Make Gardening Manageable with These Must-Have Tools for Low Energy Gardeners

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April brings with it the arrival of the height of gardening preparations, and the demand it takes on our bodies as we assemble new gardens, pull lawn furniture from storage and shovel mulch means that I am ending my days sore and tired. I’ve been gardening for most of my life in one form or another, but ten years ago I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, and since then I’ve had a whole decade to come up with the best gardening hacks to and gardening tools for gardening with chronic pain and low energy.

Psoriatic arthritis often confuses people who don’t have it - its cousins rheumatoid and osteoarthritis are far more common, so there’s a misconception that psoriatic arthritis isn’t as serious or doesn’t have as much of an impact on quality of life as these more well known forms of arthritis. The fact is that psoriatic arthritis is more than a skin condition. I experience severe joint pain and fatigue, just like someone with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. I just get the added “bonus” of sensitive dry skin too. While exercise can help with my symptoms, it can also make them worse if I push myself too hard. I’ve had to learn my physical limitations by testing them, and those limits are a lot lower than someone living without an autoimmune disease. The idea that arthritis is an “old person's” condition is so pervasive that people often think it can’t really be that bad, especially since I am young and don’t look sick. But invisible illnesses like arthritis and other autoimmune conditions can dramatically change your life, no matter how old you are.

I’ve hit breaking points with my arthritis while gardening many times. I have sat, covered in dirt and crying because I couldn’t bend over or kneel to clear weeds from an in-ground garden bed. I thought the solution was to just scoot along on my butt, but quickly discovered that even though this was easier on my joints it was still physically exhausting and left me too fatigued to finish. I have lost the hand strength to grip a shovel or rake on more than one occasion. I have felt scared that someday even the little things I do could be beyond my ability if I’m not careful. Gardening is rooted in my soul, a part of my identity, and I don’t know what I’d do without it at this point. Gardening and nature in general have brought me out of the darkest moments in my life. Tending to plants gives me purpose and fulfills my need to nurture. 

This is my why. The reason I sit here day after day and type these words to you: I grew from these challenges, and I want to show you how you can too. Now these hard times that I faced are just more proof that I know I can trust myself to stand up for my needs and prioritize them. They solidified my identity and brought me closer to knowing myself. Most of this came from mindset (we are hard-wired to see the negative first, but that can be overcome) but after that mindset shift, in order to make real concrete change I invested in a few gardening tools that would make it possible for me to continue doing what I love.

The key to low energy gardening:

These tools won’t give you superpowers. I could give you all my best vegetable gardening tips and tricks but you’ll still find the key to low energy gardening is planning and pacing yourself. This means working in short blocks of time, around the times of day when you know you have the most energy (mornings are hardest for me) and being strategic about resting when needed by encouraging rest through your outdoor garden seating arrangements. They also may not fully address all of the limiting factors you may experience. I hope however that they can serve as a jumping off point from which you will feel inspired to find what feels good for you. I have chosen these tools either because they are specifically comfortable to handle with chronic pain, or they speed up whatever task they are designed to be used for.

Tools used for gardening

Weeding tools

Gardener's Lifetime Taproot Weed Extractor

Remove stubborn taproots and other deep-rooted weeds with less effort! Insert the prongs of this weed extractor vertically, right at the root, until the tubular section rests on the ground. Then, pull the handle towards you, and the weed will pop right out.

Gardener's Lifetime Half-Moon Hoe

Also called a swan-neck hoe, this popular tool cuts weeds just below the soil surface. The ergonomic design lets you stand up straight while working, minimizing back strain, and the curved blade lets you work in tight spaces between plants and rows. To give it extra strength and durability, the wooden handle is bolted into the deep socket

Gardener's Lifetime Cape Cod Weeder

Used by generations of New England gardeners, Cape Cod Weeders slice weeds just below the soil line and are great for working in tight spaces This Lifetime Cape Cod Weeder is hand-forged from the finest high-carbon Swedish boron steel with a pointed, self-sharpening tip. Unlike flimsy tools that are stamped from thin stainless steel, this weeder is ready for a lifetime of use by serious gardeners. To give it extra strength and durability, a 4" metal tang extends into the handle, which is securely fastened with a welded socket.

Best raised garden beds

Self-Watering Elevated Planter Box, 2' x 8'

These no-bend garden boxes keep plants hydrated via a series of innovative, connected reservoirs that deliver water to roots on demand. Four generous 5-gallon reservoirs extend the time between waterings and create more even moisture throughout the bed. And, since water is drawn primarily from the bottom instead of applied from the top, less water is lost to evaporation too! 10" planting depth accommodates a variety of crops, from tomatoes to root-crops like carrots.

The height of the planter box has other advantages too: fewer weeds, reduced maintenance, and fewer critters nibbling at your prize plants. The sturdy aluminum legs won't buckle or sag, and the wood is naturally rot-resistant and safe for your organic crops.

Garden seating ideas

Garden seating is going to be so important if you have low energy or chronic pain. I like to have one main large work table outside that I can sit at for tasks I know will take longer like transplanting seedlings or just organizing a harvest. This is an inviting spot where I can rest while still feeling productive. It’s also a good idea to scatter around various benches and chairs throughout your garden space or at least keep a folding camp chair handy that you can collapse onto periodically in between weeding, watering and harvesting. Always keep water and sunscreen handy - I like to keep my harvest basket stocked with these essentials plus my clippers too, so I’m not walking back and forth just gathering everything. This way you don’t have to go inside every time you need a break, wasting more energy with the walk to and from the house as well as interrupting the flow state of gardening that gives us the most mental clarity.

