FE R R Y- M R S E SEED CO. 



13 



The increasing difficulty of obtaining heating material 

 for hotbeds has compelled many gardeners to adopt a method 

 of using artificial heat. This is done by substituting hot 

 water coils for the manure and installing a small heater. A 

 properly installed heating plant for the hotbed will be found 

 more efficient and satisfactory and it is permanent. A small 

 heating plant can be installed and operated at moderate cost. 



An electrical heating device recently introduced for heating 

 hotbeds, has been satisfactorily demonstrated and is becoming 

 quite popular among gardeners. 



The soil should be light, rich, friable. Any considerable 

 amount of clay in it is very objectionable. If possible, it 

 should be unfrozen when put into the bed; for this reason it 

 is much better to prepare it the fall before and cover the pile 

 with enough coarse manure or straw to keep out the frost. 



MAKING THE BED 



This requires careful attention as future success depends 

 largely upon the manner in which this work is done. Having 

 cleared away snow and ice, build a rectangular bed one foot 

 larger each way than the frame to be used. Carefully shaking 

 out and spreading each forkful of manure and repeatedly 

 treading it down so as to make the bed as uniform as possible 

 in solidity, composition and moisture. It is of the utmost 

 importance that this shaking apart and evenly pressing down 

 of the manure should be carefully and thoroughly done; unless 

 it is, one portion will heat quicker than the other and the 

 soil will settle unevenly, making it impossible to raise good 

 plants. 



The proper depth of the bed will vary with the climate, 

 season and the kind of plants to be raised. A shallow bed 

 will quickly give a high temperature which will soon subside; 

 a deeper one, if well made, will heat more moderately, but 

 continue much longer. For general purpose, a bed about two 

 feet deep will be best. 



The bed completed, the frame and sash may be put on and 

 fresh manure carefully packed around the outside to the very 

 top (if the weather is at all severe, this outside banking should 

 be replenished as it settles). The bed should then be allowed 

 to stand with the sash partially open for a day or two to allow 

 the steam and rank heat to pass off. 



The earth should then be evenly distributed over the surface 

 of the bed and carefully leveled. The earth should not be 

 shoveled or dumped in one or more places in the bed and then 

 leveled; if this is done uneven settling of the bed invariably 

 results. Care should be taken that the soil is dry and friable. 

 If wet or frozen soil must be used, it should be placed in small 

 piles until well dried out before spreading. The heat at first 

 will be quite violent, frequently rising to 120 degrees, but it 

 soon subsides and when it recedes to 90 degrees the seed may 

 be planted. The importance of using dry soil and allowing 

 the first rank heat to pass off is very great. Every season 

 thousands of hotbeds fail of good results from these causes and 

 seedsmen are blamed for failure resulting from overheat, or 

 wet, soggy soil. 



MANAGEMENT OF THE BED 



The essentials for success are a steady uniform degree of 

 heat and moisture; keeping the soil at all times a few degrees 

 warmer than the air and the careful "hardening off" (by ex- 

 posure to the air and diminishing the supply of water) of the 

 plants before transplanting into the open air. Simple as these 

 may seem to be, there are many difficulties in the way of secur- 

 ing them, prominent among which is overheating the air under 

 a bright sun. 



Without experience one would scarcely believe how quickly 

 the temperature inside of a well built hotbed will rise to 90 

 or 100 degrees upon a still, sunny day, even when the tempera- 

 ture outside is far below freezing, or how quickljr the tempera- 

 ture will fall to that outside, if upon a windy, cloudy day the 

 sash is left upon ever so little. A rush of cold air driven over the 

 plants is far more injurious than the same temperature when 

 the air is still. Again, in cloudy weather, a bed will go several 

 days without watering, but will dry up in an hour when open 

 on a sunny day. 



TRANSPLANTING 



In transplanting, the main points to be regarded are : Care 

 in taking up the plants so as to avoid injury to the roots, setting 

 out as soon as possible to prevent the air coming in contact 

 with the roots, setting firmly so as to enable the plant to take a 

 secure hold of the soil and shading to prevent the hot sun from 

 withering and blighting the leaves. Where a rank or soft 

 growth of tops has been made in hotbed it is frequently desir- 

 able to trim off some of the larger leaves before taking up to 

 transplant; this will retard too rapid evaporation of moisture 

 from the plant and usually will prevent wilting. 



In transplanting from a hotbed, harden the plants by letting 

 them get quite dry a day or two before, but give an abundance 

 of water a few hours before they are taken out. It is most 

 apt to be successful if done just at evening, or immediately 

 before or during the first part of a rain, about the worst time 

 being just after a rain, when the ground being wet it is im- 

 possible to sufficiently press it about the plant without its 

 baking hard. If water is used at all it should be used freely and 

 the wet surface immediately covered with dry soil. 



WATERING 



The best time to water plants is early in the morning or 

 in the evening. Water may be given to the roots at any time. 

 If watering a plant has been commenced, continue to supply 

 it as it is needed, or more injury than good will result from 

 what has been given. One copious watering is better than 

 many scanty sprinkhngs. The ground should always be 

 stirred with a hoe or rake before it becomes so dry as to cake or 

 crack. 



COLD-FRAME 



A cold frame is a simple construction of boards for wintering 

 over young plants. Cabbage, Lettuce, Cauliflower, etc., and is 

 also useful to protect and harden off plants from the greenhouse 

 or hotbed before fully exposing them in the open air. 



Select a dry, southern exposure, form a frame from four to six 

 feet wide and as long as required. The back should be fourteen 

 to eighteen inches high and the front eight to twelve, with a 

 cross-tie every three feet. The frame may be covered with sash 

 or cloth. Seeds of the vegetables to be wintered, sown in open 

 border early in September, Vvdll be ready to plant in cold frames 

 about the last of October. The soil should be well prepared 

 and smoothly raked before planting. Admit air freely on 

 pleasant days, but keep close in severe weather. 



These frames are particularly useful in the south and may be 

 covered more cheaply with cloth shades than by sash. The 

 shades are made as follows: Make light but strong wooden 

 frames to fit over the bed and of a width to receive some common 

 brand of cotton cloth. The cloth may be unbleached and 

 should be stretched over and securely tacked to the frames. 



