RE: Forcing Lettuce in the Winter

Hi all,
  
  Has anyone actually built a coldframe like the one in the Four Season
Harvest?  With my limited carpentry skills I believe I can handle the bottom
box, but the top ("light") looks complicated.  Can I just use a piece of
lexan plastic attached with a piano hinge to the box.  It would be very
light, I know, but if I securely latch it, do you think it would be OK?  I
know some people use old windows, but I understand they are too heavy for an
automatic venting device.  
  I'm hooked on harvesting stuff out of the garden in the fall/winter.  I
have only carrots, kale and maybe some baby lettuce under the floating row
cover now under 15" of snow.  My goal is to have a salad next year in
January.  I have a fabulous looking ornamental pepper plant growing
downstairs under lights that is setting peppers.  These are sweet, not hot
peppers. My tiny tim tomato plant has flower buds.  The swiss chard was
delicious.  So if I had some lettuce and radishes, I'd be set!

Thanks,
Beth (snowy MD, zone 7)

-----Original Message-----
From: Patrick Callahan [p*@tiac.net]
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2000 6:44 PM
To: veggie-list@eskimo.com
Subject: Re: Forcing Lettuce in the Winter


Re: Cold Frames:

pdanielak wrote:

>   Hopefully by next
> winter we will have the cold frame we keep talking about ....
>
> Pat
> Zone 7, Delmarva

The book Four Season Harvest by Elliot Coleman
has excellent advice and instructions for building cold frames.

Someone on the list steered me toward this book a few weeks ago.  I add my
recommendation to theirs.

Pat Callahan
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