A few years ago, while driving with my family through the countryside of Bulgaria, I noticed how strikingly similar the landscape was to that of central Virginia. I also noticed that nearly every home had a garden plot, a grape arbor, and a cold frame of some sort. It made me realize how ancient and universal the practice of using cold frames is.
A cold frame is a simple structure that utilizes solar energy and insulation to create a microclimate within your garden. For those of you who have harvested and eaten a salad of fresh greens in February or have flowers blooming well past frost, you know the attraction of using cold frames. You also know how easy they are to make and use. Although we have a greenhouse on our farm, space is always limited, so we rely heavily, especially in spring and fall, on our cold frames to overwinter plants, extend the growing season, start seeds, and harden off plants.
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1. OVERWINTERING DORMANT PLANTS
If you love to use tender or tropical plants in your garden but don’t know what to do with them come fall, a cold frame provides a simple solution. It is not a greenhouse: You won’t be able to keep your plants growing lushly through the winter months. But you can provide plants with the right conditions for a gentle dormancy, and they will be eager to resume growth come spring. I keep tender plants in a sunken cold frame, as it provides the best and most consistent insulation………..
To keep a tender plant in a cold frame, cut it back as much as possible before the first fall frost. If the plant is not already in a container, lift and sink the root mass into a large plastic pot, with plenty of room for soil to insulate it. Pack the cold frame tightly with pots, and add leaves or mulch over the soil surface and into any significant air gaps. Make sure all the pots are well watered.
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2. GIVING SEEDLINGS AN EARLY START
Whether you are starting seeds in flats or sowing them directly into the soil, a portable cold frame provides the opportunity to get your plants going a few weeks early, and it eliminates the transplanting shock that many plants face because they will be better acclimated from the outset. If you are seeding in the early spring or fall, focus on cool-season plants, as they tend to have lower temperature thresholds for germination. Keep in mind that seedlings are more susceptible to extreme weather conditions than established plants.
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3. HARDENING OFF YOUNG SEEDLINGS
When plants are moved from a warm, sheltered location—such as a greenhouse or indoors—into the garden, they must be gradually acclimated to fluctuations in temperature, sunlight, moisture, and exposure. Generally this is done by carrying the plants outside and back in again for gradually longer periods of time over the course of a week or two. The same effect can be achieved by opening and closing a cold frame over a five- to seven-day period.
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Article source: Fine Gardening
Image source: Readiness-Plan