The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-05-21
ThE EARN hOTeEp.
There Arc Two Plane For Making Tt.
Hints Concerning Its Management.

There Arc Two Plans For Making Tt.
Hints Concerning Its Management.
It costs so little to make and manage
q hotbed large enough to raise all the
plants needed that it will be found good
economy to have one. One Of the i'm
portant items in really good garden is
to have good supply Of vegetables
early. One of the easiest and best ways
of doing this is to grow them in hot
bed. One good advantage in growing
them over purchasing is That with lit
tie care there is cernin to be full sup
ply ON hand when the farmer can find
it most convenient to set them out.
In making hotbed the place selected
should be one that can be readily drain
ed. There are two plans that can be fol.
lowed. One is to dig pit and put the
whole bed on q level with the ground.
The other is to put the led nearly or
quite above the ground. If made early,
especially if the selection is one that
admits of good drainage, digging a pit
is rather the best, as more even temper
ature can be secured, and as the temper
ature is usually very changeable in'the
spring this is often quite an item.
Dig the pit to 6 feet wide and as
long as may be necessary. 1t should be
80 inches deep then put good layer Of
straw in the bottom and up the sides
about two feet. Then put in the manure
This should be fresh from the horse sta
bles. 1t will be better if there is good
deal of litter like straw OF leaves mixed
with the manure. Spread it evenly and
tramp it down we'll so that in settling
the whole bed will settle evenly. Put
in about 2 feet Of the manure, and
over the top Of this put layer Of about
inches of rich, loamy soil. This,
with the straw, ought to bring the bed
a little above the surface. Bank up
around the bed with soil or set boards
ON edge, driving stakes to hold them in
place. One side should be made higher
than the other, so that when covered
with boards the water will be kept out
Cover the bed over carefully when
completed and let it stand three or four
days before sowing the seed. Be sure to
have the soil fine. Mark it out in drills,
for even in the hotbed it is more eco
nomical of space to SOW the seed in
drills, pressing the soil down upon the
seed after covering Whenever the sun
shines out warm, open the bed but
cover closely at night and on rainy or
cold, cloudy days. If it is necessary to
water the plants, use water that is milk
warm, and remember that one thorough
wetting of the soil is more beneficial
than half dozen sprinklirys. If the
season is late and the bed gets cold, take
a sharpened broom handle and make
holes down as deep as you can, 6 to 10
inches apart, all over the bed, and fill
them with scalded bran, pouring it
while warm, and cover the top of each
with little earth.
If surface bed is made, take off or
inches of the soil, put down layer Of
straw around this, set up good, wide
planks, drive down stout stakes to hold
the planks in place. Then put in the
manure and over this layer of soil and
cover the same as before. 1t will be
little better il the bed is banked up
some on the outside.
A bed feet wide and s feet long will
supply all the plants ordinarily needed,
says the author Of the foregoing, which
was originally written for the st. Louis
Republic.