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Show THE COLD-FRAME IS HELPFUL Tho cold-frame is so callod because there is no artificial heat either from fire or from fermenting manure as in a hotbed. A frame of this kind ie eimply sot on a bed of light and highly enriched 60ll, tho higher slde toward the north and the low one to the southeast south-east It l made Bix feet wide to accommodate ac-commodate the Bash, which are made 3x6 feet, tho standard size, though other sizes aro made to order. Where there is a large number of sash used on frames In a market garden gar-den it is a common practice to simply nail the front and back boards to lines of posts and have no cross stripe, making mak-ing tho ends of the framo removable, so that the ground can bo prepared with horse and plow I prefer to make the frame of two-Inch stuff north side, say, 8 inches and I placo a 2x4 across bar dovetailed in each side, but hot nailed, so that it can be taken out in the preparation of the soil in case horse and plow are to be used. On the middle of this piece I nail a parting strip lxl inch. This holds tho sash from sidewav movement when they are being slipped up or down, or entirely off, by one man. The cross-bar also holds tho sides together and prevents pre-vents warping, whllo the boards are held by it perpendicular to the outside out-side posts. The cross-bar is plainly shown in the cut Illustrating the two-sash two-sash top frame and is held to the frame by steel dowels. The frames are heavily manured With rotten manure, preferably cow manure or sheep manure. Then I make little ridges across tho frame a foot apart This is to prevent setting the plant too deep, for they will not head well if set too deep The plants are set six inches apart on these little ridges and as soon as they start to grow I apply a pound of htgh-grado commercial fertilizer in each sash between be-tween the rows and then work tho soil down level. These plants will head In November and often do not. need the sashes. Then, in this climate, with tho double glass sashes I can sow beets and radishes rad-ishes in tho cold frames. For if I immediately im-mediately follow with lettuce again I may introduce disease. These radishes and beets will come off in th spring, and having some cucumber cu-cumber plants started In pots in a hotbed hot-bed or greenhouse, I can set them in tho frames and keep them protected till tho weather is warm. After tho cucumbers fall I will keep the frames clean by growing string beans In them and In the fall will set lettuce plants again in early December for the w inter market. Only a very small hotbed Is needed to start enough plants for a number of cold-frames, which must be used in order to get strong plants andf to harden hard-en them off before setting In tho open ground. A simple excavation under the frame will answer, but it is better to have the pit lined with plank, as it can then be cleaned out later and used for potted plan's of later growth, such as egg plants, that need protection protec-tion later than tomatoes and other things. The hotbed is a frame with a pit excavated ex-cavated below the surface in which fresh, trashy manure Is pecked. The manure Is piled a fow days ahead of tho time for making the bed. and as it heats It Is turned and replied so as to get It heating uniformly. Eighteen inches is deep enough for a strong hotbed, but if the pit is dug deeper and a foot or moro of oak leaves or similar material are packed in before tho manure is put in the bed will hold the heat much longer. The manure must be tramped down uniformly uni-formly all over tho pit and about five inches of good, mellow soil spread over It. A thermometer Is then stuck into the soli and tho Bash put on. No seed should be sown until the first rank heat is over and when the heat declines de-clines to about 85 degrees In the soil the bed is ready for sowing seed. |