Winter Cold Frame Gardening

Which makes cold frames a bit of a struggle because you have to actually pay attention to them.

Winter cold frame gardening.

Cold frames shelter plants from ice snow and treacherous winter winds and heat up the soil whenever the sun shines. These little frames can help hold in the solar energy warming up the soil allowing you to grow veggies earlier in the spring and later in the fall. A cold frame is exactly what it sounds like. What is a cold frame.

With a clear acrylic sheet on top plenty of light hits the inside and there s a handy shelf underneath which provides a little extra storage space. This cold frame actually sits up above the ground like a table and is perfect for starting seeds in the winter. How to build a cold frame for winter gardening with plans your plant growing season can start long before warm weather hits all it takes is a wooden cold frame box with a transparent roof. Cold frame gardening is an easy way to extend the homegrown harvest into late fall and winter.

If you want to grow green all winter using a cold frame is a genius idea. Growing lettuce into winter has been our largest mission. Winters can get down to 0 degrees and with some good insulation and the power of the sun greens ca. There isn t a lot of work with them in the cold months.

Using your cold frame in the spring allows you to wean peas and bean sowings and harden off tender young plants while in autumn and winter it will extend your growing season and look after cuttings ready for the new year. For the most part you just lift the lids and pick your lettuce or beets. The beauty of the cold frame is that it s pseudo gardening. A transparent outdoor frame that protects plants from cold weather while still letting sunlight in.

If you need to stock up on supplies before you get started we ve rounded up the. You don t need a large garden to accommodate a cold frame. In most regions a cold frame can be used effectively to grow winter seedlings and crops though if you live in a climate zone below usda zone 6 you may need a more. The soil inside a frame will warm up much faster than open ground and because.

It s also easy to insulate your cold frame for added protection through colder spells. This means your plants get natural sunlight and extra warmth.