Deep Seat Garden Kneeler

The extra-wide base makes it much more stable than narrower models, with sturdy sides that lock in place so you can raise and lower yourself with confidence. Easily flips from kneeler to padded bench. Sides fold in for compact storage. Holds up to 250 lbs. Weighs just 9 pounds, so it’s easy to carry.

Bamboo Garden Stool and Basket Combo

Versatile, heirloom-quality, all-in-one basket, stool, and seat. Carry tools and plant starts out to your garden, harvest veggies to bring inside, sit on it to weed and tend or keep potatoes and onions (or bath items, dog toys, and more!) neatly corralled.

Beautifully made from bamboo, a strong and highly renewable resource, it can support up to 250 lbs. as a seat. Quality joinery gives you the confidence to step up or sit down and go about your work. Flipped over, it feels solid in your hands plus the handles are wide and smooth — making it ultra comfortable to carry.

Deluxe tractor scoot with bucket basket

This go-anywhere, do-anything, super-stable rolling scoot lets you work from a comfortable seated position and is perfect for gardening, washing tires, painting baseboards and more. Super-sturdy; holds up to 400 lbs. Bucket Basket holds a 3-1/2 gal. Tubtrug or 5-gal. pail and carries up to 40 lbs.; perfect for tossing weeds or gathering the harvest. Handle extends for pulling, retracts & locks for support. Storage tray holds hand tools and supplies.

Best garden hose

Low energy garden irrigation is going to have to be a whole post in itself, because there are as many ways to water a garden as there are gardeners in the world. I will say that watering has turned out to be one of the biggest physical challenges to gardening for me. Since it often needs to be done daily, and cannot be timed around when I’m feeling best in the week, and winding/unwinding hoses is a special kind of torture to those of us with limited energy. Hoses are a low energy gardener’s number one enemy. I have two solutions to suggest:

Hoselink Retractable Garden Hose

The Retractable Garden Hose Reel is a wall-mounted unit featuring a high-quality spring-loaded hose that automatically rewinds on command. Its specially designed ‘stop-anywhere’ locking mechanism secures the hose at any length, eliminating excess hose to prevent kinks and tangles. To lengthen, simply walk the hose out further and stop wherever you want.

DIY Olla Watering Systems

You can make an olla using a terracotta pot for less than $5 or there are ready made options available. Click here to learn more.

Indoor gardening hacks

If starting a full outdoor garden is too much for you I have one last gardening tip to share: consider indoor gardening. There are so many options available now that will actually allow you to grow your own fruits and vegetables inside of your house. My favorite is the Smart Garden from Click&Grow - both stylish and functional tower garden options that bring nature to you. You can read more about my thoughts on the Click&Grow here!

Perennials for the Sun: A Guide to Choosing the Right Plants for Your Garden

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In planning your garden, it’s fair play to go to your local nursery and grab whatever you like the look of. However, if you’re interested in garden design and the best shot at successful and happy plants, incorporating some strategy and thought in choosing your flowering perennial plants will go a long way.

What is a Perennial Plant?

First, let’s talk about what a perennial plant is not. You know when you go to a garden center in the spring and there are plants already blooming with bright flowers and you’ve been starving for color all winter and you Must. Buy. Them. All? Those are annual plants, plants that will die in the fall of the year you put them in the ground. You get the instant satisfaction of pretty colors in your yard, but you’ll have to do it all over again the next spring, and the one after that.

Perennial plants may die back to the ground in fall or winter (some don’t), but their roots are still alive, and, year after year, each spring the plant will come back bigger, stronger, and with more blooms. These are the plants we use to build a garden that will become more lush and beautiful every year.

What are the Benefits of Perennial Plants?

Aside from lasting years, there are other benefits to planting perennials. Many perennial flowers will bloom all summer, and they are beneficial to birds and other creatures in our yards, as they create habitats and dependable sources of food.

While the upfront cost of the plant may be higher than for an annual plant, the lifetime cost will not be. This is true not only because we spread that cost over years, but because one perennial plant can easily be separated as it matures and become two, or ten, or twenty plants over time.

How Do You Divide Perennial Plants?

Most perennials are happy to be divided, and in fact, some must be divided in order to thrive. Talk of green thumbs can cause people to believe plants are delicate and complicated. The truth is, the vast majority are hardy and can take a bit more roughness than you might imagine.

There are two basic ways I divide a perennial plant. The first is to use a sharp-edged shovel. Pressing straight down on the shovel with my foot, I can separate the roots belowground. It’s then easy to dig out only the section I want to move. The other way I divide a plant is to dig the whole thing up. Some plants’ roots will easily separate into pieces once they’re out of the ground. Others will need to be split with a shovel, as above.

Bulbs are perennials which need to be dug up and separated. When the plant is scooped out of the ground, you will find that the bulb has multiplied, with smaller bulbs attached to it which are very easy to take off with your fingers and replant elsewhere.

Where Should I Plant My Perennials?

When making a garden, a good mantra is, “right plant, right place”. If we can find just the right plants for different spots in our yard, they will thrive with very little input from us.

In order to put the right plant in the right place, you need to become familiar with the land. Where does the sun shine all day? Where is it shady in the afternoon? Is there an area with dappled light? Does it feel much warmer near the wall of your house? When it rains, where do puddles form?

The land you live on is not all one climate. There are microclimates – pockets and hilltops, large empty areas, windbreaks, and spots near a building or fence. To learn more about this concept, I recommend the book Gaia’s Garden, by Toby Hemenway. It may take a couple of reads to really understand the many things that create different conditions in different areas of our property, but in the meantime, you’ll have the basic idea and can start planting. You’ll see what fails and what is happy, and over time you’ll learn more from your real life experience than you ever could from a book.

