You spent a lot of time choosing the best vegetables for your fall garden and planting them in the ground. The next thing to consider is how to use season extenders to protect your crops from extreme weather conditions to maximize your harvest. Season extenders extend your harvest window by providing protection to your plants.
How to Use Season Extenders to Extend Your Growing Season
If you’ve never tried season extenders, you’re missing out. Think of them like the coats you wear during winter. Coats work by trapping your body heat inside, keeping you nice and toasty warm while the temperatures outside are cold. Season extenders work in a similar manner, but they keep in the warmth provided by the sun and the soil.
Now, that doesn’t mean it will be super hot in your season extenders. It still will be cold, but the temperature will be warmer than outside. A few degrees may not mean much for a human, but it can be the difference between your plants dying or not.
There are several options for season extenders. Each option has pros and cons for you to consider. So, let’s dive into it!
Cold Frames
Cold frames are small, raised beds that are covered by glass. The glass creates a greenhouse-like environment. The glass cover opens up with a hinge, so you can open it up when the weather is nice and close it when the weather is miserable.
Cold frames are easy to construct, so they are one of the most appealing choices for a season extender. All you need is a large window or a glass door, then concrete blocks or a wooden frame.
The downside is that you are limited in space, so you can only grow so much. Moving a cold frame to and from places isn’t easy either!
Row Covers
Row covers are called floating row or garden fabric, and they are a thin fabric that protects your plants from the cold and wind. Row covers are thin enough that they can transmit light and allows rain to reach the soil as well, depending on the thickness of the fabric.
Many floating row covers are made of spun polyester that keeps the heat inside. If it gets really cold, you may have to use two or three layers of the fabric to keep the plants from dying.
People who live with a mild climate often can use row covers with no problem. Places with extremely cold winters, you might want to use a row cover in addition to another option for a season extender. The fabric isn’t thick enough to protect the plants from severe frosts or heavy snowfall.
One thing to remember is that row covers must be held down with either clothespins or clips. Otherwise, a strong wind will take them off and send them down the road. The kids might enjoy chasing a runaway row cover, but the fabric might rip.
Cloches
A cloche is a cover that protects a single plant. The word “cloche” is a French word that means “bell jar.” This style of season extenders started in 19th century French garden when gardeners placed individual glass jars over their plants. One of the simplest options is to put an empty, plastic milk jug over the plant with the bottom of the jug cut off.
Cloches are inexpensive and easy to make, but the most obvious negative is that they only protect a single plant. Extensive gardeners rarely use cloches, unless they are used to protect a specialty plant. Cloches are decorative as well as functional, but they’re high maintenance. You must close them at night and open in the morning.
Greenhouses
Greenhouses also referred to as a high tunnel, are a blessing for gardeners who grow a lot of vegetables, herbs, and fruit. Greenhouses come in a variety of sizes and materials. You can make your own greenhouse with wood and glass, purchase a premade greenhouse kit, or make one with metal hoops and greenhouse plastic film.
Greenhouses can be heated or unheated, and they are large enough that you can walk through them comfortably. Chances are you’ve been in a greenhouse before if you visited a local garden nursery in your area.
These are a fantastic choice for parents or those with families. You can contain your kids in one area, in a safe, dry, warmish environment, while you get some gardening finished. However, greenhouses are expensive and not easy to relocate.
Greenhouses, or a high tunnel, are also perfect for those who need to grow a lot of vegetables and need to extend their harvest. Also, people who live in colder regions, such as Alaska or Canada, need greenhouses to extend their season in the spring and fall. In these regions, snow covers the ground well into May or June, so greenhouses allow them to get their seeds started at an appropriate time for maturity.
Low Tunnels (Mini Hoops)
If you liked the idea of a greenhouse but don’t need something that large, low tunnels may be the perfect pick for you. Low tunnels are similar to a greenhouse, but they only cover one or two garden beds at a time.
There are several advantages to low tunnels that make them appealing. First, they are inexpensive to make – doesn’t everyone love to save money? Second, they are easy to install and easy to take down to move to a new location. You can make your own or purchase a kit at a local garden store.
However, you do need to make sure the low tunnels are secure enough to withstand winds or storms. They can easily blow away if proper precautions aren’t taken. Also, low tunnels need ventilation on warm days to reduce the risk of overheating.
Picking the Right Season Extenders
The right season extenders for you will depend on your climate, the average low temperature, and how many plants you want to grow. You will need to pick one that fits your lifestyle and the plants you are growing this year.
No matter which one you select, you should watch the temperatures inside and outside. Ventilation is the key to success because you don’t want to overheat or freeze the plants. That means you either need to install ventilation or plan to open and close the covers manually each day. Having fresh greens in the winter is worth it!
