After you have constructed your Nearing Frame, leveled it, and aligned it to true north, it is time to fill it. There are several layers.

1. Put down a two-inch layer of clean, washed sand.

2. On the leveled sand, place the greenhouse heating cables. Some have a built-in thermostat. Others require a separate thermostat box. Set the temperature about 72 degrees.

3. Over the heating cables, lay a three- by twelve-foot piece of welded wire screen with half-inch squares. This will enable you to replace the upper layer of sand and the rooting medium without having to redo the cables.

4. Add another two inches of clean, washed sand.

5. Top it all off with three inches of rooting medium. There are many favorite rooting media. I use a mixture with equal parts of vermiculite and sand. Other combinations include peat moss and styrofoam.

You can place flats of pots in the frame before adding the rooting medium, and then fill them and the spaces around them. I tried this for the first time in 2004 (above).

6. Soak the frame with a gentle spray until it is completely saturated and close the cover. Turn the heating cables on and wait at least a day until placing the first cuttings.