Once you’ve gotten to know the land, it’s time to research which plants will do best in the conditions of whatever areas you choose garden. There are plants that want only full sun and some that want full sun but will tolerate partial shade. There are plants that will only grow in full shade, drought-tolerant plants, and plants that like to keep their feet wet – they don’t want to live in a dry spot. You can find out the needs of each plant with a simple Google search.

You’ll also want to research how big the plants will get, keeping in mind the amount of space you have available to plant, and when they will bloom, so you don’t end up with everything blooming in June and there being no flowers in the garden for the rest of the season.

What Color Perennial Flowers Should I Choose?

You should choose whatever colors appeal to you. There are no rules! It can be good to pay attention to how many of each color you purchase, though, so you don’t end up with a garden that is all one color. (Unless that’s the look you’re going for – it can be gorgeous!)

How Many of Each Plant Should I Buy?

With so many perennials available, it can be tempting to buy just one of lots of different kinds. A lot of new gardeners start out that way, and it can be a good way to learn.

To make a cohesive garden, though, consider limiting the number of varieties you choose, and instead get more than one plant of those varieties. Large swaths of the same flower make a garden look intentional and full. It can also be a good idea to plant the same variety in different parts of the garden to provide balance. If you only have a few though, I recommend planting them near each other.

Three is generally a magic number in design, and that holds true in the garden. If you can afford more than three, stick with an odd number for the most attractive outcome.

What Full-Sun Perennials Should I Buy?

If you’re lucky enough to have some sunny spots in your garden, you’ll find many more options are available to you. There are plenty of shade perennials to make beautiful shade gardens (we’ll cover those next month), but your choices in a sunny spot are almost endless.

Below, I’ll save you a bit of trouble and list some of the best perennials to plant in the sun.

The first thing to check out is the plant’s growing zone. You can find out your growing zone with the USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Plants outside of your zone will not grow in your area. Because I live in Zone 6b, my favorites may not be appropriate if you live in a very cold or very warm climate.

Remember also to look at size, whether it can tolerate partial shade even though it does best in the sun, what colors the blooms are, and what the bloom time is.

12 Full-Sun Perennials for Your Garden

Here’s some of my favorite full-sun perennials. I’m also including some important information that will help you to determine if they are the right plants for you.

‘Proud Berry’ Coralberry
Zones 3-7

The Coralberry is a shrub, growing 4’ tall and 4’ wide. It has berries of the most amazing pink, which unfortunately are not edible for humans. (The birds would thank you, though.) The berries hang onto the plant into the winter months, a nice pop of color under a light snow.

It prefers full sun, but will handle a bit of shade. It blooms in late summer, and the flowers develop into berries in the fall. It’s branches with berries are beautiful in a flower arrangement.

Pyromania Solar Flare Red Hot Poker
Zones 5-9

This plant grows 3’6” high and 2’6” wide, with bright yellow flowers of an uncommon shape. It blooms all summer and makes a great cut flower.

‘Curtain Call Deep Rose’ Japanese Anemone
Zones 4-8

This Anemone is happy in sun or part-shade. It grows to 18” tall and 18” wide, with pink flowers. The flowers bloom in late summer and early fall.

Red Creeping Thyme
Zones 5-10

Growing only 6” tall, this plant makes a beautiful magenta-red groundcover. Each plant will spread to about 10” wide, but over time they will spread even further. Planted short distances away from each other, they will form a large mat. Creeping Thyme works well on rock walls and between paving stones as well.

Mango Tango Anise Hyssop
Zones 6-9

This sun-loving plant grows 18” high and 16” wide. It can handle dry conditions and prefers a spot with good drainage. It’s peach and orange flowers bloom from mid-summer to early fall.

Prince of Orange Oriental Poppy
Zones 3-7

Vivid, orange, ruffled petals surround a dark center on this bright and happy plant. It prefers full sun, and grows 2’6” tall and 2’ wide. It blooms from late spring through early summer.

West Country Manhattan Lights Lupine
Zones 4-9

This variety blooms in part-sun and sun, and grows 3’ tall and 2’ wide. I love the classic blue Lupine, but what makes this one a favorite is its yellow and burgundy-purple flowers, which bloom in spring and early summer.

Beyond Midnight Bluebeard
Zones 5-9

This Caryopteris shrub variety produces tall blue flowers. It blooms from late summer to early fall, just as many flowers are checking out for the year, and grows 2’6” tall and 2’6” wide.
It needs full sun and good drainage to thrive. Soggy soil will cause root rot, killing your plant.

‘Denim ‘n Lace’ Russian Sage
Zones 4-9

This is a completely different plant to the sage we use as an herb. Its leaves are toxic and should not be eaten.

Denim and Lace provides beautiful wands of purple-blue flowers, on a plant that will grow to be 2-3’ high and 2-3’ wide. It prefers full sun, and blooms throughout summer to fall.

Decadence Deluxe ‘Pink Lemonade’
Zones 4-9

This is a Baptisia, sometimes known as False Indigo. Baptisia is available in a variety of colors, but Pink Lemonade is among my favorites. With its yellow and raspberry flowers, you’re getting two colors for the price of one.

It is a large plant, growing 4’ tall and 4’ wide, and almost looks like flowers in a vase, as it is narrow on the bottom and very full on top. It blooms from late April through June.

Dulce ‘Spearmint’ Coral Bells
Zones 4-9

This plant grows 10” high and 2 ½’ wide, and produces flowers in mid- to late summer which are light pink on the bottom and darker pink nearer the top. It is happy in sun or shade. It’s green leaves have a bit of a silver tint to them, providing interest even when the plant is not in bloom.

Delicious Candy Echinacea
Zones 4-8

This is a vivid pink flower. It grows 4’ wide and 6’ tall, a really sizable plant. They can handle part-shade, but will not produce as many flowers as they would in the sun. Echinacea is a medicinal plant. Blooms in mid-to-late summer.

