Extending the Growing Season with Cold Frames

First of all, let me share that I have attempted to garden with cold frames before, with no success. Or shall I say,  no follow through?  Last year I had asked my sister, Susie, for a window frame when she had done some window replacement. We brought this extremely heavy window home, designed a make shift area in our compost area for a frame, planted spinach, and watched nothing happen. Needless to say, it was a total bust. It seems so long ago. I really can’t remember nor explain what went wrong.

Oh, here comes Grace, my gorgeous outdoor kitty. Now that I’m retired, she checks out my office window every morning. If she finds me at my computer, which is pretty much daily.  She jumps up on the window sill and does a ‘sail kitty’ on the screen. That is my cue to step outside to greet her, pick her up to cuddle minimally (cat allergy), and carry her through the house to the sun porch.  I turn on her heater, donated by Andrew and Brad, and leave her there to warm up. I’m sure she’d prefer to cuddle up in the office with me, but my allergies could not tolerate that. I think she’s content to nap on the porch, as she never misses a morning greeting.

Back to the cold frame. This summer Bruce replaced the glass, which was now broken, with a piece of plexiglass, which greatly reduced the weight of the frame. I still was reluctant to go through this frustrating exercise again, until I decided to retire. One must have time to put the top on and remove it when needed. We garden on the cheap, so purchasing an elaborate cold frame with the thermometer and automatic opener was not an option.

So, before last weekend’s bonfire, I planted radishes and ‘Little Gem’ lettuce in the corner of the onion garden. I was inspired by an episode of ‘House Hunters International.” A couple was looking for a home in Poland, and in the backyard of one of the choices was a huge garden, covered with a cold frame. For the life of me, I cannot imagine how they removed the glass. Of course, this aspect of the property was not detailed, but it looked pretty simple, rustic, and obviously worth the effort, or it would not have been so extensive.

My seeds broke ground a few days ago. I had covered the planting area with a piece of trellis, as gorgeous Grace loves to roll and scratch her back in my newly planted areas, which deters seed emergence/growth. We had a heavy freeze warning last night, so I removed the trellis and placed my window over the top. As the temperature rises, I’ll be able to switch back to the trellis later on in the morning. Maybe this will be our successful attempt.