Georgians can look forward to a growing season of 165 to 230
days or more. However,
most of us become anxious to get started before the last of
winter’s cold is gone.

Modern plastic cloches provide about the same protection as traditional straw or pottery.

Historically, gardeners have taken early transplants
safely outdoors before the weather
is ready in a number of ways.

Bell-shaped cloches made from pottery or woven straw for
night protection in milder
climates can be traced to 1629 in Britain and even earlier
in France and Europe.

Cold frames and hot beds are both bottomless boxes with a
clear glazing or covering to
let in light. The difference is that the hot beds include a
buried layer of manure to
slowly decompose and keep a higher temperature in the
enclosure.

Cross-section of a hotbed.

These enclosures help ease seedlings from the indoor
window to the outdoor garden.
However, you can use them, too, for an early-spring or late-
fall vegetable crop, or for a
winter garden.

Given enough moisture and fertilization, most fall-
planted cool-season crops will keep
growing through early winter in the cold frame.

Depending on the harshness of the winter and whether you
use added heating, your frame
can provide fresh greens, herbs and root crops all winter.

Lettuce, spinach, radishes, green onions or other cool-
weather crops will thrive in the
cold frame. Straw bales make effective insulation in the
coldest part of winter. Another
way to keep the structure warm is to keep several light
bulbs burning during the extreme
cold.

Unheated frames are useful for much of the year because
they collect heat from the sun
through the panes.

To make the most of the heat and light, put the cold
frame in a southern or
southeastern exposure with a slight slope for good drainage.
A sheltered spot with a wall
or hedge to the north will protect against winter winds.

Modern technology has greatly expanded the options the
gardener has for extending the
growing season. The latest design in cloches is circles of
water-filled, plastic tubes to
collect solar heat and provide further frost protection.

The idea of cloches has also been combined with the idea
of cold frames into tunnels of
solid and slit plastic or fiberglass that cover entire rows
but can be removed as the
season progresses.

The newest tools are floating row covers. These
lightweight, spunbonded fabrics drape
loosely over rows so they can be raised as the plants grow.

Floating row covers offer about 4 degrees of frost
protection. But they’re most
valuable as they protect plants from drying winds, boost
daytime temperatures under the
cover, and provide excellent protection, if properly
installed, from flying insect pests.

To get the latter, you have to cover the edges with soil
or firmly attach them to
raised beds so the insects can’t get in. Then you can have
pesticide-free, wormless
broccoli earlier and healthier than ever before.

No special ventilation is required with these new row
covers. Water seeps right
through. With care, you can remove, store and use the covers
for two growing seasons.