Frost Only Stops the Unprepared
Wilson Home Farms offers a number of Season Extension installations for home gardeners:
- Low Tunnels- A low technology way to add frost protection to your crops
- Cold Frames- A "raised bed with a clear lid" - these allow a gardener to grow cold hardy crops in a sturdy environment
- High Tunnels- Layman call these greenhouses, but a greenhouse can only be called a greenhouse if it is heated. High tunnels look like greenhouses, but rely on solar energy to heat the space
Low Tunnels |
Low tunnels are simple frames made from metal; either a bent steel wire or a bent piece of electrical conduit. Once these frames are in place, plastic or spun row cover is placed and secured over them. This allows for early plantings of summer crops, before the danger of frost has passed, and extension of your fall crops past the first frosts of the season.
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Cold Frames |
Cold Frames are raised beds with clear lids placed over fertile soil angled towards the southern winter sun. Cold Frames act as a living refrigerator.
Cold hardy crops are planted late in the fall, given enough time to germinate and grow to maturity just before the bitter cold of the winter kicks in. The cold frame protects your crops through the harsh January and February, and allows you to harvest these crops through the winter. |