Do you have Enough Plants for a Full-Sun Perennial Garden?

I first want to acknowledge that buying plants can be an expensive endeavor. Making a garden is not something that has to be done in one swoop. We can buy plants as we can afford them, and some years from now we’ll have the garden we imagined. And remember, gardening friends will be happy to give you splits of their plants, and some plants are easily grown by seed.

If you were to purchase everything on this list, you would have purple, yellow, raspberry, pink, red, orange, and burgundy flowers. Between them all, they would provide at least one blooming plant from late spring to winter. But remember, you may want to consider choosing fewer varieties and getting more of the ones you do choose.

Whatever you choose, keep in mind that gardening isn’t about perfection. It’s about playing in the dirt, connecting to nature, and expressing your creativity. Whatever you think is beautiful, is beautiful.

What is your favorite full-sun perennial to grow?

Spring Gardening: 7 Cold Hardy Plants to Grow in March

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Are you wondering if March is too early to start a garden? This post explains what plants can survive in the cold, what is a winter hardy plant, what are the easiest plants to grow in winter and more.

The ground is attempting to thaw, which means mud season has officially arrived and with it my itch to garden and grow has returned in earnest. I’ve just gotten my new elevated garden beds from Gardener’s Supply Co built over the old garden bed and spread a thick layer of clover seed beneath with dreams of a carpet of clover to rest on come warmer days and now I can’t think how I could wait another two months for our last frost to start planting them. So we’re going to plant out a small cold hardy garden in the first two beds here just to tide us over until we can start planting the majority of our crops in May.

This will be the smallest planting we do all year, and so I committed to really savoring the sensory experience of it and slowing down to enjoy the process. All I need to bring with me are my seeds, my favorite trowel and gloves. And I’ll be bundling up because while these plants I’m growing may be cold hardy, I most certainly am not! So sweaters and hats and layers galore. I love the lack of urgency and the sense of hope I get from planting the first cold hardy garden of the season. Soon green things will push up out of the earth and remind us that we are all connected to the life that grows beneath our feet.

We have a short growing season here in New England, but that won’t stop me from planting cold hardy vegetables that can thrive in these colder temperatures. My garden is just a few short steps from the back door, overlooking 70+ acres of my neighbors fields and surrounded by the buzz of life beginning to stir - a blue heron in the distance, a mouse skittering through the undergrowth.

Out back the trees are still in their deep sleep and the sun is trying its hardest to break through the seemingly endless layer of gray clouds that has graced the sky for the past four months now. I can still see my breath as I exhale, and this too is a reminder to be mindful. I breathe the same air as these trees that rest around me, and thank them for how clean and fresh it feels within my lungs. This grounds me in my purpose to bring myself and my body closer to the living things that are all around us.

What is a winter garden?

A winter garden is just a garden that you grow using only plants that can thrive in winter! There are many fun varieties of cold hardy vegetables and perennial plants that have unique characteristics that help them to survive in colder climates. For instance, kale, brussels sprouts and other brassica plants produce a form of antifreeze when exposed to cold temperatures that actually causes the plants to taste sweeter. I enjoy winter kale far more than summer kale - not to mention, there’s no cabbage moth pests in the winter chewing through every leaf before I have a chance to harvest it.

What plants can survive in the cold?

Now I’ll preface this by saying that what can grow in my garden in March may not be the same as what can grow in your garden. If you are in California for example I’m afraid this post won’t be much help to you as you do not suffer from the same deep cold winters we have here in the northeast. But in grow zone 6B many plants can survive the chill of late winter - as a matter of fact, some plants like lettuce and spinach require a colder temperature in order to germinate. This is why you’ll begin to see signs of life in the form of things like wild onion grass even this early in the season when the trees are still sleeping. And since we’re all about low-energy gardening tips and tricks here, I’ll also only focus on what is the easiest plants to grow in winter. No seed starting, forcing rhubarb or chilling your garlic seed in the freezer to trick it into sprouting earlier here. I want to focus just on plants that can go straight into the ground in March. 

Winter plants for the garden:

Here is everything I will be planting in my cold hardy garden using my elevated beds from Gardener’s.

• Snap peas (germination temp 40+ F)

• Pansies (germination temp 45+F but we are planting these from established plants from the nursery not seeds)

• Lettuce (germination temp 35+F)

• Radish (germination temp 50+F)

• Spinach (germination temp 40+F)

• Chives (transplanting this from another spot, these grow well at temps above 40F)

• Calendula (this one is more of an experiment as while it is cold-hardy once established, it probably won’t germinate until soil temps reach 60 degrees fahrenheit)

What is a winter hardy plant?

A winter hardy plant means any plant that can survive average winter temperatures, including cold hardy vegetables and cold hardy perennials. Most winter hardy plants do not produce much throughout the winter due to the lack of sunlight but by surviving these cold conditions they are able to establish themselves faster in the spring which means they will be the first to yield a harvest since they will mature before anything else in your garden.

What can I plant in pots for winter?

Some plants that won’t survive the winter outdoors can be transplanted into pots for the winter and brought indoors. You can do this successfully with most herbs including rosemary and sage. You can also overwinter pepper plants (which are perennial in warmer climates) by cutting off all of the foliage except for the main Y shaped stem, moving into pots and storing in your basement. They will go dormant and then can be transplanted back into your garden beds after your last frost date.

When I was deciding what to plant in early spring, I was happy that everything I wanted to grow would thrive in my elevated garden beds - which meant I didn’t have to worry about hurting my back while gardening. With my arthritis, it’s important that the way I garden is accessible and gentle on my body while still providing me with opportunities to stretch and strengthen my joints. I found prepping the elevated raised beds to be the easiest it has ever been, since I didn’t even need to weed the planting area prior to starting. It feels like a true luxury to stand over my raised beds in the garden and I was able to save more of my limited energy for actually enjoying being in the garden instead of just trying to finish as quickly as possible before my energy ran out. The beds are quite deep and so they can support the largest root structures of some of the plants I’ll be growing with no problem.

