Cold Frames for Year-Round GARDENING
A humble cold frame offers a great way to produce nutritious, homegrown food outside of the prime growing season without investing in an expensive full-size greenhouse. Although many gardeners already use these mini-greenhouses to shelter seedlings before planting them outside in spring, they may not realize that crops will stay alive inside a cold frame during winter, providing fresh food from the garden in December, January, and even February.
Commercial cold frames can make beautiful additions to the garden, but an inexpensive DIY setup is a great way to get started. You can quickly assemble one or more DIY cold frames with upcycled materials, and then move them around your property to find the best microclimate before you install a more elegant cold frame.
What's a Cold Frame?
At its simplest, a cold frame is a box supporting a
