The Somerset reporter., 1904-02-25
NOTES ON HOTBEOs.
What Cnn he Grown In the Hotbed
An EnrIy start Desirable.

An EnrIy start Desirable.
The question as to what can be grown
In a hotbed often arises. Very much
depends upon the kind of plants grown
and how closely the space IL occupied.
For purposes oil comparison 512 by II
foot hotbed WAS used, and the kinds Of
plants were onions for transplanting,
tomato. lettuce, radish, beets, cabbage,
eluliflower, cucumber and melon. With
the hotbed must also be included cold
frame of the same size. The bed was
sown April l as follows: one sash OF
onions. two OF tomatoes and one of let
tuce. cabbage, caulitiower and radish.
The onion seed Of course was sown
very late. which was bad practice, and
the plants occupied the space until too
late for further use. All seeds were
sown four inches apart in drills. The
tomatoes were transplanted when the
second set of leaves appeared and sim
ply occupied the same space as when
standing in the drills
May 3-4 300 plants were potted and
removed to the cold frame and the re
malnder were left in the bed until sold
or otherwise disposed of The potted
plants were all used at home, and by
an accident $50 of these were destroyed
after planting in the open ground
These were replaced from the hotbed.
and the remainder, mostly sold by the
dozen. brought $3.50. A portion of the
cold frame NY filling and banking with
manure was used for hotbed, into which
the cabbage. caulifower and lettuce
were transferred from time to time. or
the cabbage and caullfower plants 200
were planted out and the rest sold for
50 cents
The first radshes were ready for use
April II. and thirty-two punches were
grown at 50 cents These were follow
ed by beets for transpanting. AS the
lettuce and cabbage plants were trans
ferred to the second bed the space was
used for cucumber and melon plants
started in berry boxes Forty-six in
all were thus put In and later were
transferred to the cold frame. OF the
beets. sufficient were grown to set 200
feet of drill and onion plants enough
to set 30 by 40 feet of space. The let
tuce sold during the month of May
amounted to $3.50 Considerable was
also planted in the open ground of
which no account is taken. These re
suits are not to be taken as the maxi
mum or minimum, but rather a me
dunn Of what may be accomplished
with the hotbed and cold frame.
An earlier start would very likely
have added considerable to the amount
grown There comes time when
plants will no longer thrive well in
the hotbed. but will do much better
in the open ground. So, generally
speaking. there is much to be gained
by an early start. For the Kitchen
garden. where only bed or two will
be found practical, then of course the
time of starting must be arranged to
accommodate the greatest variety OF
plants One kind will require more
time than some other and holding
plants in the beds after they are ready
to 20 out for soil and weather condi
tIons to become favorable Is poor prac
tice. Onions, for instance, for best re-
suits should have gone in four to six
weeks earlier than April |, as also let
tuce and early cabbage For extra
early the tomatoes should have been
started at least by March II, and two
crops of radishes might easily have
been grown. +. Morse In Rural New
Yorker