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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-04-29, Page 39The Great Vegetabte Cover -Up Artificial lights let them shine all winter long Planting an early garden can mean double yields or • double trouble. When the occasional cold snap wipes out young transplants, . and >, seedlings, it also wipes out hope of a production hea.dstart for home-grown vegetables. When the University of New Hampshire looked at ways to help their commercial growers in a short season, cool climate, onething'.be,Came clear. Traditional methods of protection had a major disadvantage, all 'had high maintenance requirements. An "ideal" system would provide a safe environment for plants, with a minimum of work on the grower's part. • The commercial system they devised did more than protte�ct. Itsubstantially in- crea§ed yields. Based on' their conclusive research, Carefree Garden Products of West °Chicago, Illinois, developed the same kind of system for home gardens. New for 1981 is the first high yielding, total environment system for starting plants ahead of safe• gardening dates. The Great Coldfrarnes and hotbeds by Ian Smith • Extension Horticulturist • Hotbeds and • coldframes were used, ..extensively by ho me gardeners in.. the 1960s and earlier to grow young plants before . transplanting them into the garden. In recent years, the use of these structures has declined because of the increased• number. 'of garden' centres selling young plants. and the popularity. of small plastic greenhouses. Now, interest in hotbeds and coldframes is picking up beraus.e, of the current popularity of home. gardening an'd the trend toward less expensive alternatives to greenhouses. Hotbeds and coldframes are similar structures. They are a simply bottomless boxes made from wood or masonry; fitted ' with ti sloping roof of glass or plastic. The difference between the M.O. is 'that hotbeds incorporate bottom heat. so they can he used earlier in the spring, and later in.the fall. Construction Both coldframes and hotbeds require a protected, well -drained, sunny location, preferably on the•south side. of a building. Hotbeds, however, require deeper excavation than coldframes. If you intend to heat your hotbed with manure, you need to dig an area about 60 , centimetres (2 feet) deep. Dig an area half that deep if you plan to use electric cables for heat. You ,can either set coldframes in . shallow pits 20 to 30 cen- timetres (8 to 12 inches)• deep, or set them directly on top of the °so4. banking the soil up around the sides. Many home gardeners use old,stormwindows as covers for coldframes or hotbeds. For this reason; most frames are 1.8 metres (6 feet) wide, with the length determined by the number of windows, or glass sashes used. The standard measurement of old storm whitlows is 0.9 metres (3 feet) by 1.8 metres (6feet.) The frames are usually built with planks 30 cen- timetres (12 inches) high at the hack and 20 centimetres (8 inches) high at the front, This forms a slope for the glass or plastic cover so It can shed water and get the maximum benefit of the sun. The planks are spiked together and 2 x 4 supports are added to hold the sashes. • Hotbeds • Traditionally, fresh horse manure was .used to heat hotbeds, hut the supply is now scarce in most areas. Using Manure also has a number of •disadvantages,• primarily the la bur, req uired to pile it into the pit, and to manage • it properly to generate the required tOmperatures.: As a result. most gardeners use electric• heating cables. • Oneaheating cable set (18 metres or 60 feet in length) provides enough heat for 2.3 square metres -(36 • square feet). This area is the equivalent of a two -sash hotbed. Lay the cable on a 'bed of sand or fine soil. Place a 1.25 centimetre (t,Z-inch) wire mesh screen on• top of the cable to protect it from damage when the soil is worked. Cover th,cable with 10 to 15 centimetres (4 to 6 inches) of good planting soil. One or more thermostats are Turn to page 7 • eGiat f M�wer,. Giveaway! FREE 42 -INCH ROTARY MOWER with purchase of any Ford Lawn and Garden Tractor! FREE 34 -INCH ROTARY MOWER with purchase of any Ford Lawn Tractor! FREE GRASS CATCHER • with purchase of any Ford Rider Mower