Cold Frame Update - Early January 09

Well. Well. It’s the first week in the New Year and I’ve finally harvested my first morsel of lettuce and spinach for a grand total of nine grams! Yes, I said grams. Not much to show for my efforts at this point. I also had a single radish that was about half and inch wide and weighed in at 5 grams. As I think I have pointed out in another entry, the crop is more or less in suspended animation at this time. Everything looks healthy; it’s just not growing very fast. Had planted the seed back in September instead of late October, I think I would have a lot more to eat at this time.

The radish got consumed first and tasted great! The lettuce and spinach was next. I added a small amount of iceberg lettuce and a short stalk celery, then sprinkled on some oil and vinegar. The result was a very fresh and tasty addition to my lunchtime fare.

My big hope is that as the weather moderates, I will see more and more growth. So that’s it for now. A total of 9+5 grams for a whopping total of 14 grams. My basket runnith over.

CF2 on the Way!

It's now mid November 2008 and we are now entering the time of year I like the least. The next fourteen weeks will see some of the coldest weather of the year and most of the trees will be bare. Thank goodness for my cold frame with its spark of spring greenery inside. It will soon have a friend when I install a twin unit next to it. I'm in the process of painting the frame and still need to purchase a soil amendment (vermiculite)to add to the 3 cubic feet of Miracle Gro potting soil bought at a store last week. I now have three trays of plants (lettuce and spinach) that need to be planted out soon, so I need to get to it as they say. The new cold frame will be referred to as CF2 and the original CF1. CF1's plants are going great. I'll try and post a current picture sometime soon. The average temperature in that frame has been about 54F which is near the ideal temperature to grow lettuce and spinach at.

Over the next weeks they are forecasting a series of cold fronts about every other day with lows getting into the twenties. This will be a real test to see how well these guys can surviive.