The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1918-03-14
THE HOT BED AND
EARLY VEGETABLES
THE COLD FRAME SHOULD Al,
WAYS ACCOMPANY THE
HOTBED.
HOW TO CONSTRUCT ONE
Plants Should First Be Started In
Hotbed Then TranspIanted, to tho
Cold Franc.

For forcing early vegetables such as
tomatoes, egg plants. peppers, etc, the
hotbed is Indispensable. To construct
hotbed an eastern or southern ex-
posure should be selected. The
frame should be feet wide and any
desired length. AS rule for the fam.
lily garden, hotbed 6 by 8 feet will
be sufficient for rearing all young
plants for the garden. 1t would be
much better, however to have a frame
by IL feet. This will afford ample
space for transplanting the plants and
give them more room in order that
they may properly develop. The soil
Is excaVated to a depth OF Is inches
and the frame built feet wide and
the desired length and fitted over the
trench. The frame should slope to.
wards the east in order to admit sun
light. The bottom of the frame is
filled with fermenting stable manure.
This should be mixed thoroughly be.
fore being placed in the frame and
packed firmly and watered freely i'm
mediately afterwards. In the south
| IL inches OF manure will furnish suf-
hcient heat for hotbods; while in the
north, where the weather is more Sc.
we're, two feet of manure is usually
used. On top of the manure is placed
SIX inches OF garden soil which has
been well sifted and is free from ali
| roots and trash This should be
slightly packed in order to make 1t
| perfectly level. The sash of the
frame are always three feet wide and
six feet long. The frame. therefore.
should either be constructed three.
garden soil has been placed in the
I frame. it Is well to cover this with one
inch OF finely sifted woods earth
Woods earth is used because it l.
always free from grass and wceI
seeds which are frequently very trou-
blesome when the garden soil is used
After the bed has been completed the
sash are put in place and the frame
| allowed to stand for 3 or days befor ;
planting the seed. This is done in
order to allow the bed to become thor
| oughly warm before planting ThA
seeds may then be planted, watercG
slightly, and the sash replaced. A;
| soon as the plants come up the bed
should be ventilated if the weather
conditions are favorable Even when
the temperature is near freezing in
| the early morning, it will be warm
| enough before midday to ventilat -
the bed for few hours. If the
frames are not properly ventilated
the plants will grow too tall and be-
come tender and will not withstand
the transplating without being injur.
cd. When a frame is properly con-
structed it will last for number OF
years. Each year, however, fresh ma
nure will have to be placed in the
frame. The same hotbed may be useI
for various kinds of vegetables. For
instance one may first grow cabbagc
and caulifiower After these are re-
moved or transplanted I'm the cold
frame, tomatoes. egg plants and pep.
per seed may be sown I'm the SAM
frame These will be ample size fo.'
transplanting by the time the wealth
or conditions are favorable Great
care should be exercised in watering
freely during warm weather they will
grow too rapidly, and if watercd too
freely during excessively cold wealth
er, they are label to be injured. II
Is. therefore, recommended that the
plants be watered just enough to keep
them in good growing condition and
not allow them to suffer.
Cold Frame.-The cold frame
should always accompany the hotbcG
the plants first being started in the
hotbed and then transplanted 20 tho
cold frame, and from there to the open
ground whenever the weather condi.
tions will permit. The cold frame
diners from the hotbcd i'm only one re-
spect. it does not have the manure a,
the bottom of the bed to produce heat,
otherwise the frame is constructed in
exactly the same way as the hotbed
Cold frames are sometimes covered
with heavy canvas instead OF glass.
This is much cheaper than the glass
and the frames are more easily har<
died when covered by canvas than
when covered with glass. The plants
however. will not grow off as rapidly
but this. az rule is an advantage
In favor Of the canvas-covcred frames.
The chief trouble with the amate eur
gardener Is that he forces his plants
too rapidly.