It snowed today where I live. Again. Today marks the second snowfall in May this year. The first one, two nights ago, even stuck. Temperatures remained cold enough that night that I woke to what looked like an early winter morning. It’s warmer today, the snow is melting this time and as I watch the crazy weather of Spring 2020, I am minded of my attempt at extending, and thus to some degree stabilizing, my backyard growing season.

I decided last year that I needed cold frames in my garden after reading Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman (highly recommend checking out their website fourseasonfarm.com for some great information and resources). I thought if someone living in Maine could harvest year round, I could do it here. Extending the growing season beyond the summer and a couple fall months could give us the potential to enjoy fresh produce all year. Combine a four season harvest with preservation methods like canning, freezing and cold cellars, and we create our own food security.

Food security is important to me. On a personal level it gives one a feeling of ease and comfort knowing there is enough food in the house and always will be; a feeling one might not know exists until it’s gone. Trust me. On a socio-political level food insecurity gives rise to countless social issues ranging from crime to learning problems. Food security is not just about having enough food, it’s about having the right food. Healthy, nutritious and culturally appropriate. That means access to the foods that we celebrate with, that we mourn with, that we comfort with, not just what keeps us physically alive. Proper diet keeps us mentally, emotionally and spiritually healthy. The more we can access fresh local food, the healthier we can be. The more we know about growing our own food, the more food secure we are.

Back to my own season-extending cold frames. I’m a believer in using materials that are on hand and I like to find uses for seemingly useless things. In that spirit, last fall I raided my parents’ barn for old election signs, of which they have stacks as tall as me, (no joke, having run local political campaigns for as long as I can remember, they have signs going back decades), and a few of the old windows that have been replaced in their house and cottage. The signs are made from a corrugated plastic that has insulating capacity and was relatively easy to cut to fit the size of the window. When I say “easy” to cut, I mean in the sense that a box cutter slides right through them. Cutting in a straight line? Trickier. After waiting all winter to actually have the deck available (not covered in snow) to do the cutting, I was more concerned about getting it done than getting it perfect. The end result is that there are gaps between the frame and the window-lid which allows more cold air in than would be ideal for a meaningful season extension. I’ve not solved that problem quite yet. It’s filed in my brain, about mid-way back, percolating the ideas I’ve had, gradually coming up with something brilliant. Or at least something that will work.

It all came together nicely. I constructed the frame out of boards I fashioned from strips of plastic sign layered four thick and bolted together. One side is shorter, putting the lid on an angle to allow for water and/or snow to drain off. The end boards are shaped to fit the angle; also four strips thick, bolted together. The boards are attached at the corners with scrap 2×2. I was even able to do most of it without power tools but I did use a drill to attach the 2×2. Even if I didn’t cut perfectly straight lines, when the frame was constructed I placed the window on top and it fit so my measurements, at least, were precise enough. I added soil, smoothed it out and called it ready. I threw some old (bought a few years ago) lettuce seeds in, watered and waited.

In the meantime, I happened upon a wooden frame sitting in the wood pile. My partner had used it a winter or two ago to chainsaw wood into lengths to fit our woodstove. I judged it might be just about the right size for the smaller size of window I’d found in the barn. With Paul’s blessing, I brought it to my garden and found it a new home and vocation as a cold frame. The window’s not an exact fit but it manages to cover the frame. I had to adjust the screws holding the frame together so the corners were flush, but with very little effort, I had another cold frame. I topped up its soil, threw in more lettuce seeds (saved from last year this time), watered and waited.

In both cold frames, the lettuce actually grew and is coming along nicely. I neglected to record the timing of my planting in the second frame, but in the first frame germination took about 11 days (March 31 – April 10). There’s not a lot that grew but considering the erratic weather conditions and the “help” I get from my small children, I’m calling any growth a success. To improve on my designs, I’ll work on sealing up the gaps to keep the cold out so I get better season extension in the fall. And I certainly need to pay more attention to watering. With the gaps letting so much air in the soil has tended to dry out a bit. But I’ll admit it. Sometimes, my gardening style is benign neglect. (Nature knows what they’re doing, right?) And this project wasn’t really about a big harvest, it was about seeing what will work. The possibilities now are endless.

The real goal is to extend the season and bring fresh produce to the table all year round from our backyard. What I’m doing is low-tech, made with found materials and small scale. Perfect for a backyard. With the right innovations and public support it could be high-tech, huge and sustainably feed a population. I’m not saying high-tech, etc is what we need, just that the possibility is there. We’re already facing the impact of scarce oil on food prices. Transporting food cheaply across the world will no longer be an option in the near future (in my opinion) unless the transportation industry really ups its game. Hard to imagine since there’s little profit in feeding the world. We need to be able to produce our food at home and year round growing can help us do that. It’s not the answer; it’s part of it. Because there is not one thing that will feed the world; billions of people will feed the world. With billions of people we can grow this world.