No doubt, every gardener has dreams of raising crops in California type weather but not everyone lives in California or has access to that type of Mediterranean climate. For most people, there are only three seasons that can support plants in the tender growth stage, which leaves as much as three months where all you can do is look out the window at the snow covered place where your garden used to be. Or, you can be the envy of your neighborhood by turning that snow patch into a small greenhouse by using Common Sense Cold Frames.

The Common Sense Cold Frame just makes sense for anyone with a bit of a green thumb or even for those who are highly experienced in gardening. Even professional gardeners who have a garden at home find huge benefits from using cold frames in that they can now grow fresh vegetables, herbs and even flowers, year round. For your most delicate and tender seedlings, the cold frame is a 24-hour a day babysitter even in the harshest of winters. Picture if you will, a greenhouse and how it is constructed. Now, picture this same greenhouse constructed in miniature form in a size that is easy to move to the perfect location.

The common sense cold frame is constructed with a top that is transparent and sloped so that you can position it to capitalize on every available ray of sunlight. The cold frame is also constructed using rot-resistant material so that you will get many years of use. They are box-shaped structures that will create a controlled climate, which is perfect for all your plants needs, even throughout the cold winter nights. Because of their controlled climate, they will save you a lot of money and eventually pay for themselves by ensuring that plants stay safe and healthy. No matter what kind of gardener you consider yourself to be, a cold frame can be the perfect addition to your gardening efforts.

Even if all you want is something to get your seedlings started early, the common sense cold frame is still the perfect choice for an early spring planting of well established plants or even to extend the growing season well into fall. Serious gardeners will be able to extend the growing by as much as a month in the spring and a month in the fall and even all winter long and allow family to enjoy fresh food year round.

Its name gives away a good chunk of what it entails. Crop rotation implies that you grow a particular pairs or groups of crops together, in different areas of your garden. Every growing season demands that you grow each crop in a completely different area of your garden — yes, rotating the location of your crops every year. It seems simple enough; moving your crops around shouldn’t cause excess stress in and of itself. The benefits of crop rotation, however, more than outweigh the effort you do exert in annually circulating your seedlings around the garden.

Crop rotation helps to achieve an even density of nutrients in the soil, a quality thwarted by some of the most popular crops. Corn, tomatoes, melons, and eggplant, some of the most voracious feeders, demand an enormous flow of nutrients from their soil as they grow. If always planted in the same place, crops like these will make short work of the soil, robbing it of all nutritive content. Yet many members of the Fabaceae family of crops — peas, beans, alfalfa, peanut, et cetera — exhibit the opposite effect on soil. They sport the ability to take nitrogen from the surrounding air and return it to the earth. Rotating between these helpers and the bigger feeders can maintain soil health and productivity.

Good prudence and shopping around are strong purchasing values for any type of sale, including for purchases in the sphere of gardens and plant care. And you should definitely exercise such principles when considering a cold frame. Getting bamboozled on price and value isn’t the most conducive method for your ultimate gardening goal — trumping the weather confines of your growing zone and starting your plants healthily, ahead of schedule.

Facing such exorbitant pricing, many gardeners choose to construct their own cold frames. The general concept of a cold frame is fairly easy to mimic and makeshift, after all. Cobble together a boxlike shape with four slabs of lumber, most likely, and top the structure with a fitting transparent cover (glass, mesh, saran wrap, what have you), and presto: cold frame done.

Yet build-by-numbers cold frames do not necessarily satisfy the gardeners who’ve made them. A homemade cold frame can all too easily end up caving in, toppling in a breeze, self-dismantling in inclement weather, or — heaven forbid — failing to properly warm the delicate plants it was meant to protect.

What exactly does a cold frame require, self-made or purchased, in order to be reliable and effective year after year? The criteria boil down to three primary considerations: size, materials of construction, and penetrability by light.

A cold frame should always be sized appropriate to the gardening area you dedicate to it. But gardeners must be free to move completely around the cold frame, kneeling down to reach its farthest corners and attend to every seedling. Gardeners also have to consider the plants grown inside the cold frame: its walls must be high enough so that seedlings don’t outgrow them.

Wooden construction in a cold frame does provide for solid insulation in cold temperatures. However, watertight and extremely sturdy construction is an absolute must, if that cold frame is to weather storms and survive tough winds. Aluminum cold frames, though lightweight and extremely portable, don’t insulate as well.

Glass cold frames are heavier than their counterparts, and hold up better in strong winds. Some cold frames are made completely in glass, in order to allow in a maximum of sunlight. Yet glass’ sturdiness comes with a much higher price tag. Glass isn’t an option for gardeners with pets or kids, as the material can shatter when impacted hard enough.

All of this considered, plastic emerges as the ideal construction material for worthwhile cold frames. Carnival Gardens’ well regarded cold frame utilizes sturdy, insulating clear polycarbonate plastic that has been UV-stabilized, meaning that the cold frame won’t wear down in sunlight.

