Cold frames may be a great idea to prolong the harvest, but what if they don’t fill the bill?
Regardless of how careful one is, insects may find it cozy in there, all filled with food that we grow there just for them. Larger varmints might chew their way in and set up house, especially if they are unable to penetrate one’s own house. Freezing weather might affect vegetables growing inside the frame, no matter how much it’s insulated. Growing seedlings in flats and then transplanting them into a cold frame during cold weather can be daunting.
Even if one successfully grows food in a cold fame, they can augment the diet with indoor plants placed in a sunny window or under lights. David loves sprouts in a sandwich and they are easy to grow. Sword Fern Boutique, a store in Lake Cowichan, carries sprouting supplies and books, and is a great place to get gifts for Christmas.
My indoor plants grow in a potting mix I make up. Since insects — slugs I think, judging by the slime trails — have eaten all my radishes in the cold frame, despite my efforts at prevention, I’m going to see how well the greens, scallions and radishes fare in the house in a sunny window, perhaps augmented with grow lights.
We don’t get much sun here in the winter anyway, so I bet that these plants would fare better than in a cold frame.
Here’s my recipe for potting soil:
1/3 compost (sterilized)
1/3 coir or peat moss
1/3 vermiculite
Mix this all together and for every square foot, add one cup of organic fertilizer containing trace minerals. Mix all this in.
Please contact mary_lowther@yahoo.ca with questions and suggestions since I need all the help I can get.
