Hot-Beds and Cold-Frames
Fresh vegetables may be had during the winter at small expense by every suburbanite, if he builds a hot-bed or cold-frame. By their use early spring plants can also be given a good start. Since the bed must be placed partly in the damp ground, the only material to be considered for this purpose is concrete, which does not rot out and which, being free from cracks and joints, makes the warmest bed in cold weather.
Locate the bed on the sunny side of a building, if possible, on the south side. Dig the pit the width and length of the hot-bed, not less than 3 feet deep. The one shown is 39 feet long and divided into 3 equal compartments. Make box forms of 1-inch lumber to carry the south (front) wall 6 inches and the north (back) wall 15 inches above ground. The end walls slope to the others. If the bed is not near a building, extend the back wall 2 feet higher to serve as a wind-break. Before filling the forms with concrete, test their width by laying on a sash. See that it laps full 2 inches at each end.
Mix the concrete mushy wet in proportions 1: 2½: 5. Fill the forms without stopping for anything. Tie the walls together at the corners by laying old iron rods in them bent at right angles. During the placing of the concrete set ½-inch bolts about 2 feet apart to hold the wooden framing to the concrete; or make grooves in the tops of the walls for sinking the frames level with the top of the concrete, allowing one-quarter inch at each end for clearance. This can be done by temporarily embedding in the soft concrete a wooden strip of the necessary width and thickness. Remove the forms after six days. Divisions may be built along with the walls or later as convenient. One and one-half days were required for two men to build a hot-bed 5½ by 12¼ feet in the clear.
| Materials Required | ||
|---|---|---|
| Screened gravel or broken stone | 2½ cubic yards at $1.10 | $2.75 |
| Sand | 1¼ cubic yards at $1.00 | 1.25 |
| Portland cement | 3½ barrels at $2.50 | 8.75 |
| $12.75 | ||
