Category: Gardening

  • A Cold Frame: The Gardener’s Secret for Spring

    A Cold Frame: The Gardener’s Secret for Spring

    “Gardeners should dedicate a monument to the cold frame.” – Eliot Coleman. (The Four-Season Harvest, 1999, page 80.)

    Eliot Coleman, one of the leaders in four-season gardening and an organic farming expert, went as far as to call the cold frame the magic box, and we couldn’t agree more.

    Cold frames are simple and affordable outdoor structures that help gardeners protect young plants from cold weather while capturing the heat. Just like a mini greenhouse, which is exactly how a cold frame behaves but on a smaller scale, they shelter plants and can help growers start seeds earlier by capturing solar radiation and creating a warmer microclimate.

    What is a Cold Frame? 

    A cold frame is a small bottomless box made from polycarbonate or glass that is designed to allow direct planting into the soil of a garden. You can purchase cold frames from local and online garden supply retailers or make your own if you’re crafty and up for a gardening project. Exaco has several excellent ones from Europe. 

    How Cold Frames Benefit Gardens in Early Spring and Late Fall

    Temperatures are unpredictable in the spring, so much so that many areas experience a cold, “false spring,” where the climate feels unseasonably lovely and warm. People are excited to get outside and enjoy it. And then, snap! Mother Nature pulls the reins on all those spring gardening projects. This often leads to nipped plantings when temperatures return to their cooler norms.

    But there’s a way around all that with a cold frame. Some key benefits of utilizing a cold frame in the spring include:

    • Get a head start on seeds: Seeds can germinate weeks before they would outdoors.
    • Protection: Delicate plants and seedlings can harden off before transplanting into prepared beds.
    • Extend harvest: Greens like lettuce, kale, and spinach love cold frames and can produce in these structures long after the rest of the garden crop.
    • Protection from late frosts: Those sudden drops won’t risk plants as they’ll stay insulated and safe in their cold frame.

    Where to Position a Cold Frame

    Just like a greenhouse, you want to ensure your cold frame is placed correctly in the garden to maximize its exposure to the sun. Usually, this means it should be south-facing and near a wall or up against a greenhouse for extra protection and warmth. 

    What to Grow in a Cold Frame

    Cold frames and spring bounties are a match made in heaven. These veggies and flowers go hand in hand:

    • Root veggies- Beets, carrots, radishes
    • Herbs- Chives, cilantro, parsley
    • Flowers- Violas and sweet peas
    • Leafy greens- Arugula, Swiss chard, lettuce, spinach

     

    Cold Frames Work in Fall and Winter, Too

    year-round cold frame

    double cold frame
    double cold frame

    Cold frames aren’t just for spring. They can extend the growing season for summer veggies like cucumbers and protect them from October’s frost. You can also overwinter fuchsia, geraniums, nasturtiums, tomatoes, or tomatillos with great success. The secret is to give plants some fresh air and open the frame so that the air can circulate, but never when the temperatures are at or near freezing.

    Cold frames are an excellent addition to any garden, and if you don’t have the place for a full-size greenhouse, don’t let that stop you from extending your growing season. Look at our Australia brands that include a year-round, a double-frame, the Juwel Biostar 1500 Cold Frame which comes with automatic heat activated openers, or the Kombi Raised Bed and Cold Frame, (perfect for apartment-dwelling gardeners) and show Mother Nature you’ve got this!

  • Change Your Gardening Game with Planting by the Moon

    Change Your Gardening Game with Planting by the Moon

    You may have heard of planting by the moon, but have you tried it? Farmers and gardeners have used this age-old technique for hundreds of years, and some swear by its success.

    If you want healthier plants and a more productive garden, this interesting planting method could be the winning card in your gardening game. Here’s what it entails.

    What is Planting by the Moon?

    As fun as it may sound, planting by the moon isn’t a magical, celestial endeavor where you grab your trowel and get to digging under the moonlight. Instead, the concept of planting by the moon is based on the idea that the moons phases can affect plant growth. How so? The moon causes tides to rise and fall with its gravitational pull. It also affects soil because it pulls more moisture to the surface. When seedlings are planted during the full moon and the new moon, they absorb more water and swell, resulting in more effective germination.

    Lunar Cycles for Moon Phase Gardening

    Now that you have a basic understanding of planting by the moon, you’ll need to follow two periods in the lunar cycle when planting.

    Waxing– The time between the new and full moon.

    Waning– The time between the full and the new moon.

    What to Plant and When

    The waxing and waning lunar cycles determine what you should plant. During the waxing moon, anything needing plentiful leaves and stems, such as annuals and above-ground fruits and veggies, should be planted. The moon’s light increases night by night from the new moon till it’s at it’s fullest. This helps upward stems grow healthy and strong.

    For tubers, bulbs, and any plant needing extra root growth, you should plant during the waning moon. The moonlight decreases nightly from the full moon until it’s new again, and this extra darkness encourages plants to focus on growth beneath the soil. Below-ground crops such as onions potatoes and carrots benefit when planted during a waning cycle.

    In addition to the moon cycle, your climate will determine when to plant tender seedlings. You can find dates for all the popular food crops in The Old Farmer’s Almanac Spring planting calendar.

    Gardening is already a dance with nature, but adding a sprinkle of the moon’s influence makes it even more exciting. Have you tried planting by the moon? Keep a garden journal, track your success, and let us know if the moon’s magic works for you.

     

    Source: Gardening by the Moon