Cold Frame or Hotbed – Extend Your Growing Season With a Simple Structure

Cold frames (or hotbeds) are simple structures that have two main purposes, to act like miniature greenhouses to trap radiant heat and to provide protection and insulation from the elements. Cold frames traditionally have a sloped top that is positioned for maximum sun exposure, lift off or slide open sash (lids), insulated side walls that sit on the soil surface or are excavated below ground. Cold frames and hotbeds differ only in that one is heated and the other isn’t. Both types are useful in the garden — particularly from fall through spring to protect plants during cold or stormy weather. They are handy for extending the growing season and to provide a warm, sheltered area to ripen tomatoes longer into the fall or winter, to start cool weather crops (lettuce and leafy greens, radish, peas, cabbage, and more) earlier, or in some locations to overwinter forced bulbs, root vegetables,

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