Season Extension
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Cold Frame Calendar
A cold frame is a bottomless box with a clear or translucent top. It is set on the ground or over a planting bed to capture solar energy and heat the air, soil, and plants inside. A cold frame can extend the growing season by one to several months. A cold frame can keep plants […] More
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Cold Frame to Extend the Season
A cold frame—a low, bottomless box with a clear glass or plastic top, that is set on the ground or over a sunken bed—can extend the growing season by 1 to 3 months. Use a cold frame to extend the growing season from fall into early winter and late winter into spring and protect plants […] More
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Cool-Season Vegetable Varieties
Cool-season vegetables are for planting and growing in late winter, early spring, or in late summer, autumn, and early winter. These crops do best in temperatures between about 40°F and about 70°F (4-21°C). Many can withstand temperatures colder, but few can thrive in temperatures warmer. Make sure that cool-season crops planted in spring have enough […] More
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Vegetable Garden Season Extension
Vegetable garden season extension is a term used for growing vegetables outside of the natural growing season—that is during winter, early spring, or autumn spring when outdoor temperatures are too cold for most plants. To extend the season, plants must be protected by covers small or large. When soil and air temperatures fall below minimum […] More
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Cloches and Hot Caps
Cloches and hot caps can be used to protect individual plants or a few plants at a time. A cloche or hot cap used at the beginning or end of the growing season when there are big swings in the daytime and nighttime temperature can add 3 to 4 weeks to the growing season. A […] More
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Vegetable Garden Plant Hardiness
Hardiness or cold-hardiness is a term used to denote a plant’s ability to withstand cold temperatures. Cold-hardiness commonly specifies the minimum temperature to which a plant can be exposed and still be able to resume growing. At the end of the growing season, tender and very tender vegetables must be protected from cold or they […] More
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Snow Tolerant Vegetables
Snow on the winter vegetable garden does not mean the end of harvest. Snow will insulate winter crops from freezing temperatures and protect them until harvest. A killing frost or freeze will do more damage to winter vegetables than snow. Carrots, turnips, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage, chard, and head lettuce can be harvested from under […] More
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How to Prepare a Winter Vegetable Garden
Autumn and winter crops replace summer crops as days shorten and temperatures begin to drop. Root crops do best in cool weather as do most leafy crops. As warm-weather fruiting vegetables—tomatoes, peppers, and squashes—finish their run for the year remove them and prepare planting beds for autumn and winter crops–beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips, kale, spinach, […] More
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Winter Mulching
Winter mulching will protect vegetables and other garden beds from the impact of wind, rain, and snow and prevent the loss of soil nutrients. Mulch for winter can be straw, chopped leaves, aged compost, or a cover crop. Clearing the garden of debris and weeds and putting mulch in place before winter will make getting […] More
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Fall Harvest Vegetable Varieties
Fall harvest crops are planted in mid- to late-summer. These cool-season crops get a quick start from seed or seedling in warm summer soil and come to maturity in the cool days of autumn. Choose crop varieties with shorter days to harvest; some cabbage takes 90 days to harvest; other varieties are ready sooner. Choose varieties […] More
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Vegetables for Fall Harvest
Leafy greens, root vegetables, and members of the cabbage family are good fall harvest crops. These crops can be planted in mid- to late-summer for fall harvest. Fall harvest crops are generally cool-weather crops, the same ones commonly planted in late winter or early spring for late spring or early summer harvest. Where autumn weather […] More
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Vegetable Seedling Protection
Protect vegetable seedlings planted in the garden from cool and cold nighttime temperatures. Protect warm-season seedlings such as tomatoes and peppers from temperatures below 55°F. Protect cool-season seedlings such as lettuce and cabbage from temperatures below 45°F. Cages and tunnels covered with plastic are quick ways to protect crops and extend the warmth needed for […] More
Stephen Albert
