"I'm going to start early parsley and cabbage and lettuce,
cauliflower and egg plants, radishes and peas and corn in shallow
boxes--flats Grandfather says they're called--in my room and the kitchen
where it's warm and sunny, and when they've sprouted three leaves I'll
set them out here and plant some more in the flats."
"Won't transplanting them twice set them back?"
"If you take up enough earth around them they ought not to know that
they've taken a journey."
"I've done a lot of transplanting of wild plants from the woods," said
Stanley, "and I found that if I was careful to do that they didn't even
wilt."
"Why can't we start some of the flower seeds here and have early
blossoms?"
"You can. I don't see why we can't keep it going all the time and have a
constant supply of flowers and vegetables earlier than we should if we
trusted to Mother Nature to do the work unaided."
"Then in the autumn we can stow away here some of the plants we want to
save, geraniums and begonias, and plants that are pretty indoors, and
take them into the house when the indoor ones become shabby."
"Evidently right in the heart of summer is the only time this article
won't be in use," decided Stanley, laughing at their eagerness. "Have
you got anything to cover it with when the spring sunshine grows too
hot?"
"There is an old hemp rug and some straw matting in the attic--won't
they do?"
"Perfectly.
Pages:
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69