Saturday, April 17, 2010

A Cold Frame



While most people are thinking of gardening outdoors
 it is also a great time to get ready to garden next winter. 
Our friends Susie and Ray have a great cold frame in Albuquerque, N.M.
 We have profiled their urban garden with a post on Worm Composting 
on April 2, '10 and The Urban Food Producing Winter Garden posted March 7 '10. 
Of course you can also check the archives on the side bar.





These photos were taken in early March after a particularly rough winter.
The frame itself is made out of scrap lumber and a ribbed polycarbonite 
sheet that has good light transmission and some insulation value.
 The block wall provides thermal mass to help moderate temperatures on the coldest nights.


During the day the lids can be either cracked open
 as in the first photo or open all the way as shown above.


The menu for this particular winter includes lettuce, chard, spinach, dill, and broccoli.
The bed was planted last October and has been harvested all winter.