Vegetable Growing in Colorado. 
35 
Hot Beds and Cold Frames 
&y R. A. mcGINTY 
Everyone who plants a garden should have a cold frame or 
hotbed in order to have early plants for the field. These are either 
temporary or permanent structures used for starting plants early in 
the season, carrying half hardy plants over the winter, and for 
growing quick maturing crops out of their ordinary season. In the 
hotbed, heat is supplied by fermenting manure or other means, 
while there is no artificial heat in the cold frame. Plants like rad¬ 
ishes and lettuce may be grown to maturity in hotbeds, even in mid¬ 
winter, while others, like cucumbers, tomatoes, and cabbage, may 
be started in the hotbed early in the season and transplanted to the 
open after danger of frost is past. 
Cold frames are used for hardening off tender plants such as 
tomatoes and cucumbers: that is, they are transplanted from the 
greenhouse or hotbed into the cold frame in order to allow them to 
become more gradually accustomed to outside conditions. Cabbage, 
pansies and other semi-hardy plants may be started in cold frames 
late in the fall and carried over the winter so as to be ready for 
transplanting to the open very early in the spring. Tender peren¬ 
nial plants like geraniums and some of the roses can be successfully 
wintered in cold frames. 
Location .—The hotbed or cold frame should be located on a 
well drained spot with a southern aspect. If protected from the 
prevailing winds by a hedge, board fence or building, so much the 
better. The hotbed, particularly, is best located on a walk between 
the house and barn or other outbuilding to insure that it will -not 
be neglected in the matter of ventilation, protection, etc. 
HOTBEDS. 
Permanent Hotbeds .—In preparing a permanent hotbed, an ex¬ 
cavation about two and one-half feet in depth', six feet wide, and any 
length desired, extending east and west, is made. This may be 
walled up from the bottom with brick or cement. In this case the 
walls are made to extend about twelve to fifteen inches above the 
surface of the ground on the north side of the bed and five or six 
inches lower than this on the south side, thus giving a slope to the 
south. If it is preferred not to use brick or cement, a frame made 
from planks two inches thick will serve. However, the plank does 
not extend to the bottom of the excavation, but just a few inches be- 
