both crops are of the same type (root crops), 

 but the radishes are quickly maturing. 

 The beets require more room for growth 

 after a short time, the removal of the rad- 

 ishes will give this space. The combina- 

 tion is a good one as it places a constant 

 crop in the bed for six to eight weeks, giv- 

 ing three table vegetables: radishes, beet 

 greens, and beets. 



Plan V. The scheme shown here can 

 follow on in the frame where Plan IV has 

 been used ; or you can start the hotbed with 



v 



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3' 3~\ •pi 3' V*' «* 



I. A simple scheme. 

 Radish and lettuce 

 (March) for early salads 



j-y-'^iMT 



8PAFE& POTS OF CABBAGE 



sA ZI1.IPZ. O WE R 



T-f 



P«P?C»J 



-I 1 h 



_EOGPZ.AHr 



10W— SPINACH — 

 - .. SPINACH — 



- .. SPINACH — 



- " RADISH 



- » LBTTUCB,- 



-» 1L2LTTUCZ,- 



•-'■■?' ■■■ 'yZ-PM,A7WZ ■■■■■: ,~~1 



n. Succession plan 

 to No. l. and starting 

 plants outside 



— ROW— RADTSfi 



- C CICZIMBERS - 

 -RADISH 



—LETTUCE, 



-JL E TTZICE, 



-Z.ETTUGE. 



-JLETTLICE. 



—RAPISfi 



— CUC UMB ER3 - 

 -RADISPT 



Trv'^-'styarejafr; 



S3 



m. Succession to No. 

 II with cucumbers as a 

 summer crop 



waa-^jwp; 





Sfe aBBB g ^ZS 



IV. Another simple 

 plan for March. Root 

 crops only are grown 



f..'. ! j.!-^IJf g,^-A/^!-' 



3f-(> m —*i 



— - LETTUCE,- 



— '-"? 7PAZ!ISH\ 



■ >;■=>- ,4, -V7C-: ....-- -■- 



V. Succession to No. 

 IV and providing toma- 

 toes for summer use 



VI. For March. April 

 or May. as a solitary 

 scheme or succession 



