How to extend the season - maintaining a vegetable garden between fall and spring

Flower & Garden Magazine, Dec-Jan, 1993 by Helen Brassel

A mini-greenhouse is a tinier version of the conventional glass house. Use wood frame windows fastened together with brackets or hinges for the walls, making a square box. If making a lid, use two layers of clear plastic stapled to a wooden frame sized to fit the box. Another window could be also be used for the lid, but in that case, construct the box in a Roman numeral two shape (II). The front and rear walls should extend past the sides so that the window being used as a lid rests on the side walls.

Cloches are devices used to get seedlings off to a fast start or to protect plants standing in the open garden from the cold. Cloches are available made from glass or terra cotta, and may have a removable top for easy ventilation. A really simple cloche to use for small seedlings is a sturdy plastic drinking cup. Drill or punch a few holes around the base of the cup and invert it over the seedlings. Push the cup into the soil or weight it with a rock. For a larger version, cut the bottom from a plastic water jug. Remove the cap for ventilation and place the jug over the plant. A cardboard box with the top and bottom cut off, covered with clear plastic, or a clear plastic umbrella with the handle sawed off would work also.

The polyethylene tunnel is another season extender that is comparatively simple to construct. Cut and bend wire coat hangers into a "U" shape. Insert the ends into the ground like croquet wickets, straddling a row of seedlings. Then cover with clear plastic sheeting weighed down with rocks.

Some of your gardening gambles may prove to be disappointing, and you may lose some of your vegetables to the cold. However, if you look at your experiment as just that - an experiment-then every radish, carrot and edible leaf will be a treasured and tasty bonus.