Cold Frame / Raised Bed Completed

Today I managed to start and finish a new raised bed, one that will be used as a cold frame for the next month or so. As I wrote last week, I planned to use one of the smaller raised beds as a cold frame by putting windows on top, opening them in the morning so it won't get to hot during the day. After measuring the old windows I had, I modified my bed design a bit, to accommodate the size of the windows.

I plan to start my vegetable and flower seeds this weekend, although by looking at the weather for the coming week, the weather doesn't seem so bad. At the moment the vegetables I have to start are tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and squash. I'll be sowing corn and pole beans in situ. I've got non-vegetable seeds I want to germinate, like coneflowers, agapnathus, cotton hibiscus and devil's trumpet. Depending upon how many seed trays I have, some of the non-vegetables may have to wait. I also may try to grow stuff to take to the plant swap on April 10th. Wish me luck.

Starting Summer Vegetables in a Cold Frame

I know it doesn't seem like it, but it's time to talk about planting summer vegetables - not full grown plants, but starting from seed - when it's nice and warm they will be ready for the garden. A lot of people have a sun room or grow lights or a greenhouse for their seedlings, but I don't - I have to improvise. Don't worry, I have a plan. I'm planning to build a cold frame, which is basically a box with a window on top that protect tender plants from the cold.

I've considered building them before, but it seemed like a lot of work for not too much benefit, especially around here. I decided I needed a lot of space if I was going to grow warm season vegetables from seed this year. I've tried this in the past and had better luck each year. What I'm planning to do this year is build a cold frame out of concrete blocks and old windows. I brought this up with Darren and he thought it sounded like a good idea. The concrete blocks will warm up during the day and let off that heat at night, and the window would help hold that heat in, but during the day I would need to crack the windows open so it doesn't get too hot.

Originally I planned to put it in the backyard, setting up concrete blocks on the lawn, but I thought of a better idea. I still have at least three more raised beds to build (according to my master plan), so I should build one of those and use it as a cold frame before filling it with soil. So that's probably going to happen in the next week, and I'll start my seeds and be on my way gardening.