The classic definition of terroir (pronounced ter-whahr) is “a taste or sense of a place” or it’s an item that “uniquely reflects its place of birth.” Literally, the French translation for terroir is “soil,” a term for the effect of land on flavor.

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If your garden has a spot with good access to the sun throughout the day, you can use a cold frame to start your plants earlier in the year than you would otherwise. A cold frame is a very simple item. It is really just a small greenhouse. Daytime sun will warm the air and the ground inside, making it easier for plants to start growing. Nighttime temperatures inside the cold frame may fall back close to outdoor ambient temperature, but the extra heat gained during the day and the wind protection the encosure provides will help keep the plants alive even if there is an overnight frost.

Building a cold frame should be a simple project. An elaborate structure is not required. It should cost little or nothing to build and nothing to operate. Plants can be started close together while they are small, and then, as they get bigger and the weather gets nicer, they can be moved out of the frame and put into the garden.

Last year, I built a pair of new windows for my garage using architectural glazing samples. When I took out the old windows, I salvaged them rather than breaking them up and tossing them in the trash, so now I have two windows which are the basis for my cold frame. You can also build a cold frame using acrylic or other plastic sheets held in a wood frame. As I said, cold frames don't need to be elaborate.

This article explains how I built my cold frame, but you should be able to easily adapt it for your own materials and needs. I would be very interested to hear from other DIY builders about their cold frame projects. It would be very useful to gather other hints and compile them for a future edition.

Materials:

• (2) salvaged windows, 22" x 28-1/2" each
• 24" x 24" sheet of plywood, 1/2" thick (for sides)
• 18" x 44" sheet of plywood, 1/2" thick (for back)
• (3) 1×4 or 1×6, cut to 43" long (2×4s or 2×6s would also work well)
• scrap wood or 2×2s for corner blocking
• nails or screws
• (2) 1×2 strips, about 12" long (for cleats)

Assembly:

1. Cut the sides for the cold frame from the 1/2" plywood. The window needs to be angled toward the sun to gather the light. My plywood had already been ripped with a 6:12 slope. But cutting a 24" x 24" sheet of plywood at an angle with the smaller side matching the height of the front cross piece makes efficient use of the material.

2. Nail or screw the blocking to the ends of the long pieces of wood.

3. Nail or screw the long pieces to the side pieces. If you are using 2×4s or 2×6s it is possible to omit the corner blocking and directly fasten through the side pieces into the middle of the 2x. But nailing into the end grain of the wood is not a strong connection, so screws should be used.

Cleat holds window onto frame4. Fasten cleats to the top of each window with 2 or 3 screws. The cleat needs to overhang the window frame at the bottom so that it will catch the top of the cold frame and hold the window in place. I prefer using cleats to hold the windows in place because this way they can be completely removed and set aside in order to work inside the frame. The windows can also be attached with hinges, which makes it easy to crack the windows open to allow ventilation and prevent overheating.

5. Prepare the soil in the garden. It is also possible to set the frame over seedling trays or starter pots, particularly if you plan to relocate all of the plants elsewhere in your garden.

6. Set the frame in place. Most wood exposed to ground contact will start to rot, and most gardeners don't want to use treated wood near the soil they are using for growing food. Even painting the wood can help protect it somewhat. I used paver bricks set in the ground around the garden to keep the frame from direct contact with the soil. Other options would be to use cedar or another wood that resists rotting.

7. Plant your plants.

Diagram 2

Alternatives:

Optional materials:

• corner brackets

• hinges

• thermometer

• rigid insulation

Metal corner brackets and screws, instead of nailed connections, could be an alternate way to put a cold frame together. This could also make it possible to disassemble the cold frame for storage when it is not needed, and then quickly reassemble it later on. Hinges can be used to fix the windows to the frame and still allow access to the plants.

Hinges can be used to connect the windows to the frame. But, as noted above, having windows that can be completely removed makes it easier to work inside the frame.

If there are clear sunny days, it is quite possible for a cold frame to overheat during the day. To help moderate the temperature inside, you can prop one window open slightly to let the warmest air out at the top. Just be sure to close it back at night, especially if cold overnight temperatures are expected. Also, since you are putting a roof over the soil and heating the air inside, you have to remember to regularly check and water the plants in your cold frame.

If you want to do some data gathering and monitoring, you can put a thermometer inside the frame to measure interior temperature. It's best to put this on the front of the frame (on the inside) where it will be shaded as much as possible, so that your readings will not be affected by direct sun on the thermometer.

Put the cold frame into storage during the summer, but the cold frame can also be used in the fall to help extend the season for some plants as frosty nights return.

Putting insulation on the sides of the cold frame doesn't do much for it, because so much of the heat captured during the day will be lost through the uninsulated window once the sun goes down. However, building a back wall for the cold frame from stacked bricks can serve as a heat sink to store more heat gathered from the sun, to help keep the temerature up through the cold night. Building a cold frame against a wall, or into a hillside, where there is more thermal mass to store the heat, can also be a strategy to push it even further. But for the purpose of just extending the season for a few weeks, a simple cold frame will be more than adequate.

If you want to try growing hardy, cold tolerant plants throughout the winter using your cold frame, you could put insulation on the sides of the frame and leave space for an insulated lid which could be installed inside to cover the plants during overcast days. I recommmend looking at the Brines Farm site (which I wrote about earlier) for more information and suggestions about year round food growing. Shannon has also posted a video in the Convenient Truths contest where he discusses some ideas about growing local food.

Sources for further information:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/oldwindowuses
http://www.newsobserver.com/385/story/222309.html
http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h137seasonextenders.html

The Climate Challenge game gives you a chance to try to find the right balance of policies and incentives to deal with the issues of climate, CO2 emissions, and government policy. This online game is hosted by the BBC. It's a game that plays quickly enough that you can play it on a lunch break. It poses real challenges in addressing difficult government policy issues, but without becoming overwhelmingly complex. I think it might even be accessible for middle school level children.

