February is just the right time of the year for building a cold frame in your garden, so vegetables and herbs etc. will have plenty of time to grow. The great advantage of a cold frame is that it makes it possible to grow herbs and vegetables just about all year round, since a plastic sheet as a roof protects seeds and plants from the cold. So it's ideal for regularly harvesting fresh vegetables for healthy living. You’ll be able to make some delicious meals for the office, as well as for eating at home.
In this article, we show you how to make your own cold frame and what you should look out for when it comes to planting. Our recipe for a delicious salad will help you make the most of your crop to make a healthy office lunch.
The cold frame: once very popular, it has practically been forgotten in recent years. However, growing your own vegetables has become really popular once again and so the cold frame is enjoying its own revival.
You can be flexible with the dimensions of your cold frame. Make sure that the frame is high enough for it to be filled with soil. Sample dimensions: back wall 40 cm high and front wall 30 cm high. Lengths 100 cm and 150 cm.
Choose a sunny place for your cold frame to give the plants the best conditions for growth. However, the temperature inside the frame should not exceed 22 to 25°C. Regular ventilation is therefore important. Something that is often underestimated: even winter sun has a lot of power to increase the temperature inside the frame so ventilation is important even in winter.
As soon as you’ve found a place for your cold frame, you will need to prepare the soil. Place the frame on the selected area and mark the outline using a spade. Now break up the soil in this area. The best foundation for the frame is garden soil rich in humus, which has been carefully weeded. If you want to fill the frame with manure, you should dig out about half a metre deep. Manure provides natural heat and ensures the ideal conditions for growing plants.
For semi-mature compost, just dig out to the depth of the spade. Then fill the hole back in and cover it with a mixture of garden soil and mature compost. Now replace the frame on top. To provide additional insulation for the outside walls, cover them with straw and leaves.
Bei halb reifem Kompost reicht es, etwa eine Spatentiefe zu graben. Anschließend schließt ihr die Mulde wieder und bedeckt sie mit einer Mischung aus Gartenerde und reifem Kompost. Nun stellt ihr das Frühbeet wieder auf die Fläche. Um die Außenwände zusätzlich zu dämmen, können diese auch mit Stroh und Laub bedeckt werden.
Before planting, leave your frame to rest for about a week to get rid of the ammonia fumes. You can start sowing as early as January, with wild garlic or spinach for example. In February, you can sow salad vegetables, such as lamb’s lettuce and lettuce, and all sorts of other vegetables, such as radishes, broccoli, carrots and turnip.
For plants that grow tall, such as tomatoes and beans, the seedlings should be planted outside in the open as soon as there is no longer any risk of frost. In summer, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers and melons thrive in the cold frame. So there are no limits when it comes to planting in your cold frame.
Those who build their own cold frame can enjoy fresh vegetables over a long period. A fresh salad for lunch is quick to prepare and prevents afternoon sleepiness. Here are some simple instructions for you:
Ingredients:
Method:
In our expert interview on Nutrition in the office, you can find out how to have a healthy diet in the office. You can find more DIY ideas to make with the practical Novus J-29 hand tacker in our Tacker Workshops or on our DIY Pinterest board.