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…
Season Extension
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. Cold frames can be used for year-round gardening: • Spring: Use the frame to start seeds early and harden off seedlings. •…
Floating Row Covers: Plant Protection
Floating row covers are made of lightweight spun poly fabric and are laid loosely over plants. A floating row cover will protect plants from frost damage to 28°F. Row covers transmit up to 85 percent of available sunlight and are permeable to air and water. Sunlight and weather will weaken the fibers in spun poly…
Predicting Frost in the Garden
Frost in the garden happens when the surfaces of plant leaves or fruit—or other solid objects in the garden—are colder than freezing and moisture in the air condenses on the surfaces to form ice crystals. A light frost or white frost happens when the air temperature drops to around 32°F. If you know frost is…
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…
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…
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,…
Cold Frame for Vegetables
Use a cold frame to extend the growing season fall into early winter and late winter into spring and protect plants in summer and winter. Insulate the cold frame with sheet plastic or thick rigid urethane to protect plants in mid-winter; replace the cold frame lid with lath in summer to create a lath house….
Winter Mulching
Winter mulching will protect vegetable and other garden beds from the impact of rain 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 the garden re-started…
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…