Posted on 10/14/2023 7:13:45 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Cold frames: A useful resource for cool and cold-weather gardening
Have you ever tried to start seeds indoors and ended up with anemic, gravity challenged sprigs? Bright, direct light is vital to emerging seeds and most windowsills are not sunny enough.
This leaves you with two options:
Indoor grow lights (like the DIY grow light system we recommend), or real sunlight with cold protection.
Artificial lighting (grow lights) is an ideal choice if you have the indoor space. If your indoor space is at a premium but you want to start garden seedlings to get a jump start on the growing season, cold frames are your best bet.
Thankfully, cold frames are also easy and inexpensive to build!
What is a cold frame?
A cold frame is exactly what it sounds like: a transparent outdoor frame that protects plants from cold weather while still letting sunlight in.
This means your plants get natural sunlight and extra warmth. In most regions, a cold frame can be used effectively to grow winter seedlings and crops, though if you live in a climate zone below USDA Zone 6, you may need a more fortified version than the one I use in my garden.
Also, if you don’t feel like making your own cold frame, you can order a really good Austrian/German-designed cold frame via Amazon. It’s double sided (more space), made of durable materials, lets in light from all angles, and you probably couldn’t make it more affordably if you were to buy all the pieces/parts yourself.
*SNIP*
Ideal plants for cold frames
Since the plants inside will only be a little bit warmer than the outside air, cold frames are mostly used for frost-tolerant crops during the winter. Check out our article Easiest plants to grow in the fall and winter, for a complete list of frost-hardy plants. Spring transplants under cold frames
You can also use your cold frame to grow out your spring transplants. If you do, you’ll want to pay careful attention to the weather and bring the more tender seedlings inside on nights when it drops below freezing.
Too cold – Although most winter crops are at least a little bit frost tolerant, they don’t grow when it is under 40 F outside. They’ll appreciate the cover of your cold frame staying on any time the weather is below 50 F.
Too hot – Likewise, cool weather crops don’t like it hot. If the thermostat says 50 F or warmer, crack the cover or take it off completely.
You’ll start to get a feel for how warm or cool your cold frame stays as time goes on!
More info/cold frame construction ideas at link: https://www.growjourney.com/use-cold-frames-garden/
2pm, raised beds were good but when I churned it by hand last night, I had brought moister stuff up.
Non raised bed was still patchy so I scratched and 1/8-1/4” down, it was all moist. Grabbed a leaf rake and went back and forth a few times and it all went dark. Some compost got raked off to the side.
Took all my 2021 lettuce/mustard seeds, mixed them together and broadcast them over the bed. Pulled some moist compost back over them with the leaf rake and went back and forth a couple of times to disperse and mix in.
Rolled an empty 20lb propane tanks back and forth for good soil/seed contact. Hopefully most seeds ended up 1/8-1/4” deep.
Going to go back out and wet hit it a little the sprayer wand and put something over it and something over the raised bed. That should take care of it for the next two days that I work.
I was wrong about the 59 second limit for pulse. That’s in a different part of the setup pages and will get overridden by what I set for any individual relay on the control logic page and that limit is 86,400 seconds aka 24 hours.
That’s gonna make watering schedules so easy because I can set the intervals between pulses to any length I want, minutes to years, every three days, Sun and Wed, anything.
Now I can start looking for a better drip system and some overhead sprinklers/misters. Just something that will stick up 2-3 feet and maybe make bed width, portable units. Most watering will be drip but when direct sowing, that doesn’t work so well.
My RECIPE dilemma is solved!!
So what might my dilemma be? I have a great recipe program that I really like, but it lives on my laptop and my laptop is NOT in the kitchen - hooked up to too much stuff for me to move it just for cooking/baking something. To make a recipe, I either have to print it off or write it down. For favorite recipes, I write them on index cards & keep them in the kitchen.
I also keep an extensive ‘bookmarked’ list on my cell phone & pull up the actual website to make new recipes. The list is so long, it’s unwieldy ... sometimes, from the titles, I can’t tell exactly which is which when I have multiple similar recipes (currently have several chicken casserole recipes all called ‘Million Dollar Chicken’ & they are all somewhat different).
Last night, I figured there HAD to be a recipe app, a free one, that would just keep my recipes ... don’t need a shopping list, or a meal planner, etc. I just want my recipes on the phone so I can pull them up & cook. Well, after much searching around, I found “Copy Me That”.
