Extending The Growing Season

So its Fall 2009 now, officially. The garden is beginning to go dormant. But... we don't have to give it all up til Spring! We can use a coldframe to extend the season or start the new one early! I was inspired by a friends coldframe and decided to try and build one for my own use. I naturally included my friend and husband to help out. And, my special 4 legged friends Charlie and Willy. Charlie was having a bad photo day, so we only have smiling Willy in the photo display. Maybe Charlie will be ready to smile for us in the Spring when we uncover and display all the bulbs I'm hoping to force in this lovely addition to the garden.

You know how project A always turns into project B. Well, for us it was the fence. We had to make access to the cold frame thru the fence, so the gate was the first addition to the scene. I've been wanting a gate into this area of the garden for a long time, so finally, I have one! Something I think most writings I came across on building a cold frame forgot to mention is how much soil you are going to have to put someplace when you dig the area. We had quite a pile! We dug an area 108"L X 35"W X 28"D. The lower portion of the frame faces South for best heat capture/retention and I have a little step into the frame due to the depth.

Many of the materials we used were recycled. Some old cinder blocks we had been storing out back were on the property when we moved here over 17 years ago, the window tops were freebies from the side of the road on my husbands daily commute to work and the shelves to be used inside the coldframe are leftovers from a friends project and a few of our own.
We did purchase wood for the frame and gravel for the floor.

It was a fun process learning how to make some of the materials work, such as the windows. They needed to be reglazed and painted. The cinder blocks had to be placed in a fashion that would allow all the wall corners to fit just right. And the wood frame, well the wood chosen had to be arrow straight, not curvy like some of the stuff you get in the recycled or seconds pile. On a dry day I will get the wood painted then the frame will be ready to fill.

Many thanks to my friends and husband for their support and knowledge in building my so very appreciated cold frame. I can't wait to start filling it up with my container plants, it will leave my garden shed floor free for me to use this winter instead of trying to hop around and over everything. I plan to capture and post my cold frame experience so be sure to check back maybe monthly to see how its going. With some luck I hope to enjoy a lovely display of forced Spring bulbs and maybe even some fresh greens before the ground thaws next year.

If you'd like more specifics on building your own coldframe I thought GardenGate magazine had a nice description complete with photos and materials list for a coldframe project
FineGardening magazine also has a great article of different types of coldframes you can build/use. So don't let the coming winter season here in Zone 5-6 put your green thumb into hibernation, go ahead and try even a simple coldframe to extend your current garden and start next years garden early! Most of all, enjoy the process, your reward will be more than just an extended harvest or early start of the growing season.