One Thousand Ways to Make a Living; or, An Encyclopædia of Plans to Make Money

by Harold Morse Dunphy

Starting Early Plants

Half the pleasure and profit of a garden is derived from having something to use just as early in the spring as possible. In many cities and towns last year the local greenhouse men grew thousands of plants which were sold to home gardeners at very reasonable prices. It often happens, however, that home gardeners do not have the opportunity to purchase well-grown plants, so they must start their own supply of early plants in the house or in a hotbed if they desire to have their crops mature early. Among the garden crops that may be started to advantage in this manner are tomatoes, early cabbage, peppers, eggplant, and lettuce. Even cucumbers, melons, beets, snap beans, Lima beans, and sweet corn may be started indoors by using flowerpots, paper bands, or berry boxes to hold the soil.

Fig. 6.—Starting early plants; preparing the seed box.

Where just a few tomato and cabbage plants are desired, the seeds may be sown in a cigar box or in a shallow tin pan with a few holes punched in the bottom for drainage. A very good plan is to secure a soap box and saw off about 3 inches of the bottom portion to form a tray. If the top has been saved, it can be nailed on and the box again sawed, forming a second tray. This will leave about 3 inches of the middle of the box upon which a piece of wire netting may be tacked to form a sieve for screening the soil used in the trays. Any shallow box ([fig. 5]) that may be fitted into the window of a living room where there is a reasonable amount of sunlight will answer for starting early plants.

After filling the trays with sifted soil, smooth off even with the top and slightly firm down the soil in the trays by means of a small piece of board. Use the edge of a ruler or strip of thin board ([fig. 6]) to form little grooves or furrows in the soil in which to plant the seeds. These little rows should be about 2 inches apart and one-fourth inch deep. Scatter the seeds of tomatoes, early cabbage, peppers, and eggplant, as shown in [figure 7], very thinly in the rows and cover them by sifting a small quantity of soil over the entire surface. Smooth the top of the soil gently and water very lightly.

The box should then be placed where the temperature will remain at about 70° F. If conditions are kept right, the seedlings will appear in five to eight days after the seed is planted. From this time on the plants will need constant care, especially as regards watering. Owing to the fact that the light from a window comes from one side only, the seedlings will draw toward the glass, and the box should be turned each day, so as to keep the plants from growing crooked. Just as soon as the little plants are large enough to handle they should be transplanted to other boxes and given 2 or 3 inches of space in each direction.

Fig. 7.—Starting early plants; sowing seed in the window box.

Where the required number of plants is too great for growing in window boxes, a hotbed or cold frame may be provided. The usual method of constructing a hotbed is to first dig a shallow pit 8 to 18 inches deep, according to locality, and pack it full of fermenting stable manure. The manure before being placed in the pit should be turned over once or twice in a pile, in order to insure even heating. It may then be packed into the hotbed pit and tramped uniformly. Standard hotbed sash are 3 feet in width and 6 feet in length, and the size of the bed should be made to suit the number of sash employed. A framework of boards 18 to 24 inches high at the back and about 12 inches high in front is placed over the manure-filled pit to support the sash. ([Fig. 8].)

About 3 or 4 inches of fine garden loam is spread evenly over the manure and the bed allowed to stand four or five days to warm up before any seed is sown. At first the temperature of the bed will run rather high, and it is best to delay planting the seeds in it until it begins to decline. This can best be determined by placing a cheap thermometer, with the bulb about 3 inches below the surface of the soil, and watching it until the temperature falls below 85° F. before planting the seeds.

If glazed sash are not available for covering the hotbed, heavy muslin may be used instead; the glass, however, makes the most desirable form of covering. Care must be taken to give the bed sufficient ventilation to prevent overheating; as it is liable to heat up rapidly when the sun shines full upon the glass. Watering should be done during the early part of the day and the bed given enough air so that the plants will dry off before night. The bed should be closed before evening, in order to conserve enough heat to carry it through the night in good condition. If the weather should turn severely cold, a covering of straw, blankets, or canvas may be thrown over the bed to protect it.

Fig. 8.—Preparation of a sash-covered frame for starting early plants.

A cold frame is constructed in exactly the same manner as a hotbed, with the exception that no manure is placed beneath it to supply heat.

Before the plants are set in the garden, either from the hotbed or the cold-frame they should be gradually hardened to outside conditions by giving them more ventilation each day. Finally, remove the sash entirely on bright days and replace them for the night. The aim should be to produce strong, healthy plants that will make a quick start when placed in the garden.