With the cold weather moving in to the area, its time to start thinking about season extension in the garden.  Here at Grow Sustainab-LEE, we have already had a class on season extension and hopefully our gardeners are prepared for the crisp autumn weather.  If you aren’t yet prepared, there are a few options for preserving grow time for your vegetables in this weather.  Its time to consider which one might work best for you and your situation.

One option to help grow produce longer is floating row covers. According to the University of Wisconsin Madison. “a floating row cover is a spun-bonded or woven plastic, polyester or polypropylene material that is placed over plants to exclude pests, act as a windbreak or extend the growing season by retaining heat — all while still being permeable to light, water and air.”   They can also help with pest control if they are deployed early enough in the season to beat the insect pressure.  However, be careful because pest insects can become trapped under row covers.  This could allow them to emerge the following spring under the cover with your crops.  (https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/floating-row-cover/)  Floating row covers are the option provided to our Grow Sustainab-LEE participants.

Another option to have fresh vegetables during more of the year is to build a cold frame.  A cold frame is a transparent-roofed enclosure, built low to the ground.  This protects plants during unfavorable weather by letting in sunlight and preventing heat escape at night. Cold frames can increase the temperature for your plants by as much as 10 to 20 degrees.  They are best suited for low growing plants like lettuce or spinach.  If you decide to build a cold frame, keep in mind that to maximize warmth, light, and weather protection for plants, cold frames should be placed in a south-facing position. Cold frames are a bit more expensive than the row covers, but much less expensive than our third option: green houses.

The third and probably most expensive option is to build a green house or hoop house.  The main difference between a hoop house (or high tunnel) and a greenhouse is that a greenhouse is a permanent structure with some type of climate control. In contrast, hoop houses are a semi-permanent tool for season extension.  The benefit of hoop houses over greenhouses is that they can be taken down and moved to a new location although this process is quite labor intensive.  This is definitely not the pick if you are in a hurry.  Building either a hoophouse or a green house can be quite expensive and should be thoroughly considered before going with this option.

Any of these options can help you increase your growing time.  Which you choose should be based on factors such as how soon you need them to be implemented, vegetables or plants you are considering growing, and your budget.  Which ever you choose, enjoy having fresh vegetables after the traditional growing season has come and gone.  We here at Grow Sustainab-LEE wish you happy growing!