HOW TO EXTEND A COOL GARDEN SEASON

Here in Michigan spring is a little early this year, or maybe it’s just teasing me with the warmer temps. Either way I decided to make use of it and extend my cool growing season with this nifty, thrifted, recycled, up-cycled project.

When I say cool garden season I mean adding things to the garden before the temperatures outside are ideal for growing. By doing this I squeak out a month of early gardening. I have all raised bed gardens so that helps too. The soil generally warms up earlier in raised beds than it does in the direct soil garden. 

How I do it is by cutting the bottom out of 3 gallon water jugs and placing them over the tender plants or seed to give them the protection and warmth they need to germinate and grow. It also keeps my chickens from feasting on them.

I knew I wanted to experiment with new ideas this year so I’ve given myself plenty of time for crop failure. I started the cucumbers early in the greenhouse and then moved them to the garden, but if for some reason they don’t survive (cucumbers like it hot) I still have plenty of time to replant directly into the soil. I’ve also started my peas, carrots, onions, and potato crops early.

So far the peas are up, and the cucumbers are hanging in there. I’m really enjoying trying new ways and giving myself plenty of time to crop correct if something doesn’t go as planned. I’m also keeping a strict garden journal to chart my progress, dates, success and failures. I’ve even successfully started seeds that are over 10 years old with 90% germination rate. For me that’s good information and reason to never throw out old seeds.

We have well water so I didn’t buy all the bottled water to get the 3 gallon jugs. I happened to stop at a garage sale and the owner of the house had a garage filled with the jugs. I guess I was being nosy that day and questioned what he did with them all. He told me how he uses them in his garden as humidity domes and asked if I gardened and if I’d like some.

Well of course I wanted some. He loaded my SUV with as many as would fit. The only spot not crammed full was the drivers seat. I ended up with 40, and all for free. I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to get them home and plan how I’d use them.  

If you like to garden and are looking for a way to keep the frost off those tender plants, or looking for a way to start your garden earlier than the recommended date this is a great way to give it a try. If you have a local recycle center you can always check there for free containers too. Milk jugs will work the same way. I hope this gives you some early garden inspiration and Happy Gardening!