The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 18??-1882, 1882-03-24
THE FARM.
The Hot-Bed.


on all who wish to have early vege
tables. the great Importance of a hot
bed. Market gardeners find it an alb
solute necessity, as it is indispensable
to all who do not wait upon the slow
revolution of the seasons. Even very
small garden may be greatly increased
in value by making use of it, inasmuch
as from one to two months may bt
gained in time, in producing early veg
etables. We have more than once pub
lished directions for constructing hot
led at small cost and at little trouble
These directions may he in the hands
of our readers, but we renew them by
publishing the following from the New
England Farmer.
PREPARATION.
The first thing to do in the spring is
to get a quantity of horse manure ready
for use. Manure from grain fed horses
is best, because it will heat more read
lily. The manure from horse fed ex-
clusively upon bog hay or dead straw,
would make poor material for heating
the soil of hOt-bed. Having secured
the manure, it must be forked over to
let in the air, for plenty of air is neces-
sary to any kind of fermentation.
Throw it into high heap, leaving it as
light as possible. When it begins to
warm up in the middle, which may be
learned by thrusting in small smooth
stick, it should be shOvelled over again,
TO bring the outside and bottom into a
fermenting state. Repeat the throw
ing over till the whole pile is thorough
ly warmed through. Plenty of straw
bedding or forest leaves mixed with
the manure in the pile, will help to
keep the heat constant and uniform.
BY the time the manure is thoroughly
warm, the location of the bed Should
be made ready. In selecting a location
it is well to take advantage OF wood
ed hill, some building, or high board
fence at the northern side to break the
wind. 1t is quite common to build a
tight board fence about six feet high,
as a special protection from cold anti
wind. Sometimes the fence has shut
ters attached which can be let down
over the beds or turned up and fasten-
ed back when not in use.
CONSTRUCTION.
Hot. beds may be made upon large
pile of warm manure, placed on the
surface of the ground, or pits may he
dug for receiving the manure. In wet
locations the former method is TO be
preferred, as standing water will put
out the fire in a pile of heating manure
just as effectually as it will put out
other fires. If the location is dry one,
as where the soil is sandy with loose,
porous subsOil, it will be better to dig
pit for the manure. In either case
the manure must extend in all direc-
tions several inches beyond the frame
that is used, otherwise there will be
very little heat at the edges of the bed.
Having dug the pit of sufficient depth,
the manure being alive with heat, is to
be carted and thrown in, a fOrkful at d
time, keeping it as level as possible. 1t
will not do to tread the manure very
hard as the heat would be too much
checked, but it should be pressed down
slightly 10y the fork, and light person
may walk once around on the edges.
The middle will settle solid enough
when the soil is put OH in which the
plants are to grow. The depth of the
manure in the pit will depend upon the
season of the year and how long the
heat will be wanted. A thick bed will
hold heat longer than shallow one, so
the earlier the bed is made in spring
the deeper must the manure be laid.
Two feet of manure is not too much if
the bed is started the last of February
or first of March,.
Later in April, frames are placed over
ting out plants that require checking
or more space for development. Hav-
ing filled the pit with manure to the
desired depth, put the frame in place
over the manure: The frame may be
a cheap affair of inch boards for late
bed, but an early one would be better
protected by plank frame and with
the earth banked up against it on all
sides. The frame should have square
corners, and must be the right size to
receive the sashes. Sashes are usually
about three feet by six feet, with lap
ped glass laid to shed water. After
building the frame, which should be a
few inches deeper at the rear side, in
order to give enough pitch to the
sashes to turn off the water from rains
or melting snow, the soil to plant in
should be evenly spread over the bed to
the depth of FIVE or six inches. The
sod should be prepared the fall pre-
vious, and must be kept in dry place
under cover till needed for use. The
soil must have large proportion of
sand intimately mixed through it. This
is to prevent pudding and baking un-
der the use of the watering pot.
Good garden loan, old hot-bed ma
nure, and sand in about equal proper.
tions, will make rich, mellow soil fol
receiving the seeds. 1t will be all the
better if it has been freed from weed
seeds by sprouting them in the soil a
few days previous to planting the gar.
den seeds. If the manure be hot, the
weed seeds will mostly sprout by the
third day, when good raking Of the
bed will utterly destroy them. The
bed is now ready for the seeds we wish
to SOW, and they may be drilled in, in
rows, OF sown broadcast, according tC
what is to be done with, the plants.
Timber Belts For Farm Protection
|