STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With this spring's swinging temperatures feeling like the dead of winter one day and mid-July the next, it's not been conducive to starting a garden.
But Tottenville resident James Hannah has the solution.
Hannah uses what's called a cold frame, a device built from two-by-four boards and greenhouse glazing, to battle colder temperatures and keep his seedlings growing. The box-shaped frame has a hinged lid that tops the greenhouse glazing and is dug into the soil enough to keep cold air from getting underneath it.
Seedlings in black plastic six-packs are placed inside the cold frame in the early spring. With the lid closed on cold days and open on warm days, sunlight warms the soil inside the frame. At night, when the temperature outside gets colder, the lid is kept closed and the warm soil helps protect the plants.
Hannah says the cold frame can also be used to extend the gardening season by using it to grow lettuce well into the fall.