Middletown transcript., 1895-10-05
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VEGETABLES UNDER GLASS,
As Grown by Successful Truck Gardener
In the Vicinity Of Boston.

As Grown by Successful Truck Gardener
In the Vicinity of Boston.
At a meeting of the Massachusetts
Horticultural society William D. Phil
brick read a paper on vegetables under
glass in which these statements occurred
The vegetables mostly forced for
market at present are, in their order Of
Importance, lettuce, cucumbers, rad
ishes, dandelions, beets and beet greens,
parsley, mint and cress. Mushrooms are
also largely forced, but not under glass.
Dark pits are used for this purpose.
Lettuce is by far the most largely grown
and used Of all the forced vegetables.
Most Of the greenhouses produce two or
three successive crops of lettuce each
winter, followed by a crop Of cucumbers
in spring and summer.
A common difficulty is maintaining
suitable degree Of temperature and
moisture. Other difficulties include the
treatment Of insects and fungous dis
eases. Good crops of both lettuce and
cucumbers are usually grown in new
greenhouse the first year, but the sue
ceeding crops are more subject to dis
ease. This suggests the Importance of
the rotation of crops when it is practi-
cable in order to avoid the spores Of
fungi, which accumulate rapidly where
repeated crops Of the same vegetable are
grown.
Under the impression that cucumbers
and lettuce require bottom heat, the
pipes were first placed under the beds,
which proved mistake. The pipes
must be either in the alleys or overhead.
and the beds built upon the ground.
Mr.. Philbrick added that certain vege-
tables can be grown together success
fully, but he prefers to grow only one
kind at time in one house. Amateur
gardeners, however, often wish to grow
several vegetables together. Dandelions
will thrive in temperature of 40 de-
grees at night; lettuce from 45 degrees
to so degrees. Yet dandelions, lettuce
and radishes can be grown together
easily. Cucumbers require more heat.
Still, in their younger stages of growth
radishes or beets may be grown with
them, but when they begin to bear fruit
they demand SO much more heat, as
we'll as more room, that radishes cannot
succeed. Tomatoes, like cucumbers,
must have high temperature. In grow
ing cucumbers under glass, one great
difficulty is in fertilizing the flowers. If
bees are about the premises, they will
perform this work, but otherwise hand
fertilization will be imperative. 20
Lettuce will head when the tempera-
ture runs up 80 degrees in the sunshine,
but high temperature at night must be
guarded against. Lettuce is also liable
to be burned at 80 degrees temperature
in the daytime, but this can generally
be prevented by wetting down the
paths. In doing this, however, care
must be taken not to wet the plants.
They must never be wet when the sun
is shining hot upon them. In watering
these plants it does not matter whether
1t be done in the morning or the after
noon, provided the water is quickly
dried off the plants. When new bed
for crop Of lettuce has been prepared
in house, it should be thoroughly wet
down three or four hours before plant
ing, but the soil should not be muddy
when the plants are set. After the
planting is completed give light wa
tering, Where q bed is built two or
three feet high, with an air space be-
heath, it requires more Mastering.