For us northerners, where the growing season is shorter than for most people, I highly recommend the following 2 books: they will permit anyone to grow 15 - 25 vegetables during the winter in unheated greenhouses. These books are both revolutionary.

Solar Gardening by Leandre Poisson Four-Season Harvest by Elliot Coleman

-- lou (lanny1@ix.netcom.com), February 16, 2000

Answers

Thanks Lou

These look like real good finds.

Watch six and keep your...

-- eyes_open (best@wishes.2all), February 16, 2000.

hi lou,

How about a hint at what so revolutionary? Please...

I'm already familiar with two methods - the classic Hot frame (sort of like a cold frame but built over a compost pit. Heat from the compost provides a warming substrata to keep things from freezing.) Then there is a double walled greenhouse that retains enough heat to grow through the winter. So this inquiring mind wants to know, do I really need to go buy another gardening book? My shelves overfloweth already...

jh

-- john hebert (jt_hebert@hotmail.com), February 16, 2000.

re: whats so revolutionary.

both books have kinda hit on the same idea. i'm not so sure if its really all *that* revolutionary, but to me it is. both books have promoted the idea of extending the harvest season in the coldest parts of the Northeast US - as opposed to extending the growing season - without supplementary heating.

coleman does it by putting an inexpensive greenhouse over coldframes, almost eliminating below freezing temperatures in the coldframes when outside temps reach -10 to -20. poisson does it with what he terms a 'solar pod' - basically a double-glazed coldframe with angel hair insulation in between the 2 layers of glazing. the glazing he uses is called sunlite, made by kalwell corp in NH.

i've built one of these 4x8 ft units already, in the process of building 3 more. the difference here is that the solar pod doesnt need to have a greenhouse structure over it, and can suppport the growth/harvest of 1-2 dozen cold hardy vegetables throughtout the entire winter.

hope this helps explain things. would love to hear of others ideas on these topics.

-- lou (lanny1@ix.netcom.com), February 16, 2000.