Building a Cold Frame

Here's a brief overview on how we built our cold frame to help extend our growing season. Typically ND growing season is end of May to beginning of September. We're hoping the cold frame will extend our season by another 2 months.

A cold frame can be built out of salvaged windows with very minimal carpentry skills.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• homesteading
• suburban steader
• gardening
• Green
• Go Green
• Garden
• Square Foot Gardening
• ListeningInND
• cold frame
• coldframe
• cold
• extending
• gardening in cold
• cold weather
• building
• building a cold frame
• window box
• greenhouse
• greenhouse box

[ListeningInND]

We typically grow mostly greens in there. Spinach, mache (corn salad), lettuce, green onions, leeks, radishes. We just built it last spring so I used it to start my broccoli and lettuce in at the end of April. Our fall crops lasted until one December day when it got to 5 below at night, it was tolerating temps into the teens. I would say you should be able to get an extra 6 weeks on each end of the growing season. Our last frost day here typically falls around Memorial Day.

[alan30189]

Good job. Thanks for sharing. You may want to paint it so it lasts longer and maybe insulate the inside walls with 1/2" blue Dow Styrofoam. :-)

[sftravis]

I live in South Dakota and was wondering what veggies you used this for and how much more time did it add to your growing season. I would love to have some fresh greens in the winter.

[FreedomRiseUp]

great job hubby and wife teamwork rocks

[butchdiesel]

Looks awesome great work thanks for the upload! :-)

[sugerbear520]

nice