This is the second in a series of posts that will track my progress and success (or not!) with growing cold-hardy crops throughout the winter. You can read part I and part III here.
Now that I had the basic frame assembled and in the approximate final location, the next step was to level it. I probably wouldn’t bother with this for an open top bed but the cold frame will have six “lights” on it and they will fit much better on a level frame. You can see here how “unlevel” it was.
Cold frame base sitting on top of the ground. The right side is clearly higher than the left.
The right end had to be dug into the ground a bit – or the left end raised. In the end I did some of both, though most of the leveling involved digging into the ground around the perimeter. (Yeah, I know I said “no digging” in the previous post but that was in reference to turning over the soil in the growing bed.) This was by far the hardest part of the whole project as it’s a fairly fussy dig-tweak-adjust process until you get it right. I used a spade, hand trowel and spirit level for this part of the job.
That's better! The cold frame base is level. (The garden bed edge behind it is not.)
Other than the perimeter digging required for leveling, the ground inside the bed is untouched – grass and all. The next step is to put down cardboard to smother the grass and weeds. With the help of earthworms and other soil critters, the vegetation will die and compost in place, as will the cardboard.
Bed lined with cardboard obtained from an appliance store
Water the cardboard well to help start the composting process
Previous experience has shown me that a layer of straw at the bottom of a new garden bed will quickly rot into humus, that wonderful magical stuff that grows happy plants. Humus holds moisture and turns any soil into good garden soil. You can buy bales of straw for about $5 each at many farm and garden centers, though I haven’t seen it at “big box” stores like Home Depot or Wally World. Note: do not get hay! Hay has seed heads in it, which will quickly sprout and create a huge weed problem for you. Properly harvested straw is virtually seed-free. Always specify straw.
This is about half a bale of straw, maybe a little more
Straw on the bed. After spreading, water well before applying a nitrogen source
Rotting plant material uses nitrogen and if the stuff is fresh it will “steal” this nitrogen from your plants. So whenever I build a bed like this, I like to sprinkle on a light layer of dried blood, an organic soil amendment which is high in nitrogen.
Organic dried blood
Following the instructions on the bag I weighed out the proper amount for a light application. Too much is as bad as too little so don’t go overboard here. Water the straw layer well before sprinkling on the dried blood.
Dried blood is weighed out and ready to be sprinkled on the wet straw
I had some left over “screened topsoil” available, which I used to cover the straw. It seemed kind of clay-ey and had no apparent organic matter in it but it made a good (free) middle layer of soil.
Screen topsoil being spread and raked, burying the straw
The screened topsoil didn’t quite fill the bed, especially the end that sits on top of the ground. I wanted a quality soil for starting the seeds so as a final topping I covered the bed with six bags of purchased (bagged) growing medium. Try to find an organic mix if you can; if not, don’t obsess about it. I think it’s far more sustainable to be growing your own produce than to skip it completely simply because you can’t be 100% organic. Remember, to make an omelet you have to break some eggs.
The finished bed, ready to be planted
Now, you may be wondering how “simple” all this really is. If by “simple” you think “easy”, well that’s not always the case. However, I consider projects like this to be an investment. You won’t have to go through this every year. The “hard” work is now done and the cold frame can serve you for decades, with just some basic soil amendments each season. And I find this sort of work to be far simpler and less aggravating than grocery shopping, an activity that I’ve always regarded as an endlessly repetitive, frustrating, expensive chore.
I am not an expert in winter gardening. For the definitive treatise on this, you need to pick up a copy of Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman.
And stay tuned for cold frame updates. For better or worse, I’ll be documenting the whole process throughout the fall and winter so check back often (or better yet, subscribe!) And I’d love to hear your gardening adventures, especially if you decide to give winter gardening a try.
Have a great weekend!
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