Cold frame
In
Historically, cold frames were built to be used in addition to a heated
Cold frames are found in
Construction
Cold frame construction is a common home or farm building project, although kits and commercial systems are available. A traditional plan makes use of old glass windows: a wooden frame is built, about one to two feet tall, and the window placed on top. The roof is often sloped towards the winter sun to capture more light, and to improve runoff of water, and hinged for easy access. Clear plastic, rigid or sheeting, can be used in place of glass. An electric heating cable, available for this purpose, can be placed in the soil to provide additional heat.
Uses
Cold frames can be used to extend the growing season for many food and ornamental crops, primarily by providing increased warmth in early spring. This means that it's possible to harvest vegetable crops ahead of their normal season when they are extremely expensive to buy. Some crops suitable for growing in a cold frame include lettuces, parsley, salad onions, spinach, radishes and turnips etc. One vegetable crop can occupy the whole of a cold frame or a combination of crops can be grown so that they mature in rotation in order to get a wide range of different vegetables throughout the year from a single cold frame.
Bulb frame
A "bulb frame" is a specialized kind of cold frame, designed for growing hardy or almost hardy ornamental bulbous plants, particularly in climates with wet winters. Typically it is raised further above ground level than a normal cold frame, so that the plants can be seen better when in flower. They are often used for the cultivation of winter-growing bulbs which flower in the autumn or spring. The covers are used in winter to provide some protection from very bad weather, while allowing good ventilation. Then in the summer, the covers provide dry, warm conditions which many such bulbs need.[5]
See also
- Gardening in Alaska
- Greenhouse
- High tunnel
References
- ^ "Cold Frame as Season Extension from Grass to Greens". www.grass2greens.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
- ^ coldframe.org.uk Archived 2010-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "A brief history of cold frames". coldframe.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2010-04-08. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
- ^ merriam-webster.com
- ISBN 978-0-7134-4920-4. Pp. 32–34