Cold Frames for Autumn and Winter Crops

A cold frame can keep plants from 7° to 10ºF warmer than outdoors, sometimes as much as 20ºF warmer. Use a cold frame in spring to give seedlings a head start on the growing season and protect them from spring frosts.

What can I grow in a cold frame in the winter?
What can I plant in a cold frame in October?
What grows in cold frames?
When should you plant in a cold frame?
How do you keep a cold frame warm at night?
Can you start seeds in a cold frame?
Do cold frames need to be airtight?
What vegetable seeds can I plant in October?
What are the best vegetables to plant in October?
Can I grow cucumbers in a cold frame?
How deep does a cold frame need to be?
Do cold frames have bases?

What can I grow in a cold frame in the winter?

What Can Be Grown in a Cold Frame? Most commonly, salad greens such as spinach, chard, arugula and a variety of lettuces are grown in a cold frame, but it's not just limited to that. Other vegetables can be successfully grown in a cold frame too, including radishes, leeks and carrots.

What can I plant in a cold frame in October?

In the greenhouse/cold frame

Sow sweet peas and place them in a cold frame over winter for planting out in the spring. Sow aquilegia in a cold frame ready to plant out next spring. Oriental poppies can be sown into pots and placed in a cold frame over winter. Try sowing Hellebore seeds in pots in a cold frame.

What grows in cold frames?

Hardy vegetables for cold frame growing include salad ingredients such as lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, radishes, and scallions. Cool-season root crops can be grown from seed to harvest in the soil beneath the frame; these include beets, carrots, radishes, and onions.

When should you plant in a cold frame?

At least two weeks before you sow early vegetables like spinach, radishes or peas in spring, put your cold frame in place. This will help to gently warm the soil within the frame to temperatures that are more suited to growing cool-season vegetables.

How do you keep a cold frame warm at night?

A mat or blanket may be placed over the frame on cold nights to conserve heat, but this increases temperature by only a few degrees. There are times, however, when a few degrees can be very important.

Can you start seeds in a cold frame?

Can You Plant Seeds in Cold Frames? The answer is a resounding yes, cold frames for spring seedlings is a great idea. In fact, you should consider starting your seeds in early spring this way for a few reasons: With a cold frame, you can start seeds as much as six weeks earlier than you would put them in the ground.

Do cold frames need to be airtight?

When its COLD, you want your cold frame to be as air tight as you can get it. That means filling any gaps between the wood or windows. ALSO, it gets super hot in a cold frame when the sun is blazing, even when its not hot outside.

What vegetable seeds can I plant in October?

Vegetable seeds to sow in October

Peas. For an early crop of tasty peas, sow overwintering cultivars like 'Avola', in a sheltered spot. ...
Lettuce. At this time of year, you can be making successional sowings of hardy lettuces. ...
Broad beans. ...
Cauliflower.

What are the best vegetables to plant in October?

What to Plant in October

Root vegetables: Plant beets, radishes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, and rutabaga from seed this month. ...
Leafy greens and Brassicas: Lettuces, spinach, and Swiss chard can be planted from seed or from transplant this month.

Can I grow cucumbers in a cold frame?

Planting out

Plant outdoor cucumbers in early summer. A week or so before planting, acclimatise plants by putting them in a cold frame. Alternatively, stand in the shelter of a shaded wall and cover with fleece. Prepare the soil well, adding plenty of well-rotted manure and space plants 90cm (35in) apart.

How deep does a cold frame need to be?

The ideal size for a cold frame is 3 by at least 6 feet, about 12 inches deep along the front sloping to 18 inches at the back. You can build a cold frame out of 1×12 pressure-treated lumber, assembled with nails and screws for permanency or prefabricated corners for easy dismantling and storage.

Do cold frames have bases?

Where do I position my cold frame? You can put your cold frame on pretty much any surface so long as it's flat and sturdy. As it's used to house pots, rather than covering anything growing directly in the ground, concrete or paving slabs make an excellent base.