For the past few years we have been desiring to get an earlier start on our gardening. The solution for us was simple. We haven't had the time to put up a greenhouse, so we decided to go with cold frames instead.

Cold frames are very simple to construct and do not need to be made from expensive materials. The ones shown here are made from cinder block partially sunk into the ground(about an inch) and single-pane window sashes. As I'm sure you are aware cinder block can be purchased at many venues including local Menard's and the like, but you can replace the cinder block with any  material you desire, such as wood. Some have suggested recycling plastic 55 gallon drums as movable cold frames. Watever you choose is up to you so long as it can be used as walls for your frame and will hold up the sashes.

The construction of your cold frame does not have to be air tight. In fact, a little air flow is good for the plants and will not harm them. But, you can see that we mulched around our frames to insulate them just a little better (and for beauty).

The thinking behind the cold frame is that cold temperatures alone are not what actually kill the plant. What really kills them is the frost and drying cold temp winds that blow all winter, freezing the plant so that its cells burst. So if you can keep your plants from being killed by the frost and wind and just warm enough to not freeze, they will happily provide you with food all winter long.

If you weren't already aware there are certain varieties of vegetables that do very well in the colder weather preferring cool temperatures to hot. These are generally in the Brassica family i.e. spinaches, kales, broccoli, you get the idea. You can also overwinter root crops in cold frames. There is nothing better than fresh carrots picked right before you eat them, but don't forget to let a frost or two hit them to sweeten them up before you close them in for the winter. Note: Only let frost on your root crops as it will not harm them. Do Not let frost onto leafy vegetable crops as it will cause damage.

When do I plant in these? Well I'm glad you asked. Plants need sufficient amounts of sunlight each day to grow. So if you want fairly substantial greens for the winter try planting them between September 1-30 for best results. If you plant any later than that you may get germination and some growth but it probably won't be quite what you were looking for. If you plant into November or later you may not get any germination until the spring comes around to wake up all your seeds. But, they will come up as though you were one full hardiness zone further south (as much as two weeks sooner)!

We hope you enjoy these!