Re: Cold frames (was CULT: Thanksgiving seedlings)

Claire:

Thanks so much -- your posting is just stuffed with the kind of hands-on 
info I was hoping for from fellow cold-climate gardeners.

Some questions, please -- what are the approx. dimensions of your cold 
frames? (In a book somewhere in my house are drawings showing the 
suggested slope for the window on a cold frame, so I don't need that -- 
just curious about length, width, height of ones you use.) Are you happy 
with these size(s)? You noted that your 2 are always full, but would 
having additional cold frames be better than if the 2 you do have were 
larger? 

You mentioned that your frames are "dug out to about 12 " below grade  
and filled with very good soil" -- are you saying the frames themselves 
are sunk into the surrounding soil to provide more temp/weather 
protection or to make them more stable or another reason? Or are you 
saying the soil they *enclose* is dug down 12" & replaced?

You also said "They are planted a few inches below grade" -- when you 
sow perennial *seeds* in your frames, do you do so right into the soil 
they contain or into flats or pots? If the latter, do you just set these 
inside or do you sink them into the soil? (Same question re potted-up 
plants & seedlings when put into the frames, expecially during winter.)

Christy Hensler e-mailed me with info about automatic vents she uses in 
her greenhouses -- they cost about $17 each & she's very pleased with 
them, got them from Charlie's Greenhouse Supply. 

Have you ever tried any heat-activated hardware on your cold frames? I 
would think that overall weight would be one limitation (perhaps another 
reason for using plastic rather than glass) but I also wonder about wind 
ripping the opened-but-still-attached covers right off the cold frames. 
We get fierce wind here, particularly during the late winter & spring 
months. The best south-facing location I have to place cold frames is 
also open to the west, the direction our winds most often come from.

TIA, Claire -- I really appreciate your advice.

Marte in the mtns	Zone 4/Sunset 1  Colorado -- where high altitude 
truck gardeners in the late 1800's, early 1900's used to dig their beds 
right into south-facing slopes, plant their seeds & cover these Glory 
Hole gardens with cheesecloth for weather protection & to raise the soil 
temp. Never seen this done (I'm not THAT old), have only read about it.
--------------------
ECPep@aol.com wrote:
> 
> Marte,
> 
> On cold frames in zone 4:  first consideration here is that they are  
> built to handle the snow load.  Second is wind - glass is always      
> broken sooner or later so a clear rigid plastic is best.
> 
> There are all sorts of plans to construct, I think one would be       
> confused as to just which is the best way to go.  In my zone 4 garden, 
> I have two large frames. One is built against the barn for protection 
> and faces south.  The other is free standing and receives shade in the 
> afternoon (after trees leaf out).  The shadier frame is useful all    
> summer for bringing along hosta and other shade plants. 
> 
> On perennial seeding, I find that plants started in the house and     
> hardened off outdoors are still not of a size to place in a garden.   
> So to save the indoor space for winter interest, I would plant all    
> perennials in a frame. They can remain in that place until you are    
> quite ready to line them out somewhere.  BUT - in the north during the 
> season when the frames become active you must open them on sunny days 
> and close in cold and windy weather. If you travel during             
> March-April-May and ignore the frames, you can cook everything inside. 
> If we need to be away we prop open the frames and throw a tarp over   
> them, it seems to work.
> 
> After May, we remove the clear plastic covers and leave the frames    
> open where they are still providing protection to plants in the frames 
> throughout the summer.
> 
> Other uses (our frames never have any space available) are for small  
> plants from cuttings not ready for open ground.  Iris seed that       
> germinates sporadically can be planted in a frame along the sidewall  
> with a marker.  The seed can stay there for a year or two and not     
> disturb the rest of the frame. Any sick or damaged plant will likely  
> recover after a year in a frame.
> 
> Plants in containers here in the summer that die in winter in open    
> ground make it over in the the frames.  That might be lavender, sages, 
> a few verbenas, artemesia 'Powis Castle', caryopteris, a beautiful    
> varigated mint,  I bought a bunch of plants on a PA trip this fall    
> when it was really cold here and put them all in the frames till      
> spring.
> 
> There are many, many uses for zone 4 frames, they multiply as you     
> become familiar with what can be done.  Those great summer bulbs      
> (acidanthera, for instance) that green up here and never bloom in the 
> short season can be started in the frames and moved to the garden     
> about 10" high and you will will have August bloom.
> 
> Our frames are dug out to about 12 " below grade and filled with very 
> good soil.  They are planted a few inches below grade because that is 
> what seems to work best.  When we have a bit of frost in the open     
> ground we fill them up with oak leaves, return the covers and close up 
> for the winter.   In the early days of March you see things happening 
> in a cold frame, it is one more dimension to the garden in the north.
> 
> This is, in part, anwer to the message pasted in below.
> 
> Claire Peplowski
> East Nassau, New York
> Zone 4 Berkshire area
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index