HOUSE AND GARDEN 
87 
February, 1915 
Where space is very limited, “inter-planting,” or planting two 
crops at the same time, one of which will be used and out of 
the way by the time the other one will want the whole space, may 
be employed to great advantage. In this way, lettuce may be 
planted between cabbages, either between the cabbage plants or 
between the rows, if they are far enough apart; and again, later, 
between hills of pole beans and tomatoes. Radishes may be 
planted between rows of carrots; one row of turnips and two 
rows of radishes between rows of tall peas. Carrots are some¬ 
times sown between rows of onions in June; sweet corn may be 
started in the middle of the furrows between rows of early 
potatoes; squashes may be planted or set out, from paper pots, 
between rows of early peas or beans which have been set pur¬ 
posely far apart. There is no limit to the skill and ingenuity 
which the gardener may use in accomplishing what must become 
his aim—namely, to make his particular plot of ground yield the 
utmost both in quality and quantity. 
With the seed order made out and safely sent off, the thoughts 
and the activities of the gardener must be turned at once to 
making preparations for giving such seeds as must be started 
early in heat the proper conditions to thrive and produce strong 
plants. Unless there is a small greenhouse on the place, the hot¬ 
bed and coldframe used in combination offer the most effective 
means for this early gardening. If the frames were properly pro¬ 
tected last fall there should be little or no frost in them. It is 
time now to get both the hotbeds and coldframes ready for use. 
While the latter may not be required for some weeks yet, the 
sooner the ground can be got into condition for working and 
warming up, the better. See to it first of all that your sashes are 
in repair and tight, and patch any holes that may be starting in the 
mats. 
The vital part of a hotbed is the manure used to furnish heat. 
Unless it is of the right kind and used in the right way, the bed 
will be more or less of a fizzle, no matter how much care you may 
take with the soil and seed and watering. Horse manure, and 
especially that from livery stables or other places where the ani¬ 
mals are fed a good deal of grain, ferments very rapidly when 
kept in a heap, and this fermentation creates a surprising amount 
of heat. If thrown into an ordinary loose pile and left there, the 
heat will be generated so rapidly that the mass will soon be burned 
out or “fire-fanged.” What is wanted to maintain the tempera¬ 
ture in a hotbed is a slow, steady heat. In order to secure this, 
the manure must be stored first in a compact heap, each layer 
thoroughly tramped down, and preferably, to save work in hand¬ 
ling, made near the bed in which it is to be used. If it is packed 
correctly, the little snow or rain which may fall on it before it is 
used will be beneficial, rather than harmful. The heap should be 
kept at all times moist; it may be necessary to pour a few buckets 
of water upon it, especially on the center. A week or ten days 
after the heat has 
been made and it is fermenting thoroughly it should be forked over. 
Also apply water to any parts of it which may have become dried 
out. At the end of a week or ten days the pile should be in a 
state of active fermentation from top to bottom, so that it is hot 
and steaming wherever you take out a forkful. For best results 
a certain amount of bedding or short straw should be mixed with 
the manure. If it seems to be lacking, mix leaves, straw or some 
other absorbent. 
While the manure is being got into condition the frames should 
be cleaned out and the necessary repairing attended to. If the 
old manure from last year's hotbed is still there, remove it and 
save it, under cover, for use in connection with plants that you 
start and for transplanting work later in the garden, as it is in 
ideal shape for these purposes. Six inches of soil should be re¬ 
moved and thrown up into one end of the frame; then put in 
the manure from 15" to 30" deep, according to the climate of your 
locality and what the bed is to be used for (24" will usually be 
enough). Tramp it down firmly and evenly. Over this spread 
the soil which has been removed, and then do the same with the 
corner which has not before been dug out. If the hotbed frame 
is large enough for several sashes it will be wiser to put an extra 
amount of manure under one or two of them, so that a higher 
temperature may be maintained for tender plants, such as to¬ 
matoes, egg-plants and peppers. Even where the same amount 
of manure is put under all the frames, a partition of thin wood or 
of cardboard may be inserted, so that one of the frames, by being 
given less ventilation, may be kept at a higher temperature. As 
soon as the soil over the manure is sufficiently dried out and mel¬ 
lowed it should be finely pulverized and raked thoroughly. It is 
best to leave the bed to heat for a few days before planting. 
By the time you have these things done and everything in 
readiness for planting, your supply of seeds will likely have- 
arrived. Go over the packets and pick out for starting at once,, 
beets, cabbage, cauliflower, early celery and lettuce; also Spanish 
onions if you intend to grow them from seedlings. If you are 
planning to do this work upon a Saturday afternoon, take the 
second or third Saturday in February, according to the date on 
which it is usually safe to begin planting outside in your vicinity. 
The actual work of planting the seeds, if one has everything in> 
readiness, will take but a few minutes. 
Some gardeners make a practice of sowing the seed directly into* 
the soil of the frame. In exceptional instances this may be of 
advantage, but generally it will be better to sow them in home¬ 
made flats, which can be cut easily from soap boxes. They should' 
be a couple of inches deep for starting the seed, but if you expect 
to use them later for transplanting, they may be made three inches 
deep and filled only partly full of soil for seed sowing. The soil 
used should be made very light and porous, by mixing with the 
garden soil sifted, rotted sod, chip dirt, or any similar light 
(Continued on page 114) 
Cut the flats from ordinary soap boxes; one box usu¬ 
ally furnishes enough for three flats 
Over the drainage shown on opposite page place well- 
pulverized soil and sow seed lightly 
After plants have attained a growth, as here, thin them out*, 
planting the strongest of the remainder in another flat 
