The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-19

but should never be allowed to fire. Fill
the pits full of this manure, packing
or treading it down firmly and let the
manure come little above the surface,
so that in settling, the manure will be
on a level with the surface. just as
soon as the manure bed is made, cover
at once with fine rich soil, which should
be provided ahead; put on not less than
four inches of this dirt, six inches would
be better but four will answer; however.
the more dirt we have the easier 1t will
be to manage the heat and the stronger
will be the growth of the plants. The
frames of these hot beds may be made
from any kind of rough lumber and
should be made four inches higher at the
back than in front. The slope should be
to the south or to the east; this is very
important After the work of placing
the dirt on is completed, cover over
tightly with the sash or with cloth or
boards and leave the beds for several
days until the first heat passes off. Some
times it is necessary to leave the beds
closed this way for week. This method
gets all the weed seed sprouted so that
they are easily killed in preparing the
soil for the seed. When the bed Is ready
for the seed work the soil down very
fine then take board six inches wide
and nearly as long as the bed is wide
Commence at one end of the bed, lay
this board down and max on either
side a shallow furrow for the seed Then
lay the board on the last row sowed,
mark another row and continue THIS
until the whole bed is sown. Then turn
back and with the same board go over
this board down and mark on either
seed In order to do this work faster,
use a wider board. In sowing the seed
great care must be taken not to get
them too thick for If this is the case,
the plants will grow up spindling and
will be practically worthless.
feet are most convenient and are more
Sash of glass with frames three by six
commonly used for truck farming than
any Others Frequently cloth frames are
used, however the glass is best, especi
ally where earliness is the main object.
These glass sashes should last for years.
1 have used the same sash for sixteen
years. OF course, occasionally light
will get broken, but these are easily re-
placed. When the season is over these
sashes should be put away. Hot beds will
have to be watched closely. given plenty
of air and not allowed to grow too fast
Plants so grown are almost worthless.
Very often it will pay to set the plants
off on what we call a cold frame.
Cold Frame.
This cold frame is made very much
after the order of the hot beds. only in
making 1t use only few inches of ma
nure, from four to six inches. depending
upon the earliness when made and upon
the weather. In growing early cabbage
1 find that this cold framing pays, as
we get much better plants, plants that
grow off when set in the open ground
much faster, thus securing a quick crop.
On the cold frames we can harden the
plants SO much better than We can on
the hot beds. Where the hot beds only
are to be used the seed should be sowed
thinly, the plants thinned and kept well
cultivated and given plenty of fresh air
daily.
The watering Of the plants is particn-
lar job and the evening Is the best time
for this work. Water should not be
pumped from the we'll and put on plants;
if well water has to be used 1t should be
pumped into tanks and let stand until IL
becomes OF the same temperature as that
of the air. frequently 1t will become
necessary to have 1t even warmer than
the air, and this is especially true in the
early season. Rain water is always bet
ter than either spring or well water
When possible open up the beds and let
the rain in, as a good soaking by RAIN IS
far better than any provided water, as
there Is more or less amonia In the rain,
which stimulates the growth of the
four inches high and have been hardened,
thew are then ready to set in the open
field.
Deep, Rich Soil Needed.
The cabbage thrives best in a deep,
rich soil where there is good underdrain-
age. Where clay soils are used these
should be broken deep and made very
rich by heavy applications of we'll rotted
stable manure. Manure for the early
cabbage crop should always be spread on
broadcast, late in the fall or as early in
the spring as possible and plowed I'M
der before 1t has time to become dry. AS
to the quantity, this will depend entirely
upon the condition of the soil
Where the soil is in a fine physical con-
dition, perhaps fifty wagon loads of we'll
rotted manure or about forty tons per
acre will be sufficient. This depends.
however somewhat on the character of
the manure. The cabbage is greedy
feeder and is not so choice of manure, SO
that almost any kind of manure made on
the farm may be used. Where the ma
nure pile is made by throwing the ma
nure from all the animals on the farm in
one common heap, such manure will an
swer well for the cabbage crop.
AS stable manure is not always to be
had in sufficient quantities. some COM
mercial fertilizer may be needed in con-
nection with the above named farm fer
tilzer. Some growers make a practice of
sowing bone meal at the rate of four
to five hundred pounds per acre In addi-
ton to the barnyard manure This is
sowed and narrowed in just before the
setting of the plants. Many Soils would
be greatly benefited by an application of
twenty bushels of pure rock lime per acre.
sown broadcast and narrowed in right
after the barnyard manure has been