Our cold frame also features an array of reinforcement corners, brackets, butterfly nuts, and other components that equip the frame to stand strong in any sort of weather. Yet the features that truly distinguish Carnival Gardens’ offering can speak (or open up) for themselves.

Most cold frames require regular propping open in warm weather, lest the plants inside overheat from a lack of ventilation. The Carnival Gardens cold frame boasts a self-opening mechanism that frees busy gardeners of needing to constantly attend to ventilating the frame.

You’ll notice that Carnival Gardens’ state-of-the-art cold frame offers its combination of light weight and durability for a remarkably rational price. Its free shipping and guarantee of satisfaction underscore the depth of value in this essential product for serious gardeners.

Looking to extend your growing season, and to use that green thumb of yours to do so? Don’t break an arm and a leg in the process. Research the current cold frame market for yourself, and consider Carnival Gardens. With our cold frame, you’ll grow bushels of your favorites without breaking the bank.

Read his thoughts on the best light for a cold frame here.

Both plants adore the lengthy stretches of torrid heat that characterize the summertime. Both plants can challenge more inexperienced gardeners who fail to respect their hunger for nutrients, susceptibility to particular diseases, and general need for abundant attention. But most importantly, chili peppers (like tomatoes) perform their absolute best when first started in the protection of cold frames.

Bottom line: chilies require hot climates to truly blossom. The ideal temperatures for growth range from a nighttime low of 60 degrees Fahrenheit to an average of 80 degrees during daylight hours. Smart gardeners residing in most areas of the country (essentially anywhere NOT in the South or the Southwest) use cold frames to prepare their chili seedlings during chilly spring weather, having them readied to enter the warmer earth of early to midsummer.

Great cold frames, especially the model that we at Carnival Gardens manufactures, ensures that young chili plants grow in this temperature range without fear of a cold blast or of overheating — our cold frame features a self-opening mechanism that vents the structure when the interior temperature gets a bit too hot for comfort.

Critical to the success of cold frame cultivated chilies is the process known to pepper professionals as “hardening off,” or allowing the seedlings to adjust to the more rigorous climate outside the shelter of the cold frame. When “hardened off,” chilies experience incrementally longer periods of cold temperatures, breezes and gusts of wind, and other characteristics of the natural elements. The process ultimately results in sturdier chili seedlings with tougher stems and more deeply set roots.

With the Carnival Gardens’ cold frame, gardeners can prop open the unit to accommodate exterior weather’s entry inside. This can begin with a few hours of such exposure, and can elongate to overnight stretches after a couple of weeks. Savvy chili gardeners know to maintain a close watch over every weather forecast, watching out for an errant dip in temperature or a particularly windy night. In such cases, it’s best to close the cold frame and potentially cover it with a blanket (for a chilly evening).

Previously mentioned was the threat that diseases and pests pose to pepper plantings in the process of being primed for optimal performance. Even when propped for only a few hours, cold frames can unwittingly invite aphids or other small critters that love a tasty chili seedling. Professionals thwart such little baddies with crushed laurel leaves, either strewn around the seedlings or placed in a small bowl. The non-toxic acid from the leaves kills many insects’ eggs dead.

Entire books have been written on the bounty of tips and tricks like these to improve gardeners’ chances of a successful pepper patch, from seed to finished spice. Yet no matter what, starting chilies in a Carnival Gardens cold frame can only ensure a phenomenal start to these tender heat lovers. Even those in prime chili growing territory can find great use in giving their capsaicin-containing chilies a gently protecting foundation before the rugged challenges of growing in an outdoor garden.

It is possible to build a cold frame using a variety of materials. Most homeowners use cement because it is easily accessible. But did you know that you can build it using bales of straw as well? Straw bales are cheap, natural, and lightweight. Straws are best suited for rotted cuttings and new plants that cannot withstand the harsh winter condition. These can also be used to protect cool-season potted plants. Take note though that the cold frame cannot provide sufficient protection for tropical plants that can’t handle even light frosting.

Making a cold frame made of straw bale should be easy. The first step is to find the best location (ideally on a level, open area). Finding the right place is critical because the straw acts like a sponge. After one or two days of raining, it is difficult to lift them up or rearrange them. Depending on the type of plant you have, you should ideally locate in a sunny or shady area. Leafy plants require more sunlight then plants that become dormant during winter, for example.

The straw bales should be arranged in a rectangular shape to avoid cold pockets at the center. It should be no more than one-bale wide but the length of the frame can be as long as you need. This shape is conducive to creating and retaining warm air. When the cold frame is built too wide, the warmth won’t be able to heat the entire structure. If you need more space, the best thing is to build more cold frames. Secure the structure by inserting metal or wooden stakes in the bale and onto the ground.

The roof you should use depends on the climate in your area. In temperate areas, using loose straw or dry leaves is usually sufficient. The more leaves you use, the more insulated the plant becomes. If you need additional protection, it is important to use glass or plastic sheeting. This will turn the structure into a “mini greenhouse”.

Once the cool temperature gives way to cooler climates, disassemble the structure.