Tractor! HURRY! Offer expires June 15, 1981. Be ready to go AND mow on a new Ford ... These are limited time offers, so come in soon to ,40M1P1 REA VIE FARM EQUIPMENT Tractors Equipment Lucknow Highway 86 West Phone 529.7995 Vegetable Cover -Up (TM) comes equipped to protect 16 feet of garden .row within its mini -greenhouse environment., Clear plastic has long been used to warm air • tem- peratures. However, warm air without ventilation can overheat and kill plants on sunny days. The Great Vegetable Cover-up solves this problem with clear vented plastic, allowing air cir- culation for low maintenance protection: Sturdy wire hoops support the vented structure. Warming soils is ac- complished by the addition of black plastic. Black plastic serves more than one function for its 16 -foot row. It can be kept on all season to reduce - watering. requirements and keep weeds at bay. Hoops and clear plastic‘Tan be removed when warM weather is assured. As soil and temperatures rise to safely enclose • young transplants and seedlings, so does humidity. This greenhouse effect provides that necessary ' additional feature to give plants weeks of, extra growing time. Yields can be expected 1 to 3 weeks ahead of traditionally planted gar-. dens. Warm -loving vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants, petppers, • squash and. cucumbers thrive, and sub= stantially increase their yields with this protective system. Use of a mini environment -may be the only -to successfuliy grow melons, which produce few fruit under cool, short season conditions. Research gainsPfor melon crops jumped 105 percent with Great Vegetable Cover -Up protec- tion. Preliminary estimates ,in- dicate a banner year for vegetable gardens. Droughts. and southern frosts are Page 5 already taking their toll in produce prices at the grocery store. Look for the Great Vegetable Cover -Up at har- dware stores and garden centers across the country this spring. The secure, high • production garden -may be one 'sure answer to cutting food bills as well as gardening success. Greater yields from early hardens Growing houseplants under artificial Light opens up a new world of gardening for hob- byists, says Bob Fleming, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and . Food hor- ticulturist. During the dull, short days of winter, many houseplants' suffer from lack of natural light. Using artificial light, home gardeners can maintain plant growth. Although artificial light is no match for natural sunlight, many , common houseplants will groW "successfulliy with 12 to 16 tours of artificial light daily. For light gardens, Mr. Fleming recommends fluorescent lamps. They are more economical than.. con- ' because they provide more illumination per watt of electricity used. • Most fluorescent lamps provide a good spectrum of light, and are also cooler than incandescent bulbs. There are a variety of fluorescent tubes designed for plant growing, but Mr. Fleming says plain "cool white" tubes are satisfactory for most home gardeners.. "The.. better-known houseplants such as philodendrons, African violets, • German ivy,ub go;tias,.pthos and scindapsus will grow well under artificial light;".he says. Lights should beset about 0.3 metres directly (one foot) above the plants for maximum _light. Raise the light asplants. ventional incandescent bulbs grow in height. \�tl �-f-V0,%.,, ]`,. 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Flowers for all occasions — Tropical Flowering Plants --Fresh Cut Flowers and Arrangements — Full Line of Silk and Dried Flowers Weddings are our speciality! GIFTWARE RANGING FROM BRASS, COPPER, POTTERY, WICKER AND RATTAN LARGE SELECTION OF WICKER FURNITURE AND ACCESSORIES FOR INDOORS OR OUT Garden Products // To Help You With Your Garden �I\��`� CIL and VIGORA Fertilizers For Lawn and Garden 1:,k! ip ,,�, Wilson - Chipman House and Garden Products ��I f��l! *Onion Sets - Seed Potatoes - Bulk and. Packaged Seeds ' i t�`I1/ Spring Bulbs — Bedding Plants 11i/,, r g ttli\��/c1%% Nursery Stock — Rose Bushes I'i �� ) Redwood Landscape Bark and , 1,4�j��►��i Cocoa Bean Shells ;t V , _ Grass Seed :0v vit l,/ x14 11,,1 1,' .. Quinn's Flowers Gifts Lucknow Jog t Ii4C01 '1/ ): /it r // fqll* ►gyp/ C:11 Phone 528-2033 L