Pictured here you will see the process of building and insulating a cold frame for extending your growing season without a greenhouse. The first 2 pictures are of building the frames out of slats of cedar. Then we staple translucent film to the outsides.
When the frames are built we added a 2 inch layer of perlite for insulation. Next, we placed heating tape (used to insulate pipes). And lastly 3 inches of potting soil, which is a mix of peat moss, compost and more perlite. In the last photo you will see the first of our baby plants growing.
We have been experimenting this spring with ways to extend our season without a greenhouse. For the most part we have been successful. As you saw in the previous blog we turned a room into a plant nursery. Our first wave of plants are already outside awaiting the warm weather to be planted in the ground. The first wave of plants consist of broccoli, cabbage and kale. They are resting in our cold frames waiting for the soil to be ready to be worked. We hope to start planting in the fields next week.
Many of the other plants inside are waiting for even warmer weather and to be sold to home gardeners as starts for their organic gardens.
We sell many of our starts at our store. The others are sold at Sugarbush Nursery. Here is a general list of what we will be selling and when:
· April 1st Stawberry roots
· April 15th Potatoes, Swiss Chard, Kale, Broccoli, Cabbages, Leeks
· April 30th Peppers, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Celeriac
Plea
se contact us if you have questions.
We have additional shares available for our CSA!
We sold all the original shares. However when we found out that Miriam would be returning to work with us this season we were able to expand our membership. Please see our website for applications, prices and further information.
Happy Spring!
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