I had honestly begun to dread spring garden prep last year. I found myself crying in frustration more than once trying to wrangle the wildness of my in-ground beds into shape for planting. It is really shocking how much harder it is to work the earth when your back is in pain and your energy reserves are lower. While I do greatly appreciate the physical benefits of working out via the garden, and weeding has always been the best way to let out any pent up aggression, my body has been telling me for a couple of years now that this isn’t the right way to go about it for me anymore. I feel lighter knowing that I won’t have these dark moments in the garden where I really have to push myself beyond my limits anymore and can just be present and enjoy the process of gardening again. A part of me felt worried I wouldn’t be taken seriously as a gardener if the majority of my plants were grown in what is effectively a giant container garden. Especially with our full acre to work with, I knew I wanted to take a hybrid approach. So we have perennials like asparagus and rhubarb in-ground since those don’t require much maintenance year-to-year and then larger crops like garlic in ground as well. And of course borders of wildflowers fill up a lot of space too. Eventually it is my dream to add a greenhouse to carry us through the endless winters. But these elevated beds have taken such a weight off my shoulders (and my back!) and gave me back my peace in the garden, and I would not trade that feeling for anything.

If you’re looking for winter garden ideas, I hope that you’ve found this post helpful. Don’t forget to check out this post on cold frame gardening to extend your growing season even further + Let me know in the comments what you are planting in your winter garden this year.

Grow Food Outdoors All Year Long With Cold Frame Gardening

As cold and snowy weather descends upon us here in the Northeast, I find my achy joints actively calling out for more attention. Living with arthritis as a gardener, I have formed a close bond with the land in order to better support my body. My immune system requires careful tending, and I find myself craving dark leafy greens, hearty soups and protein rich comfort foods as the weather turns cold. But in a cruel twist of fate, when my body craves these deeply nutritious foods most, the bitter cold of our New England winters do not accommodate a growing season which would allow me to cultivate all of the produce I wish to grow deep in December.

So how do we ask the land to sustain us through its deep hibernation? The answer may be found in the form of a simple wooden box called a cold frame.

This rustic frame set into the earth, snuggled up against the sunny south wall of our home provides us ample opportunities to tend, grow and gather even in the darkest days of winter. It can feel like pure magic to enjoy a diverse variety of produce even as we are cozy in our blankets beside the fire.

How does a cold frame work?

A cold frame works by creating something like a mini-greenhouse, trapping warm air through solarization inside of the box and insulating the plants within from the worst that winter has to offer. We control the temperature inside of the cold frame with a simple vent - the hinged lid can be propped open with different sized sticks to allow excess heat to escape on warmer days, but for the most part in our deep New England winters the lid stays firmly shut until we trudge through the knee deep snow to harvest.

Like many things in life, we cannot expect to circumvent nature entirely for our own benefit. Nothing in nature blooms all year. Try to plant delicate heat loving peppers, for example, and you will be met with disappointment. Similarly, the plants enjoy a slower season in winter, much the way we humans do. If you’re not convinced, I’d ask you to consider this: if the trees can take a break, so can you. 

A cold frame is a lesson in slowing down and radically accepting things as they are. Your kale, radishes and lettuce will grow and thrive at a slower pace than you can expect in warmer seasons. The harvests are fewer, but more rewarding for the mere fact that they exist at all. And while a cold frame requires a certain amount of upkeep and planning in the beginning, this slowed down nature means that watering and weeding becomes virtually unnecessary in the coldest months.

Now, if you live in a climate that does not experience a cold winter season you may think a cold frame is unnecessary. Although, they continue to be useful even into the spring season here in New England since they make the perfect protected nursery in which to harden off your summer seedlings each spring. And if you can easily build one for cheap or free using reclaimed materials, why not give it a try?

Where should you put a cold frame?

You’ll want to choose a location for your cold frame that is protected from north winds and generally sunny. This means the best spot for your cold frame will have no shade from any trees, and preferably be placed with the back wall of the cold frame up against the south side of your house, shed or barn. If you don’t have a spot like this available, then anywhere without shade will do. You’ll just need to spend some extra effort properly insulating your box from the winds.

Speaking of howling winds, so long as it is protected from those north winds we discussed you shouldn’t worry yourself too much about creating something airtight. Your cold frame is not a greenhouse, and so we don’t expect it to function quite the same. Build your frame to be thick and sturdy, but don’t worry about every little seam and crack.

How to build a cold frame

If you have the time and physical ability, building a cold frame yourself is absolutely the most economical solution. Purchasing one ready-made can cost you anywhere from $60-$500 and quality issues on the low end of that budget will prevent you from getting many years of use out of it. Meanwhile, if you build one yourself it can be done for far less than the low end of that range and produce an end result that will be sturdy enough to continue providing shelter to your winter crop for years to come. While old windows can be fragile and prone to breaking, when they can be found for free I still find it a better option than a new piece of corrugated plexiglass.

We built our cold frame just as the first leaves began dusting the earth, making their final descent from the branches above. Pulling out the old wooden windows and reclaimed lumber from our basement, I didn’t really have a plan. This is the nature of projects on our little homestead - in order to put to rest my fears and limiting beliefs, I have a tendency to turn a blind eye to the specifics and figure things out as I go.  “I’m just going to build a big rectangle, the size of the two windows combined, and stick the windows on top” I confidently told myself. It’s safe to say I don’t have a ton of confidence when it comes to building things, but I was betting that between the two of us, we could figure it out. A chill wind traveled across the field. I adjusted my hat over my cold ears and set to work.

