Hotbed Crop

a plant raised in a hotbed in order to obtain early vegetables and seeds. The growing of crops in hotbeds provides the public with a year-round supply of vegetables. Crops raised in hotbeds include cucumbers, tomatoes, cauliflower, radishes, leaf and head lettuce, Chinese cabbage, spinach, dill, green onions, vegetable marrows, cymlings, and peppers. Various methods of cultivation are used: sowing (radish and dill), planting seedlings (cucumbers and tomatoes), forcing (green onions), or transplanting premature plants that cannot mature under natural conditions (cauliflower and cos [romaine] lettuce). Depending on the crop rotation used, several harvests are obtained in a season (beginning in February). Hotbed crops require good illumination (except for matured crops), a specific temperature and humidity of air and soil, proper feeding, and control of diseases and pests. The crops are harvested according to the market ripeness and seed maturity of the plants.