The Making and Care of Hotbeds and Cold Frames 



The cold frame and hotbed are worthy of much wider attention than they now 

 enjoy. With their aid the autumn season can be prolonged and the spring season 

 hastened. They will yield herbs and salads in variety in early spring and hasten 

 the starting of summer crops. To the flower lover they are a real necessity for 

 the carrying of many things through the winter, and few people indeed have 

 ever fully developed the possibilities of pleasure possessed by an ordinary glass- 

 covered frame. 



COLD FRAMES. 



The function of a cold frame is to ward off cold winds, to keep 

 the ground clear of snow, and in the spring to increase the feeble 

 heat of the slanting sunbeams, and thus foster plant growth. 



The construction of the cold frame is very simple The back 

 board is usually twelve inches and the front eight inches wide. 

 The two are connected by a tapered board twelve inches wide 

 at one end and eight inches at the other. Standard sash are 

 three by six (3x6 J feet, and it takes a box of six by eight (6x8) 

 inch glass to glaze three sash. We can furnish sash at $1.50 

 ;ach unglazed, or §3. 25 each glazed. The framework can be 

 readily made by a local carpenter or any one handy with tools; 

 and when complete the frame is set in a sheltered, well-drained 

 position, usually near the house. 



Mr. William Falconer, one of the foremost practical gardeners 

 in the country, has written for us the following short article on 

 raising seeds in a cold frame: 



"A cold frame is simply a frame having sash, but no other 

 means of heating. Fill 

 the frame with soil to 

 within 6 in. deep in front 

 and 8 in. or 9 in. at back; 

 make shallow drills, 3 in. 

 or 4 in. apart, across the 

 face of the soil in the 

 frame, and in these sow 

 the seeds, covering 

 them thinly and tamp- 

 ing them gently; then 



!■ 3FT- 



HOTBEDS. 



A hotbed is a cold frame placed upon a quantity of fermenting 

 manure. The hotbed is usually made ready in February or 

 March in the latitude of Philadelphia. In the preparation of- 

 the manure, it is best to collect the requisite amount from the 

 horse stable, and make it into a compact heap, watering it if- 

 dry. In a few days active fermentation will be in progress, 

 when the heap should be turned, watering again if necessary, 

 shaking out the lumps. The aim is to induce an active and' 

 uniform fermentation of the whole mass, and to have it continue 

 for some time after the soil is placed on it. 



Select a well-drained spot, and make the pile of manure eight 

 or nine feet wide by whatever length is necessary, with a depth 

 of fifteen to eighteen inches; or a foot of soil may be dug out 

 and filled in with manure, well tramped down. Place the 

 frame on it. Then put three or four inches of good soil uni- 

 formly over the surface. Some manure or soil can be thrown 

 up against the outer boards^ which will help to hold the heat, 

 , Put on the sash and 



keep tight for three or 

 four days. There 

 should be a thermom- 

 eter kept in the hot 

 bed, and when the- 

 temperature falls to 75- 

 degrees seed may be- 

 sown with safety. The- 

 temperature in a hot- 

 bed should not be al- 



Frame to Carry Sash of Hotbed or Cold Frame as Illustrated in Bulletin No. 195, 

 Corbett, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



water moderately through a fine rose. Now put on the sash, 

 and keep all snug and warm until the seedlings appear, when 

 the sashes should be tilted up during the day to admit fresh air 

 freely and make the plants sturdy. As the seedlings wax in 

 strength, remove the sash both day and night, in fine weather, 

 but replace it as a protection against wet, muggy or cold weather. 

 As soon as the plants are big enough, transplant them into the 

 open garden. In sowing in a cold frame, carefully observe that 

 the kinds of plants are of somewhat the same nature, strength 

 and time of germinating. When this is not the case, or there is 

 any uncertainty about it, better sow in pots, pans or flats, and 

 set these close together in the frame; as the seedlings appear 

 in the pots or flats, remove these to the lightest, sunniest place 

 in the frame, and the ungerminated ones keep by themselves. 

 Afterwards as regards inuring to weather, pricking off and finally- 

 transplanting, treat as directed above in the manner of seed sown 

 in the frame." 







Cross-shctionok a Temporary Hotbed as Illustrated in Bulletin No. 195, Corbbtt, 

 Bureau op Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



(4>) 



lowed to go above 70 degrees in the day, nor below 50 at night 

 Mr. Wm. Falconer writes the following for us regarding hotbeds: 

 "A hotbed is like a cold frame, except that it is heated with a 

 considerable depth of hot manure under the soil. Seeds may- 

 be sown in it in the same way as specified in the case of a cold 

 frame, but it is safer for the amateur to sow in pots, pans or flats 

 and set these in the hotbed than to sow in the earth bed of the 

 hotbed. While a hotbed is new it is well to always keep a little 

 chink of ventilation on to allow the discharge of "steam" 

 or ammonia; if not, a damp mould will spread over the seed- 

 pots or the seedlings will rot olT. Keep the sprouted seeds by 

 themselves, and the pots of unsprouted ones by themselves and 

 give increased light and ventilation to the former. As regards 

 hardening off and transplanting, treat a> for cold frames. A 

 hotbed should be covered overhead with straw mats or carpet 

 at night in cold weather to conserve the heat, but this coveting 

 should be removed in the daytime." 



With a hotbed the amateur can start 

 almost any kind of vegetable or flower 

 seed. By sowing such vegetables as Egg- 

 Plant, Pepper, Tomatoes, etc., and such 

 flower seeds as Heliotrope, Scarlet Sage, 

 Vinca, Verbenas, etc., along in March, it is 

 possible to have nice stocky plants ready to 

 set out as soon as the weather conditions 

 are favorable, insuring early returns from 

 the vegetables and a long season of bloom 

 from the flowers. 



