With a cold frame, you can already celebrate the start of the season in the garden when sowing outdoors is not yet an option. When exactly the starting shot is fired depends on the filling. This guide gives tips on how to influence the date for planting.

If you want to harvest early, you can plant the cold frame from February

Planting time begins in February - on one condition

In order for a cold frame to keep what the name promises, it is set up in a sunny location facing south. In early spring, the power of the sun alone is not enough to achieve growth-promoting temperatures in the cold frame. Only with the correct filling do you generate heat that encourages seeds to germinate and young plants to grow. How to do it:

  • Mark the contours of the cold frame at the intended location
  • Dig a pit 50 cm deep at this point
  • Fill in fresh horse or cow manure up to 20 cm
  • Put a mixture of semi-mature compost and garden soil on top
  • Set up and close the cold frame

The decomposition process in the manure generates the desired heat within 8 to 10 days. In this way you can sow and plant in the cold frame as early as February. If you limit the filling to compost and garden soil, the window for the planting season will not open until mid-March due to the lower heat development.

Not all plants are suitable for growing in the cold frame - tips for choosing

All efforts to find a sunny location and natural heating will be in vain if the planting plan is not right. Only ornamental and useful plants that thrive at low temperatures are suitable for cultivation in the cold frame. The following overview lists the most popular candidates:

  • February: Lettuce, radishes, kohlrabi, cress and early carrots
  • March/April: Cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers are brought forward for later planting
  • September/October: endives, lamb's lettuce, postelein, leeks

You can sow late radish varieties and winter spinach in the cold frame until mid-October. Autumn is also not too late for fast-growing cut lettuce, such as 'Yellow Rounder'.

tips

Before you fill your cold frame, lay out the bottom with sturdy wire mesh.(14.99€) Voles are magically attracted by the seductive scent of the filling and plants. Without appropriate protective measures, seedlings and young plants are destroyed in no time at all.

Category:

Garden design