I thought I’d set up our cold frame outside the front door and put it right on top of the grass and weeds growing there at present.
I’ve been reading Mel Bartholomew’s second edition of Square Foot Gardening and he’s given me ideas. While retaining the large garden for summer crops, it might be easier to grow a few winter crops near the house so I don’t have to wade through snow to try and open the gate to get to the cold frame.
Combining “lasagne gardening” with Bartholomew’s square foot gardening and using a cold frame with insulation, I’ve placed two layers of newspaper right on the grass out front, covering the dimensions of the cold frame, which is about three feet by four feet, then I placed the cold frame on top, poked holes all over the paper and wet it down. I poured two wheelbarrowfuls of compost in the frame along with a block of coir that expanded when wet enough and then tossed in two wheelbarrowfuls of leaves. Once it was wet I mixed it all up and am letting that sit for a few days until it’s more incorporated.
I attached hinges to the windows that sit atop the frame and will add hooks at the front to hold them down and a piece of wood to hold them up on hot days, but I still have to figure out how to attach rat-proof wire mesh to keep out varmints. Since I won’t be going anywhere this winter, I can plan on monitoring temperatures in order to cover the frame with an insulating blanket on cold days and opening up the windows on sunny days because it can get mighty hot in there.
In the meantime, I’ve sown lettuce, spinach, scallions, radish and parsley seeds in flats under grow lights so that by the time the soil in the cold frame is ready, the seedlings will have grown big enough to transplant. I’ll keep up the sowing in flats as I harvest the ones in the frame throughout the winter.
Please contact mary_lowther@yahoo.ca with questions and suggestions since I need all the help I can get.