In the game, you are playing the "President of Europe." You have ten turns (each turn representing one decade) to address global warming and CO2 emissions issues, while maintaining enough public support for your policies to remain in office. Too many taxes and restrictions, and you'll be voted out of office. But if you don't address the cliamte issues in a meaningful fashion, you won't succeed in reducing CO2 emissions, and global warming will lead to cliamte upheaval.

Each turn you can chose from different programs for your government to promote in five areas: National, Trade, Industry, Local, and Household policy. Some programs are precursors to other programs, so investing in rail transport early in the game allows you to support maglev trains later on, to promote use of public transit to reduce energy use and CO2 contributions from transport. Your policies also have an effect on your budget, as well as your national energy, food, and water, and on CO2 emissions, which are tracked for you in a graphic display. You also have to consider the public opinion to each of the policies you choose. Too many unpopular choices will lead to you being voted out of office.

The game also includes negotiation sessions, which occur every few turns. These give you an opportunity to engage with other world leaders to address CO2 emissions targets. In your own mini-Kyoto negotiation, you can try to influence the leaders of other governments to agree to CO2 reduction goals. You may be taking some steps to reduce your CO2 a bit, but as a global problem, it will require agreement from all sides in order to make a meaningful difference.

I've played the game a couple of times and have yet to successfully complete it. I've done some good things about reducing emissions and providing enough food, water, and power for my citizens. But I've made enough unpopular decisions in the course that I've been voted out of office. It's a fine line to walk, and the game points out the difficulties of balancing policies that will make a real difference with the public reaction to those policies. It's been fun and educational and challenging. I can't say enough good things about it. I like this game, and you ought to go check it out!

via: cocolico

All that shipping has an associated cost (financial cost as well as energy use and carbon release). Locally grown food has many adherents. There are hundreds of farms operating as community supported agriculture (CSA), where people buy memberships in the farm and receive a share of produce (usually on a weekly basis). CSA farms are wonderful for getting food locally, but they are usually tied to the local growing season, meaning that they don't have produce during the winter. But other options can allow even more extension of the growing season.

Even in cold-weather climates, for example, it is possible to grow some vegetables year round. In my area, a local farmer operates a zero-energy greenhouse with which he grows a range of cold-tolerant greens ("various lettuce, spinach, arugula, claytonia, mache, carrots, leeks, cress, tatsoi, pac choi, mizuna, and kale to name a few") throughout the winter. These are sold at the local farmers' market on weekends. (Interestingly, on cold winter days at the market, he often keeps the greens in an insulated cooler - not to keep them cool, but rather to keep them warm and prevent them from freezing.) The Brines Farm hoop house uses a frame covered with greenhouse film to create an enclosure to admit sunlight and retain heat in order to maintain a suitable growing environment. The project is well documented, and they have also produced a pamphlet with instructions for individuals who are interested in setting up similar enclosures for themselves. The pamphlet says a 12' x 12' greenhouse can be built for $200 or so.

A more unusual possibility has researchers have looked at the possibilities for a compost heated greenhouse. Composting gives off heat as the organic material is broken down. However, composting also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. While plants require carbon dioxide for growth, in one test case, the CO2 created from composting was 6 times as much as the plants in the greenhouse required, and other by-products were also many times more than what was needed for a balanced system.

Supporting and choosing locally produced food reduces the carbon footprint for the food we do eat. For the DIY-inclined, building a hoop house is an easy project that makes it possible to have an extended growing season and be able to have locally produced food of their own.

Links:
LocalHarvest list of CSAs
Brines Farm
Hoop House instructions (PDF)
Compost Heated Greenhouse

There is a perception that all of this must be very expensive, and that only altruists and tree-huggers can afford to live this kind of lifestyle. But a green lifestyle needs to be sustainable in all ways.

Something that is more expensive than its alternative will usually cost less in the long run. This is what makes evaluation of green products and green building materials so difficult. But looking at the life-cycle cost (the cost not just of purchasing the item, but also its operation and maintenance over its useful life) can show that the overall cost of the green option is usually lower.

Going green doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing proposition, and it doesn't have to be expensive. A recent article notes "Eco-Friendly Home Projects Can Be Cheap, and Also Stylish." While it is possible to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a green remodeling project, some influential steps, can be undertaken for only a few dollars. We've mentioned a couple of different checklists that can be used to start a green lifestyle and evaluate what steps you can take.

There's been a lot of talk about compact fluorescent light bulbs recently. It isn't just you should use these because they will reduce carbon emissions (though that is one of the reasons to use them). It's unlikely to expect that people will switch over for this reason alone. Altruism is a good thing, but most people switch over because the compact fluorescents also use less electricity. So a bulb that uses 14 watts rather than 60 watts is using only one-quarter the energy, and that translates into financial savings, as well as being better environmentally. And, because the compact fluorescent bulb lasts longer than an incandescent, there is less waste going into landfills, as well.

A lot of these steps can pay back their cost in a short period of time. Adding insulation to the house, installing and using a programmable thermostat, using EnergyStar appliances, are all good steps. If there is an energy benefit to choosing a green product, look at how quickly it will pay for itself. If $1000 of attic insulation will save $150/month in heating (and you have 4 heating months a year), then it will pay for itself in less than two years. Unless you expect to be out of that home in less time than that, it just makes financial sense to do the improvement, and gain the savings through lowered energy cost and lower energy use.

Links:

USGBC - 16 Ways to Green Your Home
Global Green USA - Top 20 No- or Low-Cost Green Building Strategies