Start of the New Gardening Season

Cold Frame and Seed Cups

We have finally arrived back in Paliouri, Greece.  Before leaving here on November 20, 2011, for our home in the US, I planted what I call a winter garden.  The ground doesn't freeze here in the winter, so I planted lettuce, onion sets, garlic, cabbage sets, and other veggies that winter over nicely.  On returning we were not disappointed and found many fresh and good things to eat from the garden, and the harvest continues.  Now it's time to plant the summer tomatoes that we always look forward to, so I set up my portable "cold frame" which is nothing more than an old basement window frame that I salvaged when we replaced it with an aluminum one.  I simply built up the sides of the wood frame with some odd pieces of plywood that I saved from a previous construction project.

Cold Frame among the Roses

The cold frame pictured here measures (LxWxH) 100cm x 80cm x 40cm.  In addition to the seed cups, there are 4 5L bottles filled with water to act as heat sinks lining the insides of the frame.  The two maximum and minimum thermometers, one inside and the other outside the frame, monitor temperatures.  With the water heat sinks installed, there can be at least a 10 degree Fahrenheit higher temperature within the frame.  So, the last night that I recorded the minimum temperatures, just outside of the cold frame was 42 F while within it was 53 F.  At this time of year and with the sea just to our east by less than one mile, the temperature very seldom gets lower than 40 F.