Framing the Cold

My tomatoes have gotten too large to keep on their indoor growing racks. They are starting to bend over to fit on their shelves. So I made a make-shift cold frame out of strawbales and recycled sunroom windows we picked up from the second hand pile behind Brother Sun window shop.

I actually decided this year to follow John Jeavons' (How to Grow More Vegetables on Less Land Than You Thought Possible - or something like that) advice and prick out my seedling plants twice. Once from the flats into small pots and the second time from their pots into the ground. The real test is still yet to come - putting them in the ground. But they are looking great so far. Next year I think I'll do a third round for the tomatoes from 2" pots to 4". They are ready now for that, but since the last frost date is only a week away, they'll have to bide their time just a little longer. The tomatoes that I didn't have pots for transplanting into remain small and spindly as all of my plants were last year. The transplanting makes a true difference.