I have a cold frame by accident. Overeager to start gardening several years back, I optimistically ordered a huge load of plants for April. Now April in Chinchilla, Pa is more likely to be blizzard-time than planting time. So three big boxes of plants arrived and had no place to go. Every available window sill and table top was already covered in seed trays. Refusing to give up the kitchen table, my husband built these homeless waifs a little house out of wood, and topped it with an old glass shower door. We set it on the terrace, next to the house, put all the little plants inside packed in old leaves, and prayed. They all not only survived, but thrived.
Unfortunately, my cold frame is only about 10" tall, which somewhat limits its usefulness. If we had chosen to put the wooden frame over an excavated pit in the earth the plants would be lower and probably safer from cold. More important, I would be able to overwinter some taller, marginally hardy perennials in it. Then I could grow all those lovely things from zones 6 and 7 and have a fighting chance of keeping them.
Since we're allegedly building a greenhouse this summer (and I say allegedly because the same husband who says it will be done is now in his eighth year of building a gazebo)he won't build me another cold frame. This is not a problem. Even a klutz who can't hammer a straight nail can build a cold frame using bales of hay for sides, and old windows for the top. If you're handier, there are some excellent directions for building one out of more permanent materials at This Old House .
Once you've got it built, you can get a good start on wonderful salads, Many greens are cold season crops, and can, in the protection offered by your cold frame, be planted right now. National Gardening offers some excellent advice on early greens in The Winter Salad Bowl.
I have no room for salad this year, because I managed to acquire a lot of seeds for Siberian iris, roses and lavender. These hardy perennials (as well as many hardy annuals) require a period of chilling (called cold stratification after planting. I potted all my seeds up in January and they've been chilling in the cold frame ever since. When the weather warms up, they can come out of the cold frame to a slightly shaded sheltered place,to harden off. Then all the seedlings started under lights in my basement will be ready to come up to take their place. I've found that making this move as early as possible has greatly reduced my problems with damping off.
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