The “Copy Me That” app lets me put a website link in the app browser (copy/paste works), it pulls the web page up in the app, then I can tell it to ‘copy me that’ and it copies the recipe part. You view the recipe, delete anything you don’t like, & ‘confirm’. After confirming (which saves it), you can edit/change, add notes, and also categorize your recipe so it’s easy to find. I love having the picture of the dish made by the recipe from the website. You can also add your own image.
You can categorize using multiples ... for instance chicken wings are ‘chicken’ and ‘appetizers’. My infamous Brussels Sprouts casserole is ‘side dish’ and ‘holiday’. All the canning recipes I used are now on the app - had to scrounge around to find 2 of them ... not bookmarked & I had not made note of the website on those index cards to easily find them again. I have done some extensive editing on saved recipes since there are recipes online that I have made Keto by substituting ingredients & in some cases, methods of cooking.
As I said, the app is FREE to download & to use! There is a premium option with more bells/whistles, but so far, it is meeting my needs with the free version. You do have to set up an account with an email & password. You can share your recipes (community) or keep them private. You can easily change the name of your categories ... I have done it several times already. I looked at the reviews before downloading & they are almost all 5 stars .... people love this app and after putting on web recipes and inputting my own, I love it too - perfect for what I need - my pile of index cards is in the trash (I stayed up until 2:30 am - was on a roll!) & I’m now orking through the stack of recipes I have printed off over the years.
FF - the lemon verbena liqueur recipe is the 2nd one on the app - thanks again! :-)
While I know this info/app will be helpful to some, I am still an old-school flip-phone user.
“All the canning recipes I used are now on the app...”
Handy! Mine are all on stained and watermarked sheets of paper held together by a binder clip. Again, Old School. ;)
Wow, Qiviut!! I’m impressed! Sounds like you hit quite a discovery! Thank you, I’ll give the app a try!
Diana, I thought my just older than me brother was the last person still using a flip phone. Old habits die hard.
I’m somewhere in between with my binder recipes and my recipes in my phone.
I have several on my phone where I watch the video in addition to reading the written version. Some of the best recipes I’ve made have come from watching world class chefs, and taking my own notes.
For example, I never used to know how to sauté scallops in garlic wine sauce until I watched a video by a chef from Delmonico’s in NYC do it. Turns out I fiddled with them too much. Watching his video helped me learn when they were ready to flip. Here’s the video. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NZOAnPRLPq4
I sauté zucchini and yellow squash, and top angel hair pasta with those and the scallops. Have also used sautéed shrimp made with the same sauce as the scallops. It’s a keeper recipe.
Happy gardening, and happy cooking!
Diana ... a flip phone? LOL! On a serious note, you are saving yourself a LOT of aggravation having just a flip phone. Despite the recipe program, I found I was still mostly ‘old school’ with written recipes all over the place. I would forget what I had printed off and I’m finding I have 2-4 copies of recipes in the corner of a cabinet, held together with a binder clip. So far, so good with the app on the phone. :-)
I have an Android smart phone - Tracphone ‘burner’ phone LOL! Costs me $16/month for unlimited talk/text plus 24 GB data for 12 months, which I can buy extra, if necessary. When traveling, which I have been doing lots lately, I’m using Google Maps for directions and have to go on mobile data since I have no WiFi connection at that point - the map/directions doesn’t use up much, thank goodness. I had to buy the phone, but the price was reduced, just over $100 and a Samsung, which is a good brand. My brother has a Samsung so he was able to show me how to set it up without my having to struggle through it and learn ‘the hard way’.
FF - I like watching videos. There is a ‘notes’ section on the recipes where you could put the video link for the recipe & just copy that link into your browser. On the picture/title of the recipe, there is an abbreviated link to the website and I found out when you click on it, it takes you to the specific recipe on the web, which is really nice.
Watched the video - scallops look oh-so-good! I am jealous of that big bowl of roasted garlic he had!
Yeah, it’s a real keeper of a recipe. I’ve been using a cheap Sauvignon Blanc for the wine sauce. I still haven’t gotten around to roasting the garlic beforehand. I MUST do it sometime though! Yes, I’m jealous of it, too!!
I’ve got 76 recipes on that recipe app so far & more to go. What’s been fun is running across recipes I’ve made, really like, and forgotten about! :-)
That’s awesome! It’s one of the things I love about my binder. I flip through it, and realize I haven’t made a certain dish in a while. It’s good to be reminded, plus have an idea of where to look!!
Ping to #51
I know nothing about ‘shrooms, fungi, etc. but you had good info before on the puff balls.
I grew leeks this year and proud to say they did pretty well....
but what to do with them...
