What to Plant in a Cold Frame Month by Month For Early Spring Harvests

One of the greatest pleasures of gardening is reaping your harvests. While warm season crops such as cucumbers, tomatoes and southern peas should be planted outdoors after their last frost date has passed, you can extend their growing season using a cold frame.

Grow leafy greens like spinach and lettuce for easy harvesting. Or try growing radishes, green onions and chard.

April

Cold frames are simple structures designed to capture sunlight and maintain warmth for optimal plant growth. You can make one from recycled window frames or more sturdy materials such as plywood or concrete, using bales of hay as lids.

Leaf lettuce and peas can be easily grown in a cold frame for early harvests that extend your growing season well beyond your average frost date. Carrots, radishes, and Swiss chard also thrive quickly in their protective surroundings and benefit from light frost to sweeten their flavor further. Be mindful that on sunny days your cold frame should be vented periodically in order to allow air circulation and prevent overheating.

May

Add a cold frame to your garden to extend the season for many of your cool-season crops, like spinach and lettuce, beyond their frost date. This unheated enclosed box with transparent top captures sunlight while trapping warmth in its depths for extended growth.

As soon as the ground can be worked, sow lettuce seeds directly in your cold frame. Thin seedlings to one inch apart and provide enough water for adequate soil moisture levels.

Cold-hardy carrots, radishes, and beets make excellent cold frame crops; their flavors can benefit from light frost while producing throughout the winter in SE NC, far beyond its typical growing season.

June

Cold frames are simple boxes that serve to protect vegetables from frost and extend the growing season, featuring walls to retain heat and a transparent lid to let in sunlight. A discarded window is an easy way to build one; alternatively you could make one out of wood or concrete. Keep an eye out at thrift stores or classified ads for salvaged materials for crafting cold frames!

Leaf lettuce thrives in a cold frame environment. Other greens that thrive include radishes, kohlrabi, collards and kale; plant seedlings or transplants 4 to 6 weeks prior to your last frost date to prevent weed growth and harvest quickly before the plants bolt and head toward summer heat. Bloomsdale spinach seeds make an excellent cool season choice.

July

Growing season may be winding down, but there’s still plenty of vegetables to harvest. Even novice gardeners can reap harvests year-round using simple cold frames or unheated tunnel houses.

Cold frames consist of four walls designed to trap heat and shelter plants, and an transparent lid designed to let sunlight through. You can create one using inexpensive salvaged materials like an old window frame and wood boards; just make sure not to use treated wood as this could release chemicals that could harm your vegetables. Leaf lettuce thrives well when planted directly in cold frames while green onions, radishes, and spinach all thrive as cool-season crops in this protected environment.

August

Cold frames provide ideal conditions for growing cool-season vegetables such as leaf lettuce, but kale, collards, kohlrabi, green onions and even carrots also thrive in this garden enclosure.

Cold frames consist of four walls which trap heat and protect plants, with an open top which lets in sunlight. They’re easy to create season-extended structures using recycled materials like single-pane windows and boards – creating one can help extend growing seasons dramatically!

As soon as the soil can be worked in spring, plant arugula seeds directly. They germinate quickly and thrive best in cool temperatures while bolting at higher temperatures; cold frames provide ideal growing conditions until frost arrives. You can add it directly into salads, toss it with oil and vinegar dressing or enjoy in sandwiches or pizza toppings!