Cold Frame Gardening: Fresh Vegetables All Year Round
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Fresh Vegetables All Year Round
Cold frame gardening allows you to have homegrown fresh green salads even during the winter months. You can easily create a cold frame even without experience.
How to Build Your Cold Frame To build your cold frame as inexpensively as possible, look at what you have. If you have an old glass doorframe or a window sash, you can use that. If you need to replace the glass, you can consider a clear polyethylene material. Create the sides out of sturdy wood, like cedar, following the measurements of the doorframe or window sash. Ideal side thickness is two inches. The width should be proportion to what you consider easy weeding and harvesting – probably about four feet. The bottom for your cold frame is the ground. Location Unless your location is a problem, partially bury your cold frame in the ground to help insulate your plants against wintry cold. Choose a slightly sloped southerly or southeasterly location, whenever possible. Place it at least a 6º angle so that the plants can have more light exposure and better drainage. The back of the frame should be the elevated side. Place the window sash on the frame and secure the elevated side with hinges. Avoid a northerly location for the cold frame. For a problematic setting, you may want to try a lightweight cold frame, similar to a portable greenhouse, so that you can follow the sun. Soil Cold frame gardening requires a well-drained soil to a depth of about 18 inches. Get your soil tested to ensure you are giving the nutrients your plants need. You may want to do your own garden composting. Condition your soil properly, and you will rarely need to fertilizer during the winter. Renew your soil every year or so. Weather Protection Cold frame gardening is like creating a microclimate inside the frame. During wintry weather, you may need to place a heating cable in the soil (hot bed), as well as cover the cold frame with something like an old blanket and put some hay on it. That cover should be removed as soon as possible. On warm days, prop the window sash open. Vent out the hot air. Cover the window sash with a cloth to shade it. On windy days, you may need a windbreak for the cold frame. Think of a movable insulation material that you can fold up when not needed. The day and night temperatures in the frame will depend on the original temperature, the frame’s angle, and how the sun is hitting it. Be observant. Irrigation Irrigating once weekly is usually sufficient for cold frames during the winter period. Observe your plants. A well-drained soil is very important in cold frame gardening. Pests The warmth in the cold frame may attract slugs. Take heed! The best way to eradicate pests is by picking them with a gloved hand and discarding them. Plants For Your Cold Frame Leaf lettuce is a common favorite. Also try spinach, radishes, carrots, onions, endive, etc. Get familiar with cold frame gardening these veggies before you try others. You can also grow ornamental plants. Just remember not to wait for winter before planting, as your plants need to be mature before the first killer frost. The ideal planting time for most crops is in the late summer or early fall. Basically, your success with cold frame gardening has a lot to do with what plants you have chosen to cultivate.
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