I'm thinking pull them up, cut off the roots and the tops, slice them into discs, parboil them for a minute, cool down, then freeze....pull some out as I need them....
does that sound about right"
Potato leek soup OMG YUM!!!!
If you are going to cut them up and freeze them I recommend a quick sautee in light olive oil. Maybe just 2 or 3 minutes. Coated with olive oil they will freeze better. If you have a vacuum sealer all the better.
I am making “fire cider” today. “Fire cider is a long-held old fashioned remedy that is used to boost the immune system and to help aid the upper respiratory system.”
I had cousins visit last week - one was just getting over a cold & the other one had just gotten it. No hugging, but she sat next to me at lunch. Yesterday, I felt a head cold coming on so I started with the povidone iodine nasal washes/gargling to keep the virus from replicating. I also broke out a 4 oz bottle of “Fire Cider” that a friend had given me for a gift since she knows I’m going herbal/homeopathic. This stuff came from redrootcompany.com if you’re interested in looking up what they’ve got.
Fire cider has a lot of ‘spicy hot’ ingredients. The Red Root Fire Cider packs a small wallop - every couple of hours, I’m taking it as a ‘shot’ and not diluting it. I will say that I get this feeling of ‘well-being’ immediately after the shot goes down, so there’s something in there my body likes.
Melissa K Norris has a fire cider recipe and there is also one in my Alchemy of Herbs book - I am combining them. The main difference is Melissa will say ‘half a root’ and the book will say ‘1/4 cup grated’ which is more specific.
The only ingredient I am totally missing is horseradish. I may need more garlic & I’ll get a fresh bottle of good quality ACV. My biggest regret is that I didn’t make up a batch earlier because that little 4 oz bottle isn’t going to last very long! The little 4 oz bottle is $13 & 16 oz is $38 so I will definitely be making my own batch (quart jar) rather than buying any. I have some 8 oz bottles left over from when I made homemade vanilla for Christmas gifts .... I might be doing fire cider this year!
Here’s the link/recipe & info if you’re interested:
Homemade Traditional Fire Cider Recipe & Benefits
https://melissaknorris.com/podcast/traditional-fire-cider-recipe-benefits-guide/
INGREDIENTS
1 medium onion diced
1/2 root horseradish diced
1/2 root ginger root diced
1/4 cup garlic diced or crushed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon rosemary or thyme, fresh (optional)
2 jalapenos diced (optional)
2 cups raw apple cider vinegar or enough to cover ingredients/fill the jar
1/4 cup raw honey or to taste (optional)
I will be adding in all the ‘optionals’ with the exception of the jalapenos. I will be using whole peppercorns instead of the jalapenos, which is a change due to the Alchemy book.
PS - the cold is no worse this morning & in fact, I think it’s actually a little better.
WOW! That’s a LOT of HOT! Glad it’s working for you.
This might be a good topic for the Prepper Thread; homemade homeopathic cold & flu relief. (There is some overlap on these links, but there’s only so much you can do while a cold or the flu runs its course.)
Cold and Flu Home Remedies
https://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/home-remedies
11 Popular Natural Remedies for the Common Cold
https://www.verywellhealth.com/cold-remedies-90007
10 Natural Remedies for Flu Symptoms
https://www.healthline.com/health/natural-flu-remedies
I looked at the links and I have a lot of natural remedies going on:
Doubled up on Vitamins D & C (liposomal C)
Elderberry tea from dried elderberries with a little honey
Throat coat tea with echinacea & licorice root
Fire Cider (has ginger in it along with all the other good stuff like garlic, horseradish)
Nasal wash/gargle 1% povidone iodine - kills 99% of viruses, including COVID, within something like 15 seconds of contact.This keeps viral replication way down so your body can deal with smaller amounts & it keeps the virus out of your respiratory tract (lower in particular). The nasal wash/gargle recommended by FLCCC.
Pretty much keep a cup of hot herbal tea or broth to sip on (I am out of coconut water at the moment) - no dehydration issues!
Feeling even better than when I got up this morning, mostly mild head congestion is all that is going on.
Now I want to grow horseradish. I have never seen it anywhere I buy plants, so I am going to try growing it from a piece of a grocery store root. This seems to be a fairly successful method of propagation. I also see that it is vigorous & invasive, so I will have to find a good spot to contain it. Growing in a 5 gallon bucket (large enough for root development) also seems to be an option, although in general, I don’t have good luck with growing in containers.
Horseradish. You can’t kill the stuff - and root containment (as if you were planting mint in the ground) is a must.
Good stuff, though! Make sure to process it outside. ;)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.