It is time to again change the way you think of a potager garden, if you ever thought this was some fancy French way of describing a kitchen garden. It is sort of the art studio of vegetables, herbs, and small fruits coming into a choreographed performance of beauty. Once frosts begin knocking on the door of your garden, a cold frame is your garden’s best buddy-unrecognized hero in your green adventure.
Just for now, imagine a miniature greenhouse-a little cocoon for your plants. Actually, that’s about it for the basics of a cold frame: it acts much like a cover, not only from icy fingers of winter but even the relentless drumming of spring rains. While old Mother Nature is dancing her ever-seductive dance, your cold frame will be out there waltzing right along with her. If you’re itching to grow kale or stretch your lettuce life span when things take a chilly turn, this is the way to go.
OK, now for how to get this horticultural wonder going: it’s all about the box and the top, really. Take something as banal as a box-tetrachromatic with its four walls and a lid-and you have there the basic anatomy of a cold frame. Go old-school with reclaimed wood, or even those pesky windows that get in your way; after all, a windowpane does the trick with that crisp sunlight spilling over your plants.
And now for location, location, location! As Mario Andretti was quoted: “Every stretch of road is dangerous if you’re driving it blind.” Well, your plants are no different. Siting a cold frame facing south is crucial in soaking in those golden rays. Set it against a garden wall, and the heat it holds will gift your cold frame a little thermal cushion.
Slap on a cover that speaks volumes of simplicity. Transparent plastic sheets will do just fine-in case glass is hard to find. Hinges? Optional. Why not slide in style-sliding lids can be your thing! This will let you open the frame just a tad or fling it wide open and give your flora babies all the air they might want.
Of course, by no means let this be an opportunity to be missed for temperature tweaking. You, dear brave planter, now are holding one of Nature’s thermostats in your hands: if it gets too hot, prop the lid open; if Jack Frost starts gamboling into town-a spare blanket laid over your frame will save the day-the old keep-it-cosy trick!
What to grow indoors? Well, here’s where your imagination sets root. Lettuces, spinaches, or perhaps the most brazen of herbs-in parsley or cilantro. And for the really adventurous gardener who likes to live on the wild side, setting out early spring seedlings will also get you a jump-start on the season.
Waterings are quite another story here. It is all about the balance, with too much being as big of an issue as not enough. Think about it as your plants dancing tango-for example-none willing to balance and lead, the whole thing just falls through. In turn, providing for venting on warmer days may prevent any condensation overload that could cause mold to appear.
Cloches: Unsung Heroes of the Potager
Think of it like that special potager garden that needs a bit of extra TLC when the cold really starts to set in. Then come the cloches: the unsung superheroes of chilly nights. To the uninitiated, cloches are merely glass or clear covers over your plants, a nice little glass jacket for them. Yes, one would say that their grandmother’s knitted sweaters were good enough, but with these at least, there are no mistakes of the knitting needles.
Now, let me explain the importance of these see-through guardians: once the temperatures drop to a freezing level, the plants might think they are stuck in some freezer, which, trust me, is not fun. Cloches will insulate-like miniature greenhouses-the heat inside will trap itself in, permit light to seep through, and that cozy environment just right for growth when Jack Frost knocks on the door.
Pick your cloches with your eyes wide open lest your garden transformations take on the form of Frankenstein’s monster. The glass variety-the vintage model, if you will-usually comes out in the form of a bell, replete with old-world charm. Sure, there is the glass that is just not a good neighbor unless kids are playing catch anywhere in the vicinity of them. For now, plastic ones have gained a more considerable following since these cannot be broken, though sometimes at the cost of classic flair.
To more adventurous gardeners, many kinds of recycled materials can immediately become improvised cloches. An empty soda bottle chopped in half? Instant cloche. Really resourceful besides, and it feels great to give trash a second chance. Your plants aren’t worried whether you went all out in their shields or not, so long as they are warm.
Size accordingly afterward. Be not Goldilocks: not too large, not too small. A cloche must fit your plant, allowing a gentle breeze to waft through yet being tight enough not to let cold drafts in. Throw some holes in there for a breezy chance-a stifled plant is no happier than an exposed one.
But wait, there’s more: placement isn’t just about random plonkage. If you’ve got a naughty wind that kicks its heels about, weight those cloches down. There’s little that’s quite not nice as watching your cloche tumbleweed its way across the lawn. Weights, stakes, and even garden clips keep surprises at bay.
Mother Nature doesn’t always play ball, most especially on days when she’s cold. That’s where a little bit of humor and resourcefulness come into play with just the right cloche selection. Those plants are off to some sort of winter retreat for plants-think of them having hot cocoa under their see-through domes and rustling their leaves in contentment.
Companion cloches have been thrown onto small parties, paired with either thermal fleeces or row covers, adding that extra oomph of warmth. Just like that, your plants went from wearing a simple sweater to that luxury winter coat. Fancy, eh? Be aware that in this case, one size does not fit all-every garden and every plant has a separate deal, so to say. Mistakes and attempts will become your closest friend then: observe, change the strategy, and keep your little greens comfortable.
