Cold frame (Photo credit: castle79)
cold frame in situ (Photo credit: poppet with a camera)
A picture of my coldframe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I always wondered exactly what a cold frame was when I first heard the term. I will try to get an official definition below from Wikipedia, but here is what I would define it as:
Cold Frame – An enclosed garden bed or container with a removable or hinged clear lid that serves to extend the growing season in northern climates.
From Wikipedia: In agriculture and gardening, a cold frame is a transparent-roofed enclosure, built low to the ground, used to protect plants from cold weather
So I got close off the top of my head…..anyways, why would you want to add a cold frame?
- Extend the growing season
- Allows you to grow crops that would otherwise not do well in your area due to the shorter growing season
- Start Seedlings in the dirt
- Satisfy that early spring itch to plant something
- Easy to Use
- Can serve a double function of being a raised bed
- Nice project to do with the kids
- Can be made out of materials that many people have laying around
- Very versatile/ flexible design
These are just a few reasons that I can think of to build and use a cold frame. We look forward to using our new one and seeing what other benefits that we discover along the way.
