SC - Fw: Growing Under Cold Frames

[Philippa Alderton]

Information for you gardeners, growing some of your own plants.


Phlip

Nolo disputare, volo somniare et contendere, et iterum somniare.

From: Burpee <BurpeeNews at NATIONALGARDENING.COM>
To: BURPEENEWS at DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG <BURPEENEWS at DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG>
Date: Thursday, November 30, 2000 5:41 PM
Subject: Growing Under Cold Frames


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>
>
>BURPEE GARDEN NEWS
>======================
>November 30, 2000
>
>The new 2001 Burpee Gardens Catalog is coming!
>Reserve your copy of our special 125th
>Anniversary edition today at www.Burpee.com.
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>
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>
>The Burpee Garden News is presented by your
>friends at Burpee and the National Gardening
>Association.
>======================
>
>Growing Under Cold Frames
>
>In most regions of the country, the gardening
>season is limited by cold winter temperatures,
>and gardeners extend the season by lugging
>plants indoors on cold nights or covering them
>with tarps to prevent frost damage. A cold frame
>is an effective season extender that can save you
>some trouble--and some plants. It can give your
>greens and other cold-hardy crops extra growing
>time in fall and early winter, as well as a head
>start in spring. It's not too late to install a
>cold frame if your season hasn't come to an end,
>and making a frame is a good early-winter project
>for those gardeners taking a winter break.
>
>Growing basics:
>
>* A cold frame can be used to winter-over lettuce
>or other greens. Plant in late summer and when
>harvest is halted by cold, cover the frame with
>loose hay or straw. In early spring, remove the
>mulch to let the sun shine into the frame and
>encourage your plants to send up new shoots.
>
>* Use your cold frame as a hardening-off site for
>transplants in the spring. Don't set them out too
>soon, however, and monitor the temperature inside
>the frame. In early spring, the temperature may
>still be too cold for tender plants, and in late
>spring the temperature inside the frame can become
>too hot.
>
>* A good location for a cold frame is on the ground
>in a protected spot, out of the wind and near the
>house--the south side, if possible--so you can open
>and close it or cover it as needed. Be sure to open
>the frame (either a crack or all the way as needed,
>depending on the weather) during sunny days as it
>can heat up quickly, like a closed-up car.
>
>* To further insulate a cold frame during the growing
>season, cover it with a row cover or blanket. There
>are also heating cables made for cold frames that can
>keep temperatures a bit warmer.
>
>Simple designs:
>
>* You can make a simple cold frame with bales of hay
>and storm windows. Use the hay bales as the sides of
>the frame and place the storm windows on top, resting
>on the bales. Place your greens in a flat in the
>center of the bales, underneath the glass.
>
>* Another easy-to-build frame uses scrap lumber for
>the box and a storm window for the lid. Nail the wood
>together to form a box that fits under the storm window.
>On hot days, slide the window to the side to let heat
>out; on cold nights, put the window squarely over the
>top of the frame and cover it with an old blanket.
>
>* Here's a design for a roomier box using lumber and
>PVC pipe. With rot-resistant cedar or redwood 2-inch
>by 4-inch lumber, make two 3-foot-wide by 6-foot-long
>boxes. Hinge the two together on one side. On the top
>box, drill three 3/4-inch-wide holes on the top edge
>of the front and back pieces of wood. Bend three
>4-foot-long, 1/2-inch PVC pipes over the box, inserted
>in the opposite holes forming hoops. Cover the pipes
>and top box with a sheet of clear plastic, stapled
>to the wood frame.
>
>Question of the Week
>====================
>Q. How much protection will a cold frame give
>my plants?
>
>A. Don't expect to winter-over your geraniums in a
>cold frame! It will provide a few degrees of insulation,
>but it won't protect tender plants for any long period
>of time. Consider the microclimate in your yard, and
>place your frame where it will receive the most sun
>and the most wind protection. A cold frame next to
>the south side of a house will provide more protection
>than one further from the house, where it's more
>exposed to wind and doesn't have the benefit of
>reflected heat from the building.
>==============================