Hollyhocks
Hollyhock. These old garden favorites have been neglected of late years, primarily because the Hollyhock rust has been so prevalent, destroying the plants or making the unsightly. The double varieties seem to suffer the most; and for that reason, and from the fact that the less formal type is in favor, the single varieties are now the most generally grown. Their culture is very simple. The seed is usually sown in July or August, and the plants set where wanted the following spring. They will bloom the same year in which they are transplanted—the year following the seed-sowing. New plants should be set every two years, as the old crowns are apt to rot or die after the first flowering. For rust, spray early with Bordeaux mixture or ammoniacal carbonate of copper.
Hop, Ornamental. Humulus Japonicus, or the annual Hop, is one of the best rapid-growing screen vines in cultivation. It makes a dense canopy of attractive foliage. The leaves are finely cut, and in one variety variegated with white. This variegated variety is a fine vine for a porch or front screen, always attracting attention to its markings. This Hop is propagated by seed sown in boxes in March. When once established, it will seed itself and start as soon as the soil becomes warm. Set plants 4 to 8 feet apart. Height 8 to 20 feet.
Horseradish. As a kitchen garden vegetable, this is usually planted in some out-of-the-way spot and a piece of the root dug as often as needed, the fragments of roots being left in the soil to grow for further use. This method results in having nothing but tough, stringy roots, very unlike the product of a properly planted and well cared for bed. The best roots are those planted in the spring at the time of setting early cabbage, and dug as late the same fall as the weather will permit. It becomes, therefore, an annual crop. The roots for planting are small pieces, from 4 to 6 inches long, obtained when trimming the roots dug in the fall. These pieces may be packed in sand and stored until wanted the following spring. In planting, the roots should be set with the upper end 3 inches below the surface of the ground, using a dibber or sharp-pointed stick in making the holes. The crop may be planted between rows of early-sown beets, lettuce or other crop, and given full possession of the ground when these crops are harvested. Where the ground is inclined to be stiff or the subsoil is near the surface, the roots may be set in a slanting position. In fact, many gardeners practice this method of planting, thinking that the roots make a better growth and are more uniform in size.
Hotbed. A Hotbed is a frame or box which has artificial heat and a transparent covering and in which plants are grown. It differs from a coldframe ([which see]) in the fact that it has artificial bottom heat. This bottom heat is usually supplied by fermenting organic matter, chiefly horse manure, but hot air, hot water or steam conveyed in pipes, may be employed. It is covered with sash of which the normal or standard size is 3 feet wide and 6 feet long. These sashes are laid crosswise the box or frame. The standard size of frame is 6 feet wide and 12 feet long. A “frame,” therefore, accommodates four sashes. However, the frame may be of any length desired. This frame is ordinarily made of boards, and the back of it is 3 or 4 inches higher than the front, so that the sashes slope to the sun. It is customary to have a space of 6 to 10 inches between the earth and the sash on the lower or front side. The manure which is used to heat the bed may be placed on top of the ground and the frame set on the pile, or it may be placed in a pit. If the land is warm and well drained, it is ordinarily better to have a pit from 1 to 2 feet deep and to set the frame over it. This is especially the case if it is desired to have a permanent Hotbed yard. The place in which the frames are set should be protected from the cold and prevailing winds by a rising slope, a high board fence, a building, hedge, or other obstruction. If the frame yard is near the main buildings, it will be much more accessible in rainy or snowy times, and the plants are likely to have better care. Water should also be handy.
Section of a Hotbed
The time of starting a Hotbed will depend upon the kinds of plants to be grown, the amount of time which one wishes to gain, and something, also, on the quality of the manure. The hardier the plant the earlier it can be started. In the latitude of New York, from the first to the middle of March is the usual time for starting a Hotbed. In this bed are sown seeds of early flowers and such vegetables as cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, etc. In the raising of any plants in the Hotbed, it is very essential that they do not become “drawn” or “leggy.” In order to prevent this, they must be given plenty of room, thorough ventilation on all pleasant days, and not too great heat. It is well to transplant them once or twice before they are finally set in the field, especially if they are started, in New York, as early as the first or middle of March. When they are transplanted, they can be set in another Hotbed or in a coldframe; but it is important that the succeeding frames in which they are set should not be very much colder than the one in which they grew, else they may become stunted. It is well, however, to transplant them into a gradually cooler and freer atmosphere in order to harden them off, so that they may go into the open ground without danger. On every pleasant day, raise the sash at the upper end 1 or 2 inches, or if the sun shines brightly and the wind does not blow, give even more air; and eventually strip off the sashes entirely. It is very important that the plants are not kept too close and grown too soft. It is usually advisable to sow cabbage, lettuce and other hardy plants in different frames from tomatoes and other tender things, in order that the proper requirements may be given to each. At night the Hotbeds (at least early in the season) will need more protection than the glass sash. It was formerly the custom to use thick rye-straw mats to cover Hotbeds, but it is now a common practice to use the straw matting which can be bought of carpet dealers. This is rolled out on the sashes at night in one or two thicknesses; and if the weather is sharp, board shutters, the size of the sash, may be laid on top. As the manure heat begins to fail give more and more air, so that the plants may be able to shift for themselves when the bottom heat is finally exhausted.
Fresh horse manure is the material which is commonly used for the heating of Hotbeds. If it can be secured from livery stables, so that it is all of nearly or quite the same age, better results may be expected. Manure from highly fed horses usually heats better than that from horses which receive little grain, or in which there is very much litter. Put the manure in a pile, preferably under cover, and as soon as it shows signs of heating, fork it over in order to mix the entire mass and to cause it to heat evenly. When it is steaming throughout the whole mass, it may be put in the bed. Assuming that the Hotbed has a pit beneath it, it is well to put in 2 or 3 inches of coarse litter in order to keep the manure off the cold ground. The manure is then put in and tramped down, in layers of 4 to 6 inches each. If the manure is of the right consistency, it will pack without becoming dense and soggy; that is, it will spring a little beneath the feet. If it has too much litter, it will fluff up under the feet and not pack well. From 18 to 24 or even 30 inches of manure is placed in the pit. On top, an inch of dry straw or light leaf-mold may be placed to serve as a distributor of the heat to the earth above. From 3 to 4 inches of rich, light earth is placed upon this, in which to sow the seed. The manure will ordinarily heat violently for a few days. Place a soil thermometer in it, and as soon as the temperature begins to fall below 90° the seeds of tomatoes and egg-plants may be sown; and when it begins to fall below 80°, the seeds of cabbages, lettuce and cauliflower may be sown. If the frame is not placed over a pit and the manure is put on top of the ground, it will be necessary to allow the body of manure to project 1 or 2 feet in all directions in order to prevent the edges of the bed from freezing.
In starting plants in a Hotbed, one must not expect to gain as much time in the crop as he gains in the starting of the seeds: that is, if he starts the seeds two months ahead of the normal season, he will not gain two months in the ripening of the crop. Ordinarily, he cannot expect to gain much more than one-half the time, particularly if the plants are transplanted to the field from the Hotbed.