From the Garden: Managing the Hotbed

The hotbed frame has been covered since before the last snow fall and the ensuing bitter cold so it was with some trepidation that we uncovered it on Sunday morning.

 

However, all of our apprehensions were immediately relieved as the young transplants were perfectly preserved and thriving. In spite of being kept in complete darkness for three days’ time, they showed no tendency to be drawn or spindly and we anticipate sturdy transplants in five or six weeks’ time.

There are several considerations in management of the hotbed that must be addressed. It is very important that condensation is not allowed to form under the sashes and drip on the young plants as Batty Langley cautions us in New principles of gardening “Great Care must be taken to wipe away the cold Steam, which by the Morning is condensed into Water, hanging in Drops on the Glasses. … This cold Steam is present Death to every Plant it falls on, and therefore great Care must be taken to prevent its ill Effects.”

The easiest and most effective method is to vent the sashes during the day as Mr. Abercrombie explained in The universal gardener and botanist, “fresh air, however, must be admitted daily, at all opportunities in mild weather, by tilting the upper ends of the lights. … from about half an inch to three or four high, according to the heat and steam of the bed, and temperature of the outward air; shutting all close in due time towards evening.”

If the weather permits the sashes should be removed entirely during the day so that the plants have benefit of the breeze.

It is well known that it is the action of wind and rain that strengthens the stems and produces the stockiest plants. This also serves to harden them off towards their final transplantation to the garden.

In addition to the transplants meant for the garden we never fail to plant of row of Prince Albert peas, trellised along the back wall, for an early harvest within the frame.