Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1913-08-15

ing a limited number az early pants
Is by means of a shallow hoN placed
II south window Of tie dwelling.
Af,er the plant, appear the box should
Toe turned ca,I day t. trevcut the
pants drawing toward The light
The most common ... thoi Of start
iu., carly plants in the north !, by
means of hothci IN the north the
bottled should he started in February
or early in March. 1t is desirable to
have sGpriy Of straw or loos, ma
nure on hand To throw over the bed
In case of extremely cold weather.
boring bright days the botbpd will
heat very quickly from the sunshine on
the glass. and ii VIII be necessary to
ventllH;e during the early morning by
slightly raising the sash on the oppO-
site de from the wind. Care should
be taken In yentilating to protect the
plants from draft OF cold air To
ward evening close the sash.
iIotbedS should he watercd on bright
days and in the morning only. After
watering. the bed should be well ven
dated
/ In the north the use of the cold
I frame is for hardening off plants that
have been started in the hotbed, pre-
paratory to setting them in the garden
In the south the cold frame Is made to
take the place Of the hotbed in start
ing early plants.
| Good soil for seed bed, specially
/ fnr a Al ptx
sists Of one part Of well rotted manure,
two parts of good garden loan or rot
ted sods and one part of sharp. fine
sand. The manure should be thorough
ly rotted. but it should not have been
exposed to the weather and the
strength leached out of it. The addi-
ton of leaf mold or peat will tend to
make the soil better adapted for seed
bed purposes. Mix all the ingredients
together in a heap. stirring well with "A
shovel. after which the soil should be
sifted and placed in boxes or in the bed
ready for sowing the seed
Weed seeds and the spores Of fun
gous diseases may be killed by placing
the soil in pans and baking it for an
hour in hot oven.
No definite rule can be given for the
depth to which seeds should be plant
ed. In all cases the depth should he
uniform. The seed bed should be nei-
Their dry nor too wet.
Plants grown in a house. hotbed or
cold frame will require to be hardened
of before planting in the garden.
Hardening off Is usually accomplished
by ventilating freely and by reducing
the amount Of water applied to the
plant bed. The plant bed should not
become too dry.
Some plants require protection from
the direct rays of the sun in summer
or from cold in winter. and there are
many that need special protection
while they are quite small. Seedlings
Of many Of the garden crops are un-
able to force, their way through the
crust formed on the soil after heavy
rains. and it is necessary either to
break the crust with steel rake or
soften it by watering.
For protecting plants from cold in
winter several kinds Of materials are
used. such as boards. cloth, pine
bOughs. straw, manure or leaves.
There are number Of crops of a trop-
ical nature that may be grown far
north. provided they are properly pro-
tected during the winter.
Several Of the annual crops can he
matured much earlier in the spring If
they are planted In the autumn and
protected during the winter. mulch
of manure. straw or leaves forms q
good protection. but care should be
taken that the mulch does not contain
seeds.
Frequent shallow cultivation should
be employed for most garden crops
and during dry weather the depth
should not exceed two inches. BY
keeping the surface soil well stirred
what is termed dust mulch" Is
formed. and. while this layer of fine.
lly divided soil will become quite dry
1t prevents the escape of moisture
through the pores Of the soil. A mulch
consisting Of fine manure. clippings
from the lawn or any similar material
spread to a distance Of ten or twelve
inches around the plants. will preserve
the moisture. but the mulch should moi
be SO heavy as to exclude the air.
A crust forming over the soil after 8
rain or watering is detrimental t.
plant growth and should be broken uI
as soon as the land can be worked. Tt
gEsI