Several makes of the Dutch-light houses are supplied with a portable concrete base which may be laid directly on to the ground and the house erected over the base, there being no need for tedious brick laying. Or the house may he erected on old railway sleepers which, like the concrete blocks, may be moved about the garden if the house is being used to cover various crops growing in the open.
The more conventional greenhouse with a brick or wooden base extending to a height of 1 feet and with glass sides extending for a further 3 feet before meeting the roof, will require less heat to maintain a temperature similar to that of a Dutch-light house and will enable a wider range of horticultural activities to he performed. Tomatoes and cucumbers may be grown at the back, planting them in deep boxes or pots and first training them in an upright direction, then to the top of the roof whilst other crops may be grown at the front of the bench, or seedlings raised for a considerable time when heated and even after turning off the heater, there will be no rapid fall in temperature as there is with air heating. The use of soil warming wires in a heated greenhouse will enable the air temperature to be reduced to a minimum whilst keeping the plants growing by gentle bottom heat. Where a hotbed cannot be made from manure, electric soil warming is a reliable substitute.
For raising seedlings and striking cuttings, a sand propagating frame may be made in a cold greenhouse by using either low voltage or mains warming cables. A wooden box is made with 9 inch boards, the base being covered with felt. Over this is placed a 2 inch layer of washed sand before laying down the warming wires which ;1 re covered with a further 3 inch layer of sand on which the seed boxes or pots are stood; or cuttings (to be rooted) may be inserted directly into the sand. $ watts per square foot of bed should be allowed, whilst a soil thermostat is necessary to control the temperature of the bed.
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