A Good Head Start We installed a cold frame in our vegetable garden in order to have some fresh vegetables in winter. We did get some cold loving vegetables like Chinese Broccoli, Swiss chard, kale, carrots and mustard greens. Several times the vegetables inside wilted from the cold when we couldn’t get access. In the middle of winter when snow piled two feet up … Continue reading Spring Vegetables
…With A Cold Shoulder I took the day off from work yesterday and the weather was on my side. Still plenty of snow on the ground but the temperature had soared to nearly 60°F. The honeybees should have been out and about now with a temperature this high, but alas, none to be seen. So I decided to inspect one hive. Intrinsically I knew I … Continue reading Spring Has Sprung
With Snow On The Ground We had around two feet of snow last Tuesday and most of it is still on the ground. The daytime temperatures are hovering between 30 and 40°F which isn’t helping to melt it. Today is the official first day of spring but outside, you would never know it. It’s more like ‘Hello spring, where are you?’ to me. Crocuses, Hellebores and … Continue reading Hello Spring
Early Start I finally had a chance to do something in the garden. My spring itch has subsided a little bit once I had the chance to get my hands dirty. The garden is still covered with a foot or so of snow that is slowly melting away. We made a path to the bird feeder a few weeks ago and today I made an … Continue reading Cold Frame – Spring
Getting Ready For Winter There is not much left in the vegetable garden especially after temperatures dropped below 20º F. I didn’t have time to cover the plants outside the cold frame: Mizuna, Broccoli Raab, Scallion, and Mustard Green. But they perked up a little bit once the temperature climbed above 50º F. Heavy snow is predicted for today so I harvested some Mizuna and Swiss … Continue reading Winter Vegetables
Early Bounty We set up a cold frame for the first time last autumn but it didn’t do much for us this winter because we installed it so late in the season. However, it provided us with a place to start our vegetables early. The seeds were sown in March when some days were still hovering around 20ºF here. We were able to pick our first salad of … Continue reading Benefits Of A Cold Frame
It worked! Last year was the first time I grew vegetable in a cold frame. It was an experiment in extending the growing season without using a heater. I started late in autumn so the seedlings didn’t have much of a chance to build up strength. The winter was also brutally cold with temperatures dropping below 0ºF for several days at a time. Two feet of snow completely blocked the … Continue reading Cold Frame Unveiled
An Attempt to Stretch The Growing Season I still don’t know how this experiment will end up. The whole thing started when I wanted to extend the growing season here in the north, growing winter vegetables without a heated greenhouse. After reading books about growing vegetables in winter, especially when one of them took place in Maine ( Winter Harvest Handbook by Eliot Coleman), I … Continue reading The Cold Frame
Petals and Wings 