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Show ' " B; m- - . - Jmk -t, - seller . rtiir.-5tk& - f i ' .? - rh! i lE. , MAKING A HOTBED f ins- ; A. T. Hall filjj Assistant Horticulturist, Utah'Agri- iTiaj - cultural College Szj For tn? gardener who wains to have car' ra(snes- lottuco and beets, or ; wants to raise his own tomato, cab- ! bas allt celorv Pnts it is time to .01 1 begin Hie hotbed. The best kind of a fef-j i hotbed Is a permanent one, made of ,- concrete, II Is always ready for work , in the spring, it being only necessary V2l ; 10 clean out the dirt and manure SjH 1 Whore a concrete bed is not possible, ja ;, the wooden kind are quite serviceable. If the pit has net already been dug, gl ; pile some fresh horse manure over tnu Brt spot to be dug and the soil will soon WO be thawed out. The hotbed depends Era upon the manure for its heat and upon E I the sun for light to make Ihe plants i ; grow. Therefore the hotbed must have 1 ' a southern exposure where it will be ,1 in the sun all day long. If there are ( - cold prevailing winds, board fence or : i buildings on those sides will keep tho $ : bed from being cooled off. Sinco the I hotbed requires frequent attention, cs- Ij peclally during tho cold v.-caiheij it should be located clos"e to the dwelling ; house so that it will not be too great , im effort to visit it often. A hotbcil t also requires large quantities of water 1 so it naturally must be close to th ; water supply. Furthermore, tho soil I wants to be well drained becausr- standing water ou manure "kills' the heat. Vor making a Bmall hotbed not lonn- cr than six feot, inchboards arc suffi- - ciently thick providing they aro well clcated to prevent warping and crack- ; lag. If tho bod is to be longer, two. " inch planka aro betler. In making a large hotbed of planks, each side ) should be made separateb' and the ; parta fastened together with screws, bolts or hooks. The cross bars sup- : I porting the fash should be dove-tailed ' r into the sides never nailed. Th1 y ! crosa bars should be provided with J '. Ur'I grooves to remove the moisture ) . that so often causes tho troublesome ) drip. : s If sar.h are to be used on tho hotbed it dses not pay tj get anything bjv cypress, cy-press, it outlasta other v;oods many years. The glass should be double ctrength ten by twelve inch panes. In putting in the glass be sure that the sash is painted one ccat llrst. otherwise other-wise the putty will not slick and the sash will require frequent repairing. In many localities, glas3 is not necessary neces-sary for hotbeds, a good grade of factory fac-tory giving nearly as good results. If factory is used, be sure to have some canvas or quilts to supplement it on cold nights. Horse manure i3 the best heat medium me-dium for hotbeds. Secure some that has about one-third its bulk of straw as this will givo ma::Imum heat. If it does not steam readily, a little hot water will give it a start. When it has steamed thoroughly -for several days, the pile must be tlirned do that the outside of the. old pile goes into the inside of the new one. After several sev-eral days of steaming it is ready for tho hotbed. It should be placed in the pit in layers lay-ers six inches deep, and well trrmped, otherwise it will settle later and give trouble. The linal depth of the manure man-ure should be twelve to eighteen inches, although more is noccessary W colder climates. After the manure 13 covered with soil the bed may be covered cov-ered and allowed to heat several days j before sowing the seed. |