Like all occupations which have to do with Nature, it is folly to attempt it unless you have an innate love of the work, for it requires the comprehensive sympathy of a real affinity, as well as technical knowledge, to rear either plants or animals successfully.
The great advantage in raising bedding plants is the small space and capital required. A hundred square feet, and two or three dollars for seeds, will enable anyone to make a beginning, which can easily be worked up into a large business. The correct month for starting perennials from seed is June, but as that necessitates waiting about nine months for any returns, I am sure the beginner will agree with me in thinking it is best to start some in the house or hotbed, for then the varieties which flower the first season can be sold in May or June, and those which don’t flower 152 until the second season will be large, strong plants in October, when many people set out hardy plants.
The sashes for hotbeds, glazed and painted ready for use, cost only three dollars and fifty cents each, and the walls of the beds can be made out of any old boards, so they do not add very much to the expense of starting, but if you do not care to undertake anything so professional as this at first, it is quite possible to manage with shallow boxes, if you have a south or southeast window in a room which averages from sixty to sixty-five degrees.
The first consideration is getting good potting mould for the seed-beds or boxes. It must be light and fibrous, a condition best arrived at by shaving off the under side of grass sods, and mixing with about twice the amount of ordinary garden soil and a little fine sand. But as you are not likely to have a store of sods, and the frozen condition of the ground will make it difficult to get them, you must substitute well-rotted cow manure. Have ordinary garden soil carried into some place warm enough to dissipate all frost, then mix thoroughly with the pulverised manure and sand. Pass through a fine sieve, and it will be ready for use.
Even when the hotbed is used, it is better to have small boxes for the different varieties of seeds, and stand them in the hotbed, instead of sowing the seed directly in the bed itself, for some varieties take longer than others to germinate, and it is a difficult problem to ventilate and water a bed containing a miscellaneous 153 assortment, but when the seeds are in boxes, they can be removed from the bed during the warm part of the day, and the difficulty is militated. Boxes should be about two and a half inches deep, and have a few cracks or holes in the bottom for drainage. Cover the bottom with a layer of coal ashes, then fill to within a quarter of an inch of the top with the potting-mould. Smooth it off evenly, water and stand in a warm place.
Within a few days there will be a crop of weed seedlings. Demolish them, rewater and allow a few days to elapse on the chance of a second crop appearing, after which it will be safe to do the planting. It is a good scheme to use a flour or powdered-sugar shaker for very small seeds, instead of trying to sow them by hand. When seeds are large enough to handle individually, like hollyhocks, push them into the soil with the point of a pencil or a wooden-skewer, half an inch apart in rows one inch apart.
After the seeds have been placed, scatter mould over them. The amount has to be determined by the size of the seeds. The general rule is, twice their own depth; but with the very minute varieties it is better to put no covering at all.
No matter what the depth of covering, the soil must be pressed firmly down with a smooth piece of board, cut to fit inside the box. A desk-blotter or roller is very convenient, and does the work very evenly. Do not be afraid to press down firmly. The seeds must be closely imbedded in the soil, otherwise the air will 154 dry up the first frail sprouts and kill them. After the rolling and pressing, sprinkle with water, then cover with a piece of glass or paper, and stand in the hotbed or window.
Covering the boxes with glass or paper is done to retard evaporation. Seeds must never be allowed to dry out during the time of germination; watering is so likely to disturb the soil around them that it is to be avoided if possible, but if it has to be done, use a very fine rose on the sprinkler, warm water and be very careful.
After the seedlings appear, remove the covering, and when the second leaves have developed, transplant into fresh boxes if you are depending on window culture. If you have a hotbed, they can be set in rows from one to two inches apart, according to the size of the plants.
During the bright warm days the sash of the hotbed should be raised or entirely removed, but be very watchful of the weather. Spring is such a treacherous time of year that the warm mornings may develop into frosty afternoons. Always replace the sash over the hotbed by three o’clock in the afternoon, and cover with mats before dusk. As soon as the ground is in condition for the outside nursery beds, dig and thoroughly cultivate, for the plants which are to be held over for fall sales must be bedded out as soon as all fear of frost is past, and seeds sown for the next year’s stock.
The seed-beds in the open ground must be well prepared 155 and made very fine and fibrous. Sow the seeds in rows and transplant as with the house seedlings. Beds must all be kept free from weeds and under good cultivation during the growing season. When severe weather comes in the fall, cover lightly with leaves or soil, and the plants will winter safely and be ready for spring sales the following year. The house-raised seedlings which are to be sold for this year’s bedding can go into garden beds, but it is really better to put them into small individual pots, which should be partly submerged in soil or sand. Customers will usually pay a few cents extra for pot-plants.
There is such an endless variety of perennial plants that it is impossible to grow them all; in fact, it would be very foolish to try to do so. select the best-known and most popular kinds, and have some of different sizes, so that you can make up selections for beds. Hollyhocks, foxgloves, golden glow, monk’s-hood all range from three and a half to five feet in height. After them come phlox, larkspur, false dragon’s-head, Canterbury bells and bergamot. A step lower are bleeding-heart, columbine, leopard’s-bane, asters, sweet-williams and wallflowers. Still lower are Iceland poppies, Japanese primroses, wake-robin and pansies.
The first year it would add to your profit to grow a few of the annual varieties in the hotbed collection: Hollyhocks, sweet sultans, sweet tobacco, asters, wallflowers, mignonette and salvia. Among the perennials which will flower the first season if seed is sown 156 in boxes or hotbeds, are monk’s-hood (which is one of the most charming of the tall blue flowers and comes also in white, and blue-white mixed); larkspur; Chinese bellflower (large bell-shaped flowers of steel blue, white and violet); heliotrope and marshmallows (pink, rose colour, white with crimson spots, and golden yellow with maroon centres)—these are amongst the most valuable of the first-year bloomers, for they flower all through the summer. Three of the most fragrant annuals are sweet tobacco, sweet sultan and mignonette.
Sweet-williams are such old favourites, and are so multicoloured that I have always been thankful that they flowered the first season. Meadow-sweet—or goat’s-beard, as it is often called—is white and fragrant. Blanket-flower grows about two feet high, and has most gorgeous flowers, dark velvety brown marked with blotches of crimson. Of course, all the varieties suggested for early house-culture should also be sown in the open ground in June to produce a plentiful supply of strong plants for the following year.