This method of trial and error has generally served me quite well on this journey, and I’ve found it to be essential to growing plants in particular. A fussy Nasturtium in Georgia, for example, is going to have very different needs that one planted in Vermont. So why overwhelm ourselves with tips and tricks from every gardener in the land when we could simply plant, observe, expect failure and experiment until things go right?

You can use many different materials to build a cold frame - but the very best materials are the ones you already have. Our little pile of scrap lumber provided nearly everything we needed to create a sloped box on which to mount our hinges and old wooden windows.

The result was…lopsided. For some reason, the box wasn’t sitting level on the earth, the wood having twisted under tension at some point, unnoticed by our novice eyes. The old windows we used for a lid were chipping questionably safe paint flakes every time we opened and closed the hinges. But it was finished, and it was free, and so - in the ground it went. I packed straw around the exterior to fill in the gaps where the frame didn’t meet the soil and added extra in the space between the wall and the cold frame, set my plants in the earth and held my breath that I would discover an abundance of fresh food beneath the glass in a couple of months.

I suppose I shouldn’t have led with such an obvious spoiler, but the cold frame did work, and an abundance we did have, regardless of our lack of building skills. And so as its lessons compounded the cold frame became something more than a simple box to grow in. The weathered wood shines like a beacon, a reminder to ourselves that we can accomplish more than we think, and done is better than perfect.

What Can you grow in a cold frame?

• Kale

• Swiss Chard

• Spinach

• Radishes

• Lettuce

• Beets

• Carrots

• Arugula

• Kohlrabi

• Scallions

• Parsley

• Mustard

Best cold frames to buy

Don’t want to build your own cold frame? There are many pre-made options available that are built to last. I suggest looking for a cold frame that has a rot-resistant cedar base and shatterproof polycarbonate lid. If you already have raised beds, then a plant protection tent may be the best option for you as you can simply convert your raised beds into a cold frame for the winter months and then remove the tent structure in the summer heat. Here’s my recommendations for the best pre-made cold frames and tent frames you can buy:

The 3-Season Garden Protection Tent from Gardener’s Supply makes it easy to access plants within your raised bed and includes two covers and durable powder-coated steel frame. This tent provides 70% light transmission, 40" of head room at the peak, and has roll-up end windows for ventilation. A second cover protects against ravenous summer bugs and scorching sun. Three zippered doors on each cover provide easy access for tending and harvesting. Tie-downs secure the covers to the steel frame. Click to Shop

The Cedar Cold Frame from Gardener’s Supply is an attractive cold frame with a narrow footprint. The base is made from rot-resistant lumber with aluminum corners. The top is made with polycarbonate panels that diffuse light so plants don't "cook," and there are adjustable braces to hold panels at various intervals for ventilation. Click to Shop

Will you try cold frame gardening this year? Have you used a cold frame already? Comment and let me know!

10 Zero Waste Gardening Tools and Ideas

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In all areas of our lives, from our hobbies to our habits, we have opportunities to create or reduce our impact on the environment and the effects of climate change. While the burden of fixing our climate crisis should not fall on the individual but the corporations that are responsible for the vast majority of damage done, every little bit you are able to do can help. The best part is, most of the ways we can reduce or eliminate our waste in gardening come at no additional effort or cost - it simply comes down to intentionally deciding on the plastic free or secondhand option instead (which is often cheaper anyway)

What does zero waste mean? What is zero waste?

Zero waste is the principle or practice of sustainable living in which the participant commits to reducing or eliminating streams of waste in various aspects of their lives. This can include reducing water consumption, shopping the bulk food bins or repurposing household items at the end of their “useful” life, to name a few.

The concept of zero waste living can sound intimidating or difficult, but more often than not it is nothing more than a simple shift in your awareness and intention. It also does not mean you must completely eliminate all sources of waste in your life - despite the word “zero”, it is not an all or nothing game.

What kinds of waste are there?

Waste comes in all forms, in all areas of our lives. While the majority of waste filling landfills is produced by industrial operations, domestically, we waste food, water, energy, paper, packaging, furniture, clothes, computers, tires, appliances and more in unimaginable amounts.  Americans send nearly 150 million tons of trash to landfills each year instead of recycling it, and we’re running out of space.

Where does waste go?

Waste goes into landfills, which typically cause the destruction of natural wildlife habitats in their construction. They are often lined in plastic. The average landfill size is 600 acres. With over 3,000 active landfills in the United States, as much as 1,800,000 acres of habitat have been lost. When waste breaks down in a landfill, methane gas is released. Methane is 84 times more effective at absorbing the sun’s heat than carbon dioxide, making it one of the most potent greenhouse gases and a huge contributor to climate change. 

Food can’t break down in a landfill

Food waste needs oxygen in order to break down properly. Due to the fact that landfills are so tightly packed with waste of all kinds, food waste is often suffocated to the point where it cannot break down into the individual nutrients it is composed of and be reabsorbed into the earth, regenerating the soil. What happens if food doesn’t break down? It rots. When food rots in a landfill, it produces huge amounts of methane — a greenhouse gas at least 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide. 

Here’s what the FDA has to say about the impacts of food waste:

“Food loss and waste is estimated to be roughly one third of the food intended for human consumption in the United States. When food is discarded, all inputs used in producing, processing, transporting, preparing, and storing discarded food are also wasted. Food loss and waste also exacerbates the climate change crisis with its significant greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint. Production, transportation, and handling of food generate significant Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions and when food ends up in landfills, it generates methane, an even more potent greenhouse gas.”

