Growing Greens in the Cold

Posted by Katie Elzer-Peters
October 16th, 2008
Filed in Fruits, Veggies and Herbs
Tags: cold frames, greens, winter

Our last post got everyone ready for some yummy greens! Now, for the tastiest greens, you need to grow them yourself. Here are some tips to do just that!

Cold Frames

Garden with a cold frame and you can harvest vegetables all year round–even in the coldest of locations. Cold frames have been used in one way or another since the beginning of agriculture. Cold frames can be as simple or as complex as you want to make them. Basically, they are boxes made of wood with a glass or clear plastic lid called the “light.” They are kind of like mini-greenhouses. On sunny winter days, the cold frame heats up like your car heats up on a sunny winter day. This keeps vegetables warm enough to stay alive and edible during the winter.

For an in-depth tutorial and history of cold frames, and growing vegetables all winter long, check out the book Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long, by Eliot Coleman. Coleman has compiled a great list of vegetables for fall, winter and spring harvest, and includes information about when to plant, how to water, ways to control temperature and what to harvest. The book is a must-read for all winter gardeners.

The Big Chill

Serious vegetable gardeners really need to read Coleman’s book. If you are thinking about sticking your toe in the water (or snow) of winter gardening, here are some hints and tips from Four Season Harvest.

• Don’t water your vegetables after about November. Plants need water to live, but the wetter they are and the colder it gets, the more likely they are to croak.
• Certain vegetables are not at all tolerant to chilling, or temperatures below 50 degrees. If you are planning your garden, be certain to check out a list of chill-tolerant vegetables:
  Are Tolerant: Carrot, Celery, Parsley, Parsnip, Endive, Lettuce (baby), Kale, Kohlrabi, Radish, Beet, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Snap Pea, Leek, Onion (scallion).

  Not Tolerant: Squash, Beans, Corn, Tomato, Eggplant, Peppers, Tomato

• You will need to somewhat control the temperature in your cold frame. During warm fall and spring months, it is possible for the temperatures to get too high inside your cold frame. You can install a thermostat controlled lifting arm for the “light” so that you don’t have to constantly check the temperature.
• You have to plant your cold frame crops before it actually gets cold. This is because the plants do most of their growing while it is still warm, and there is lots of sunlight. As the days get shorter and the angle of the sun is shallower, plants stop growing and essentially hibernate. Thus, if you want to harvest vegetables all winter, you need to make sure they have reached “harvestable” size before the winter.