If gardening is your passion or a hobby you are looking to explore, then it is worth your while to give your plants as much growing time as possible. I doubt you’ll find these steps too difficult.

1.       Build hot beds or cold frames.

By creating a basic structure that fits over the garden beds, you can snag quite a bit of heat, thus making it possible for the plants to stay warm through the fall and some of winter. This cold frame will look like a miniature greenhouse about 2 feet high. If you are feeling really ambitious, then you can create a hot bed by installing a heat source underground.

2.       Build the greenhouse for protection against wind and frost.

This is not the cheapest option, but if you can manage to keep your plants warm by using solar heating. Then your plants will continue to thrive and you can even begin growing seedlings for the next year!

3.       Sounds strange but use the walls that absorb the sun’s heat.

Whether it’s your garage or house, take advantage of the sun’s heat and its ability to keep sun-exposed walls at a temperature of nearly 10-15 degrees higher than that of outside. If necessary, build trellises on these walls for your climbing plants.

4.       If nothing else, cover your plants individually.

You have probably seen people covering their plants with soda bottle, knapsacks, or milk cartons, but these are not your only options. Cardboard boxes, buckets and pots will also do a great job covering your plants. If you are familiar with cloches, then this is your best option. If you add a water-filled cloche, then this will provide an extra layer of protection as the sun keeps the cloche and plants warm.  The downfall of the cartons and boxes is that they can easily be blown away.

5.       It’s tunnel time!

If designing is your forte, then this might be the best solution for you. Using wire or PVC pipes, you create basic tunnels in your garden and then drape plastic sheets over the framework to keep the plants safe from frost and bitter cold temperatures. It only requires a couple cloches.

6.       Whoever said painting and gardening didn’t go hand-in-hand?

Since dark colors hold onto more heat than lighter colors, you can use empty plastic bottles to paint and set on top of the plants in the tunnels, cold frame, or greenhouse you create. This will attract the sun and hold onto the day’s heat, keeping plants warmer even at night!

If you choose one of these ideas, then you’ll be sure to extend the growing season in your garden and begin spring just a little earlier!