Building A Cold Frame

Seeds of Gourmet Lettuce Blend, Bloomsdale spinach, Short-N-Sweet carrot, Detroit Dark Red beet,
and Cherry Belle radish laid out for planting in the cold frame.

Thanks to my father-in-law for the free-to-us
discarded window!

Winter has not been kind to southern gardens this year; green edibles in our veggie patch did not survive January, and the forecast for what's to come indicates more frigid weather.  Though we may still get snow, under a cold frame vegetables are getting an early start on the growing season.  

A cold frame is a bottomless box with a top that admits light, providing the benefits of a greenhouse on a convenient scale.  We used 2"x12"s treated with wood preservative to discourage rot; total dimensions are 68" x 46".  The lid is hinged to help with ventilation.  The cold frame is situated on the sunny south side of our barn.

The cold frame is 12" high in front, 18" high in back to help with
water drainage and to catch slanted rays of winter sun.

Fitted with the window on top.

Potting mix 8" deep fills the inside.  Even on a cold cloudy day,
soil inside the cold frame feels warm.

April 2, 2012

Vegetable seedlings the week before transplanting.

Until this year, I have never set my transplants out in March.  The weekend was just right - mostly overcast - and we've had four weeks of frost-free weather.  A dozen tomatoes, eight peppers,  nine dill and nine parsley all went into the ground on Saturday.  The tomatoes are protected with milk jug covers - mostly to keep voracious insects away until they grow a little larger.  Thankfully, none of the big hail storms hit us.

Winter beets, lettuce,
and chard.

Planting holes are being prepared for cucumbers, melons, and zucchini.  We will have another try at pumpkins this year, but since we don't want them to ripen until September, it's best to wait until May to plant.  Temperatures are warm enough to plant sweet corn:  our green manure crop of clover reached knee-hight last week; it was time to incorporate it into the soil to enjoy its rich nitrogen benefits.  Tilling it under was just as cumbersome as I remember it was last year, but a double pass in cross-directions took care of the job in about an hour.  Soil will continue to warm over the next three weeks until we're ready to plant.

Apple blossoms.

We added lemon verbena and sage to our perennial herb border, and we decided to add a fig tree to our orchard.  Apple trees are in full bloom now; little marble peaches and pea-sized cherries are set.  Spinach will be ready to pick this week.  The garden is really shaping up for a productive and healthful year!

Meyer lemon tree with blossoms perfumes the deck.

March 25, 2012

There have already been several busy gardening weekends this year, but this weekend gave us a short break between Spring and Summer planting.  We're just waiting for our plants to grow up. The Spring garden of spinach, lettuce, peas, and raddishes is just a few weeks away from harvest.  Meanwhile, the Summer garden, which is normally indoors under lights this time of year, has really enjoyed its early start outside under the warmth of sunshine and gentle mist of rain.  Tomato seedlings are setting out their first true leaves and could be transplanted any time now.  After nearly a month without frost, there seems to be little danger of another killing freeze, but it won't hurt the plants to wait until April. 

Red clover flower.

We transplanted broccoli out to the garden last weekend, and it has taken off, filling up the milk jug covers with noticeable vigor.  Larger transplants (the kind that often come from garden centers) tend to be root-bound and take a week or two after transplanting to begin new growth.  Experience shows smaller plants are best for transplanting without shock.

50 strawberry plants beginning growth.

It's time to plow under our green manure cover crop of red clover in anticipation of sweet corn planting next month.  But the weekend tended to be rainy, so we're waiting for a dry day this week.  We are harvesting swiss chard and beet greens from the garden along with some random carrots that got left after adding our winter crop to stew.

Perennial culinary herbs are at their best now - parsley, rosemary, tarragon, oregano, chives, and thyme.  The 50 strawberry plants that we set out last week have already sprouted and are loving this weather.  Finally, tulips that we planted around the mail box last October are making a show.

Mailbox tulips planted last October.