This is why zero waste food is so important, and we can do this easily with composting! (More information on that below)

Ways to incorporate zero waste principles into your garden

We live in an era that romanticizes convenience in all forms. Of course it’s easy to see where these ideas might apply to a zero waste home, but this also extends to our hobbies, including gardening. You can’t visit the local garden center without being bombarded with gadgets and tools promising to make garden tasks easier, faster or better. But the fact is that humans have been gardening successfully for hundreds of years, without many of these interventions. Certainly there are tools that make gardening more accessible for those of us with chronic illness or pain that find it challenging, but here I’m primarily referring to situations where there is a perfectly good alternative with less packaging, that is made without plastic which can never break down once it reaches the end of its useful life.

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but the key concepts behind achieving a zero waste lifestyle are to reduce, recycle and repurpose. But how do you apply these concepts in the garden?

I recommend intentionally shifting your mindset.

When something breaks and needs to be replaced in the garden, first ask yourself “Can this be repaired?” if not, ask “can it be repurposed?” and if you still cannot find a use for the broken item, ask “can it be recycled?”

With these three simple questions, you’ll be well on your way to intentionally incorporating zero waste practices into your garden routine. But here’s a few ideas for zero waste gardening to get you started:

• Reuse food containers for produce storage

• Pop your zucchini in an old bread bag, pureed pumpkin in salsa jars and fresh picked berries in plastic yogurt tubs - all of which make excellent replacements for disposable freezer bags or plastic wrap. You’re keeping those items out of the waste stream AND preventing the addition of another piece of waste from the disposable products you skip using. 

• Wrap produce in damp cloths

• Not only are you avoiding the use of disposable cling wrap, you’ll extend the life of your vegetables and avoid having to send them to the compost all together. In fact, learning the best storage methods for every fruit or vegetable that you grow is the best way to reduce food waste.

• Save shower water for plants

• Before you close this page in disgust, I’m not saying you have to save your DIRTY shower water. But how long are you running that shower before you even get in? Simply place an empty 5 gallon bucket under the faucet until you’re ready to get in, then pour that excess water on your garden beds when you go out to water.

• Make vegetable stock

• By being proactive and saving any cut offs from your carrot and onion ends, as well as any whole vegetables you won’t be able to use before they go bad and freezing until you have a full gallon bag to work with you can make simple and nutritious vegetable stock - just add your collected scraps to a pot of boiling water and simmer covered for 1-4 hours.

• Compost

• Landfills lack the oxygen that compostable items need to fully decompose. By putting biodegradable items into the compost instead of the trash, you can save huge amounts of waste from the landfill. We have an outdoor compost pile as well as Lomi - an indoor countertop composter that allows us to compost all sorts of things we couldn’t put in a regular compost pile including meat, dairy and bioplastic packaging which would take years to fully decompose in a traditional compost pile.

• Save cardboard for kindling/weed barrier

• Any child who has ever built a fort out of a box will tell you that cardboard has infinite uses, and the garden is no exception.

• Buy second hand garden clothing/tools

• When you choose second hand gardening tools, hats and aprons you’re keeping precious items from the landfill, giving them a new life and best of all these items have generally already withstood the test of time, so you can count on them to last.

• Take care of what you have to make tools last

• Once you have those second hand tools, make sure and do your research on the best way to maintain them. Click here for my post all about the best ways to maintain your gardening tools.

• Repurpose branches for stakes/trellis

• Nobody likes a plastic trellis, and even the pretty wooden ones available at garden centers hardly last me one season. Building a natural trellis using sticks and branches is simple and rewarding, and fits in well with the natural landscape you’re working in. Plus, at the end of the year you can just chuck them back in the woods if they’re broken or place aside to reuse again.

• Use jute twine instead of nylon

• According to GoodOnYou, producing nylon creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide…Manufacturing nylon is a very thirsty process; large amounts of water are used for cooling the fibers, which can be a source of environmental contamination and pollution. Treehugger says that nylon production is associated with the same negative environmental impacts as fossil fuels, including exacerbating the climate crisis. It’s safe to say that nylon is definitely not biodegradable, unlike its natural cousin jute twine. Because jute is compostable and biodegradable and requires fewer resources to grow and produce, it is considered a future-proof sustainable fiber.

I hope this post all about zero waste gardening ideas was helpful! what tricks do you use in the garden to reduce, reuse and repurpose? Comment below and let me know!

Click and Grow Smart Garden 27 Review: Does it work?

The Cottage Peach is reader-supported. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. All opinions are our own.

My gardening journey with chronic illness

When I was 20, I was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis, an autoimmune disease that affects my joints, and causes major fatigue and chronic pain. The nature of autoimmune conditions is that they come and go, and over the winter I found myself experiencing the worst flare up of my symptoms I’d ever had.

Suddenly, my homesteading journey had hit a snag - bending, kneeling, and lifting (all essential tasks on a homestead) were difficult. I wasn’t sure what gardening was going to look like for me in the spring, if I could garden at all.

It’s easy to feel like you’ve lost a part of yourself when your body doesn’t allow you to do the activities that mean the most to you. For myself, these were dark days until I found enough energy to make a plan. I knew I was going to need to modify my normal gardening routine in order to continue growing our own food, so we added raised beds. Suddenly the benefits of vertical gardening were crystal clear to me. So much of what makes gardening so difficult is the crouching required to plant, weed and harvest. With the garden raised to a more natural standing height, I felt way less limited in what I could accomplish and grow. I started to wonder - with our long winter months, were there options that could extend our growing season AND provide a more accessible indoor gardening system that wouldn’t hurt my back?

Here in New England, the majority of the year it is too cold to grow most vegetables and fruits outdoors. We have a very short growing season and limited amount of time to harvest everything we need to put away for winter. I knew that if I could find a way to combine an accessible raised gardening system with indoor grow lights, we could continue growing food in the colder months and reduce our grocery bill at a time when produce prices continue to skyrocket. My love of vertical gardening continued to grow.

