The Cold Frame

I thought I'd share an update on the tiny carrots (not spinach) that I have been growing in my cold frame. Over the weekend we had another several inches of snowfall, I got back home after dark on Tuesday so headed into the backyard Wednesday to uncover the cold frame and see if my seedlings have survived the last two weeks of below freezing temperatures.

Even though I get a bit grumpy because I have to shovel the snow and the roads have been awful here lately, it is pretty great to see all the animal tracks. The newer and closer tracks are from some of the neighborhood kitties who I've not been able to make friends with and still accidentally frighten. Under my deck is now a kitty igloo; it's both warm and probably the perfect place to hide from unsuspecting birds since I have several feeders right above it.

The snow was nearly deeper than my boots! And made a nice blanket over the cold frame. Since I only have seedlings in the left side now I don't bother brushing off the right side. I should probably reconsider this strategy so more sunlight can get inside and warm up the soil and the weight of the snow doesn't break my plastic window.

After opening up the cold frame the tiny carrot seedlings don't look much different than they did the last time I looked and the soil seemed frozen which makes me wonder if these little guys will survive. I don't think they look dead and they are colder weather plants so I may get a few carrots in a few months if it warms up and they start growing again.

When I closed the cold frame I noticed the frost patterns on the window and needed to take a picture (another little nice thing about the cold). I hope you are enjoying the weather where you live and you have a very happy New Year!