The 2013-2014 winter has been a long, cold, and snowy here in Minnesota
and this week for the first time the snow melted enough to expose the tops of
my cold frames.
Cold frames are basically bottomless wooden boxes that are slightly angled to catch the sun and have removable glass tops .
Click Read More below to see the complete post.
We have a row of six cold frames facing the south in our vegetable garden. Temperatures inside the cold frames can be manually regulated by propping open a side of the glass top or moving them to the side to create a space for warm air to escape.
Our cold frames are roughly 4' x 8' and were designed around the size of the tempered glass pieces we had on hand. Some people use old storm windows for the tops and build the outer frame to fit the windows.
We were inspired by Eliot Coleman's book; Four-Season Harvest. He lives in Maine (Zone 5) and by using cold frames (or fabric covered tunnels) inside of hoop houses manages to grow cold hardy greens all winter long! He believes that the temperature inside a cold frame will typically be 20 degrees higher than the outside temperature. Putting a cold frame inside of a green house can increased the temperature by another 20 degrees.
By planting cold hardy greens, raising the temperature 20 to 40 degrees, and protecting plants from the wind, the gardening season can be extended by weeks and even months in both fall and spring. Eliot Coleman provides a diagram and instructions for building a cold frame in his book. He also provides information about cold hardy vegetables that are not commonly grown in the US.
Plants do not actually grow during the coldest part of the year, they simply vegetate (pun intended) until you are ready to harvest them. It is important to allow enough time for the plants to grow in the fall if your goal is to harvest them during the cold winter months.
Whether we successfully keep our greens throughout the winter really depends on the severity of the weather. Our Zone 4 climate is never boring and each winter is unique in the number of below zero days and snow fall amounts.
Click Read More below to see the complete post.
We have a row of six cold frames facing the south in our vegetable garden. Temperatures inside the cold frames can be manually regulated by propping open a side of the glass top or moving them to the side to create a space for warm air to escape.
Our cold frames are roughly 4' x 8' and were designed around the size of the tempered glass pieces we had on hand. Some people use old storm windows for the tops and build the outer frame to fit the windows.
We were inspired by Eliot Coleman's book; Four-Season Harvest. He lives in Maine (Zone 5) and by using cold frames (or fabric covered tunnels) inside of hoop houses manages to grow cold hardy greens all winter long! He believes that the temperature inside a cold frame will typically be 20 degrees higher than the outside temperature. Putting a cold frame inside of a green house can increased the temperature by another 20 degrees.
By planting cold hardy greens, raising the temperature 20 to 40 degrees, and protecting plants from the wind, the gardening season can be extended by weeks and even months in both fall and spring. Eliot Coleman provides a diagram and instructions for building a cold frame in his book. He also provides information about cold hardy vegetables that are not commonly grown in the US.
Plants do not actually grow during the coldest part of the year, they simply vegetate (pun intended) until you are ready to harvest them. It is important to allow enough time for the plants to grow in the fall if your goal is to harvest them during the cold winter months.
Whether we successfully keep our greens throughout the winter really depends on the severity of the weather. Our Zone 4 climate is never boring and each winter is unique in the number of below zero days and snow fall amounts.
Last fall I planted cold hardy greens like Vit (which is
also called Mache or Corn Salad) with the intent of having fresh greens in December. In hindsight I should have planted the Vit earlier as the seeds are slow to germinate and grow.
When we endured a record number of days well below zero along with many heavy snow falls, I gave up and decided I would not be eating green salads any time soon. It would just be too hard to dig through the snow to get into the boxes. I also believed with the record number of bitterly cold days, the greens would not survive the freezing temperatures.
When we endured a record number of days well below zero along with many heavy snow falls, I gave up and decided I would not be eating green salads any time soon. It would just be too hard to dig through the snow to get into the boxes. I also believed with the record number of bitterly cold days, the greens would not survive the freezing temperatures.
So when I waded through the snow, lifted up the glass
cover and found green and growing Vit in my cold frame I was thrilled.
Even with a very late spring, we should be eating a fresh salad out of
the garden soon!
I love our spring salads that are a combination of edible perennial weeds such as chickweed and lambsquarter and vit. These tasty and nutritious salads are so welcome in the spring. Did you know that lambsquarter has more nutrition than spinach? And that purslane (which grows later in the spring) has one of the highest levels of Omega 3 fatty acids and adds a wonderful crunch to salads? Chickweed is also very high in nutrition and provides a wonderful base in a salad of more flavorful greens.
Wild plants have to use their wits to survive and are full of phytonutrients that help us fight disease and keep our bodies functioning properly.
As the weeds that I use for salads grow, I will post pictures so you can take advantage of the free nutritional boost wild greens provide. I also hope to introduce you to cultivated salad greens you may not have tried. I used to think leaf lettuce was the only option for salad greens and then I discovered there is a whole world of wonderful flavorful greens, like peppery arugula and spicy mustard greens, to explore.
The soil inside the cold frame will warm up much faster than the uncovered garden beds which means the soil will be ready to plant weeks sooner. This will give a jump start to our 2014 gardening season.
I love our spring salads that are a combination of edible perennial weeds such as chickweed and lambsquarter and vit. These tasty and nutritious salads are so welcome in the spring. Did you know that lambsquarter has more nutrition than spinach? And that purslane (which grows later in the spring) has one of the highest levels of Omega 3 fatty acids and adds a wonderful crunch to salads? Chickweed is also very high in nutrition and provides a wonderful base in a salad of more flavorful greens.
Wild plants have to use their wits to survive and are full of phytonutrients that help us fight disease and keep our bodies functioning properly.
As the weeds that I use for salads grow, I will post pictures so you can take advantage of the free nutritional boost wild greens provide. I also hope to introduce you to cultivated salad greens you may not have tried. I used to think leaf lettuce was the only option for salad greens and then I discovered there is a whole world of wonderful flavorful greens, like peppery arugula and spicy mustard greens, to explore.
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