You could try it, but I would put some plastic gallon jugs in with the
seedlings. When the sun shines on the jugs, it will warm them up and keep
the seedlings warm during the night. You could paint them balck or dark
green to get more heat out of them. How warm, I have no idea. That will
depend on the size of the bed and area to be kept above freezing.

Dwayne


"Pammy" wrote in message
om...
I'm new to using Newsgroups. I'm a vegetable and flower gardener in
Massachusetts (near New Hampshire border). I would like to get a
jumpstart on growing some lettuce. I've read that I can make a simple
cold frame from an old window frame supported over the ground with hay
bails. I would like to know if anyone has tried this and might anyone
have some growing suggestions?

Dwayne wrote:

You could try it, but I would put some plastic gallon jugs in with the
seedlings. When the sun shines on the jugs, it will warm them up and keep
the seedlings warm during the night. You could paint them balck or dark
green to get more heat out of them. How warm, I have no idea. That will
depend on the size of the bed and area to be kept above freezing.

Dwayne

Or you can add a few ounces of manure to the water in the plastic jugs.
The manure dyes the water brown to absorb heat better and you will have
well aged manure tea in the spring for fertilizer. I grown lettuce and
cabbage all winter in temperatures down to 10F with no other protection
other then being surrounded by milk jugs. Inside a cold frame, you could
go much lower.

Lorenzo L. Love
http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
Cicero

Dwayne wrote:

You could try it, but I would put some plastic gallon jugs in with the
seedlings. When the sun shines on the jugs, it will warm them up and keep
the seedlings warm during the night. You could paint them balck or dark
green to get more heat out of them. How warm, I have no idea. That will
depend on the size of the bed and area to be kept above freezing.

Dwayne

Or you can add a few ounces of manure to the water in the plastic jugs.
The manure dyes the water brown to absorb heat better and you will have
well aged manure tea in the spring for fertilizer. I grown lettuce and
cabbage all winter in temperatures down to 10F with no other protection
other then being surrounded by milk jugs. Inside a cold frame, you could
go much lower.

Lorenzo L. Love
http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
Cicero

il Sat, 06 Mar 2004 03:43:11 GMT, "Lorenzo L. Love" ha scritto:

Or you can add a few ounces of manure to the water in the plastic jugs.
The manure dyes the water brown to absorb heat better and you will have
well aged manure tea in the spring for fertilizer. I grown lettuce and
cabbage all winter in temperatures down to 10F with no other protection
other then being surrounded by milk jugs. Inside a cold frame, you could
go much lower.

How big are those milk jugs?

--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

il Sat, 06 Mar 2004 03:43:11 GMT, "Lorenzo L. Love" ha scritto:

Or you can add a few ounces of manure to the water in the plastic jugs.
The manure dyes the water brown to absorb heat better and you will have
well aged manure tea in the spring for fertilizer. I grown lettuce and
cabbage all winter in temperatures down to 10F with no other protection
other then being surrounded by milk jugs. Inside a cold frame, you could
go much lower.

How big are those milk jugs?

--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

Loki wrote:

il Sat, 06 Mar 2004 03:43:11 GMT, "Lorenzo L. Love" ha scritto:


Or you can add a few ounces of manure to the water in the plastic jugs.
The manure dyes the water brown to absorb heat better and you will have
well aged manure tea in the spring for fertilizer. I grown lettuce and
cabbage all winter in temperatures down to 10F with no other protection
other then being surrounded by milk jugs. Inside a cold frame, you could
go much lower.


How big are those milk jugs?


One gallon. A square of eight around each plant. In the spring after the
lettuce dosen't need any help I move them around tomato and pepper
transplants to protect them from late cold snaps, like a Wal-o-water.
Later, just dump the manure tea out as a plant food.

Lorenzo L. Love
http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
Cicero

il Sat, 06 Mar 2004 06:48:34 GMT, "Lorenzo L. Love" ha scritto:

Loki wrote:

How big are those milk jugs?

One gallon. A square of eight around each plant. In the spring after the
lettuce dosen't need any help I move them around tomato and pepper
transplants to protect them from late cold snaps, like a Wal-o-water.
Later, just dump the manure tea out as a plant food.

Lorenzo L. Love
http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

So let me see if I've pictured this right. You have these jugs
(plastic I presume) filled with water which releases heat at night.
Do you put anything over the top? And do they work well for frosts? I
guess they may work as wind breaks too which is a problem here. Cold
Southerlies from Antartcica pack a bitter punch.
--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

Loki wrote:

il Sat, 06 Mar 2004 06:48:34 GMT, "Lorenzo L. Love" ha scritto:


Loki wrote:


How big are those milk jugs?

One gallon. A square of eight around each plant. In the spring after the
lettuce dosen't need any help I move them around tomato and pepper
transplants to protect them from late cold snaps, like a Wal-o-water.
Later, just dump the manure tea out as a plant food.

Lorenzo L. Love
http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove


So let me see if I've pictured this right. You have these jugs
(plastic I presume) filled with water which releases heat at night.
Do you put anything over the top? And do they work well for frosts? I
guess they may work as wind breaks too which is a problem here. Cold
Southerlies from Antartcica pack a bitter punch.

As I said, no other protection. The coldest I had it here is 7F and only
had minor frost damage to cold hardy leaf lettuce, head cabbage and bok
choi. Normal winters of 10 to 13F, no damage. They grow slow in the
winter, but they grow. A frost blanket should take it much lower but I
don't need it here. From plants started last fall I've been picking the
outer lettuce leaves all winter, the bok choi just got big enough to
start harvesting a couple weeks ago, the head cabbage hasn't headed up
yet, some years it doesn't head but it still makes good soup.

Lorenzo L. Love
http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
Cicero

"Lorenzo L. Love" wrote in message hlink.net...

As I said, no other protection. The coldest I had it here is 7F and only
had minor frost damage to cold hardy leaf lettuce, head cabbage and bok
choi. Normal winters of 10 to 13F, no damage. They grow slow in the
winter, but they grow. A frost blanket should take it much lower but I
don't need it here. From plants started last fall I've been picking the
outer lettuce leaves all winter, the bok choi just got big enough to
start harvesting a couple weeks ago, the head cabbage hasn't headed up
yet, some years it doesn't head but it still makes good soup.


We went down to -9F here this year, but my lettuce, chicory, tatsoi
and arugula kept on going under the tunnels. By now I have removed the
plastic and have had a few salads from the garden. The sorrel (which
is not protected) is poking out together with the daylilies and daffs.
This week we should dip down to 20 or so, but established hardy greens
will take that.

Yes. A coldframe, or at least mine, has a glass top made out of an old
shower door. It raises all the way up if needed, or can be held open from
1/2 inch to as much as you need (if you want to vent it off on a hot day and
not cook your seedlings). I open mine some in the morning, and close it
before sundown.

Dwayne

"Loki" wrote in message
...
il Sat, 06 Mar 2004 06:48:34 GMT, "Lorenzo L. Love" ha scritto:

Loki wrote:

How big are those milk jugs?

One gallon. A square of eight around each plant. In the spring after the
lettuce dosen't need any help I move them around tomato and pepper
transplants to protect them from late cold snaps, like a Wal-o-water.
Later, just dump the manure tea out as a plant food.

Lorenzo L. Love
http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

So let me see if I've pictured this right. You have these jugs
(plastic I presume) filled with water which releases heat at night.
Do you put anything over the top? And do they work well for frosts? I
guess they may work as wind breaks too which is a problem here. Cold
Southerlies from Antartcica pack a bitter punch.
--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]