Vertical gardening systems

Vertical gardening is for everyone. Whether you’re interested in designing a vertical garden of your own due to physical limitations, space constraints, or you just enjoy experimenting with different gardening techniques, vertical gardening is an easy way to add a unique and functional element to your gardens and grow food more efficiently.

If bending, kneeling or lifting is something that is hard for you to do, vertical gardening allows you to reduce the amount of physical effort involved in your everyday garden tasks. There is usually little to no weeding involved, and watering systems can be set up to automatically keep your plants hydrated. Harvesting is a breeze because you won’t be digging through a tangle of branches or vines looking for produce - everything will be highly visible.

If you have little space to grow your own food or no yard at all - indoor gardening kits can help you bring fresh produce to your kitchen easily.

Why does it matter if your produce is fresh anyway?

When you buy and consume fresh grown fruits and vegetables, you are less likely to be ingesting harmful preservatives, chemicals, or dyes that have been added to your food to make them look more appealing. Produce actually loses its nutritional value over time, so the quicker it's eaten, the more nutrients that can be gained from it. Unfortunately even something like lettuce may be up to two weeks old by the time it reaches your local grocery store - and on average, our produce travels fifteen THOUSAND miles to reach us. That’s a lot of opportunity for lost nutrients.

Indoor Gardening Kit

There are lots of indoor gardening kits you can buy, but I decided to try the Click & Grow Smart Garden 27 vertical gardening system for a few reasons. This setup comes with three Smart Garden 9s (the 9 means each unit can grow 9 plants, so 27 in total) as well as a vertical plant stand in a modern white and wood finish. I really liked that the plant stand would fit into my existing home style, and allow me to stack the gardens so they would take up less space and be easy to access as needed. I also liked that the lights are included, and on an automatic timer so I wouldn’t have to fuss with anything or remember to turn it off and on every night.

The Smart Garden 27 isn’t a hydroponic garden - it uses a water reservoir that only needs to be filled about once a month, and Smart Soil blocks with nutrients and seeds already inside. The seeds and soil blocks are completely non-GMO and pesticide free, and use a patented nano-material that automatically releases nutrients, oxygen and water your plants need to thrive.

I also really liked the variety of plants offered by Click & Grow - they have over 75 different plants to choose from right now, including a seemingly endless array of swiss chard, arugula, sorrel, cress, mibuna, pak choi, and multiple varieties of kale and lettuce, bell peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, hot peppers and peas. Or you can start an indoor herb garden with rosemary, celery, mint, dill, parsley, lavender and many different kinds of basil. There’s flower seeds if you want to add some beauty and color. They also have seedless pods available so you can try your hand at growing anything you want.

How to Set Up the Vertical Vegetable Garden

The Click & Grow vertical vegetable garden is going to make winter gardening indoors so simple. Set up was easy - the included plant shelf comes together in less than fifteen minutes and has easy to follow instructions with no tools required. Next you just click together the light bar that attaches to the top of the unit with a few simple snaps and you’re ready to grow.

To plant the vertical garden planters, all I had to do was place each Smart Soil block into the pods that nest within the water tank. You cover each pod with a clear dome that is provided to create a moist environment that is then removed once your seed has germinated. I filled the water reservoir and plugged it in. That’s really it! I was kind of shocked by how simple it actually was. The water reservoir has a float on the back corner that will sink to let you know when it’s time to add more water. There’s even an app where you can track the progress of your gardens.

For my first planting, I’m growing lettuce, tomatoes, basil and dwarf peas as well as the Fruit & Veggie mix pack with strawberries, chili peppers and yellow tomatoes and the Asian Cuisine Mix with pak choi, red kale and mibuna. This will supply us with a continuous stream of fresh fruits and vegetables that are normally out of season during the winter months, allowing us to fuel up on fresh nutrient dense produce grown in our own home.

It takes about 3-4 weeks for your plants to reach maturity, depending on what you’ve planted. Then you can start harvesting continuously - each plant pod will live for about 3-4 months, again depending on the variety that you grow.

Now, if you’re thinking this is way too much vertical vegetable garden to fit in your own home stay with me because while I’ve gone all out here with the Smart Garden 27, there’s multiple ways you can configure this system to work for your space. First off, the Smart Garden 9 which is used on this plant shelf is available individually - so you can grab just one garden and pop it on your counter or table. If that’s still too large Click & Grow also has a Smart Garden 6 which is just a smaller version with only 6 plant pods. You could grab a couple Smart Garden 9’s and just sprinkle them throughout your house! Personally I love the shelf system because it means less bending and kneeling for me and it takes up less space in our kitchen. In terms of deciding where to place your indoor garden, the grow lights can be fairly bright so if that’s something you are sensitive to I’d recommend just choosing a location in your home that is a little out of the way.

Indoor gardening tips

So what tips should you know before starting your indoor gardening journey? Honestly, it’s so much easier than gardening outdoors in a lot of ways. With this system, it’s a good idea to periodically clean out the water tank before you plant a new round of seeds to prevent any mold from developing. Keep in mind that you’ll want a spot that you don’t mind having basically a bright lamp glowing on for 16 hours a day - those grow lights are for real! You shouldn’t have any problems with pests since you’re inside, and you won’t need to fertilize since the Smart Soil pods have everything your plants need to thrive. There’s no weeding to do and watering is only done about once a month. So long as you are mindful not to cut your plants back too hard when you harvest, you should enjoy a nice big continuous harvest from your indoor garden!

Ready to start your indoor gardening journey? Click here to learn more about the Click & Grow Smart Garden system!