Three Best Ways to Extend the Growing Season Into Fall
At this time of year, I prepare for autumn and winter by planting cabbage and garlic. But there is a small part of me that is trying to hold on to one more tomato, one more pepper, maybe one more eggplant. And I can usually do this because I’ve added infrastructure to my garden to extend the season before and after summer. That’s what I do.
Build a cold frame
If you’re looking for a permanent setting, there’s nothing better than a cold frame. This is a raised bed made of wood or steel with a hard cover that is put on each winter made of clear plastic or glass. It insulates the bed so that rain, snow, wind and ice cannot penetrate, but because it is transparent, the sun can penetrate through it. Glass or plastic also insulates the bed, so it remains much warmer than the surrounding area. Additionally, the refrigerator compartment should have a window that can be lifted to allow air in and out—this is important because it acts as a vent. Although there are manually operated windows that can be opened during the day and closed at night, most cold frames use a lever that automatically raises and lowers the window depending on the temperature. The hand actually works through an internal piston surrounded by wax. The wax expands when heated, causing the piston to activate the lever.
Cold frames have a simple design , which means you can easily customize them for your raised bed. Twist window handles can be purchased on Amazon. You’ll want to make sure you buy a lever that’s rated for the weight of the window it opens, but otherwise it’s easy to install with a few screws and a drill.
Of course, you can also buy ready-made cold frames. You need to be sure that they fit the size of your raised beds.
You can purchase ready-made cold frames:
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Vegtrug Classic Cold Frame 72 x 31.5 x 26 inches
Use a pop-up greenhouse
Every year I say I will build a cold frame, but while I find new ways to procrastinate, I make do with a temporary greenhouse. They are much like pop-up tents, except they are clear and lie flat to the ground.
Every year I pull out my pop-up in the spring when my flowers and vegetables start to outgrow my growing station and I need space for them. The pop-up faces my patio and all my young plants are placed inside so they can soak up the sun.
In the fall, a pop-up flies over one of my raised beds. Pop-up greenhouses have zippered doors and windows that need to be opened for ventilation, just like a walk-in cooler – unfortunately there is no way to automate this (that I have found).
These pop-ups are great because they give me an extra month or two, but one caveat: plastic won’t handle winter winds. If the greenhouse is not bolted down, it will fly away and you will spend the entire winter chasing it. The pop-up usually closes before the first big storm and stays closed until the following year. Even before a major hurricane, I would avoid tall pop-up greenhouses. The ones that work are close to the ground, no more than 40 inches tall.
Retractable greenhouses that are worth paying attention to:
Low tunnels can save plants from the cold
Farmers protect their garden rows with low tunnels – a miniature version of a greenhouse. Every few feet a hoop is erected above the row to form a tunnel. These hoops can be used to hang plastic in the winter, shade cloth in the summer, agribon (insulation fabric) anytime, and screen cloth in the spring/summer for pest control, which you hold in place with hoop clips .
Constructing low tunnels by hand on a raised layer is as simple as bending the PVC over the layer. You can use pipe hangers screwed into the inside wall of raised beds to hold the PVC in place. Having hangers means you can take the tunnels out if you want and put them back in when you need them.
Depending on the season, you can add plastic and perhaps Agribon under the plastic to create a cozy, insulated and waterproof space for whatever is growing in the row below the tunnel.
Of course, you can purchase kits for low tunnels, but be careful when purchasing a kit with strong hoops. Most kits are fragile, so ultimately PVC is the better solution.
Low Tunnel Garden Kits Worth Buying:
Lifehacks on how to keep it toasty
You must decide how far you are willing to go to maintain a temperate climate in your low tunnel, cold room or greenhouse. In the spring I’m willing to do a lot to keep my baby plants happy, but in the fall these structures are essentially hospice and you have to know when to let go.
Either way, I always keep a smart temperature sensor in my greenhouses and cold rooms. Depending on the season, I will also have a small heater or fan with a smart plug in the room, and I also have an automation (you can use Google, Alexa, or Homekit to create one) that will turn on the device when the temperature rises. reaches a certain threshold and triggers it when it falls within the limits. The two best temperature sensors at the moment are from Switchbot and Aqara , and you’ll have to use mechanical heaters or fans for this to work.