Cold frames, raised beds and garden magic
My Nordic Garden is finally out there for business! We are so pleased and excited, that it's hard to put words around it... It's like having another newborn baby - a baby seedling. So I better get to go and give you some facts about what My Nordic Garden is up to for 2021 :-)
We already received some requests from friends and family who'd love to SEE what our products are. We wrote a lot about kitchen gardens, consultations and raised beds already, but we didn't show enough of what we are doing. Let's fill this gap now!
First I want to show you our own garden, because that's what we started from. Eric built triangular cold frames on low raised beds last spring. The cold frames are very sturdy and removable. Cold frames are there to keep plants protected - especially during danger of frost in the beginning and end of the season. Additionally to a protective cover against the cold, Eric added chicken wire into the windows and side panels, so critters have no chance to nibble on our plants. Last season we used a plastic cover - unfortunately it was not very durable. So we are going to use fabric row covers in our cold frame doors and side panels instead. The cold frames are easy do disassemble, which makes an exchange of cover materials very uncomplicated.
Before I show you pictures of the building process, I'd like to say a word about our own garden beds. We decided to build very low raised beds (just about 6 inches high). Personally, I love being on my hands and knees crawling right into the beds, that's why we decided to do it this way.
-> At My Nordic Garden though, we want to make gardening easy and convenient for everybody. That's why low raised beds are NOT the beds of choice when it comes to our products. We are recommending and offering RAISED BEDS at a high of at least 2 ft! At this high tending your kitchen garden is much easier on your back. Raised beds also have the benefits of much less trouble with weeds coming up and warmer soil temperatures in spring and autumn - which is a big factor for growing in our region.
Enough with words - here come the promised pictures of our cold frames:
As you can see, our vegetables and herbs grew abundantly in these cold frames. They provide very good shelter against cold, wind and even too much sun. Yes, your read right! Do you remember the early heat wave in the middle on June this year? We kept the cold frames on our beds, so the plants were protected from the burning sun.
In the upper middle picture and the lower left you can see our cucumber cold frame. Eric had to put in a higher middle part to give the plants enough space to grow up. Recently he is working on a plan to turn this into a 'walk-in' cucumber cold frame, so tending and harvesting is going to be much easier (I had to climb in :-) ).
Speaking of the construction person - here come Eric's cold frame construction pictures:
I hope you all have a better idea of what My Nordic Garden is about to offer when it comes to raised beds and cold frames.
Let the kitchen garden magic make your world a little bit greener in the season to come!
I'm going to stop talking about cold frames now...
My final words are a referral to my mentor and guide NICOLE BURKE (owner of Rooted Garden and Gardenary. Thank you so much for your motivation, knowledge and support during this past months. Without you we would not be as far as we are now with our business. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Thanks to NICOLE I will be a certified GARDENARY GARDEN COACH within the next couple of weeks. Our kitchen garden designs will be based on the Gardenary kitchen garden style, that's why I refer to the following homepages to check out, what's going to be possible for your own garden. Together we will grow you greener in 2021! Let's make the kitchen garden magic happen.
GARDENARY: https://www.gardenary.com/
ROOTED GARDEN: https://rootedgarden.com/
Happy Gardening!
Ines