My friends said I didn’t stand a chance. They gazed at me in disbelief with a “what were you thinking” look as they listened to me explain my Thanksgiving goal.
Yes, I plan to pick lettuce from my garden on Thanksgiving.
Picking lettuce on Thanksgiving is not something that typically happens in Michigan. The average temperature for the past five days has been below 30 degrees Farenheit. Night-time temperatures have been in the teens and low-twenties.
“I cleaned out my vegetable garden the second week of October,” said one friend. Another chimed in, “You must be a serious gardener.”
Not sure if I’m a serious gardener or not, but I love a gardening challenge.
Last week I covered my lettuce with a tarp at night to ward off the chilly night temperatures.
After watching the weather predictions for this week’s snow and temperatures in the teens, I knew I had to take additional steps to protect my lettuce.
So, last Sunday afternoon, my husband and I built a cold frame.
We searched for materials at our local hardware store. We planned to use PVC pipe, but instead settled on PEX tubing, which is more flexible.
The cold frame has a rectangle base of 1/2 inch PEX tubing with three half circles of 1/4 inch PEX tubing above.
Six mil plastic sheeting covers the frame and black binder clips hold the plastic to the PEX tubing. Stakes from my outside holiday lawn decorations hold the cold frame down to the ground. I unclip the binder clips to check on the lettuce.
You see the final result in the photo at the top of this post.
At night, I cover the cold frame with blankets and a tarp to keep the warmth in. It helps that the lettuce is growing in a raised bed that faces south.
I checked the lettuce this afternoon, and it’s doing fine.
Keep warm thoughts for my lettuce tonight; the temperature is going down to the teens again.
