Cold Frame Mold Factory

We continue to have more above-freezing days and more sunlight has been been shining on the area where our cold frames are located.  The only problem is that the cold frames were nowhere to be seen.  Our most recent, and only storm to speak of this season, dropped close to 2 feet of snow and our cold frames were buried somewhere beneath it.

There was so much snow up on the hill that I had trouble even locating the first cold frame.  When I finally did get it uncovered I noticed that the top pane of glass had a big impact wound that spread out into the opposite corners.  I figure I must have damaged it while digging it out.  Mike soon joined me in the digging and it wasn't long before 5 of the 6 frames were uncovered without any further damage.  But where was the 6th frame?

We dug and dug where we thought the frame should be and then we dug some more.  We struck dirt but no frame and were both quite confused.  Neither of us could remember with certainty where the 6th frame was.  I sent Mike inside to look back at our 'map' from the fall.  Amazed at how easily we managed to forget something as simple as the placement of our cold frames reminded us of the importance of keeping accurate records... much to my dismay.

Once the bulk of the snow was removed it didn't take long for the sun to melt the remaining powder that covered the tops of the frames.  Most of the vegetables inside looked decent with the mache continuing to be the real winter star, just as Eliot Coleman had promised. 

Most of the greens continue to do well and some even appear harvestable despite the consistent cold and snow cover, but others are being conquered by mold.  The mold is mostly on the dirt itself but there are several areas where patches of mold look like it is taking over some otherwise healthy leaves.

We're not sure why this is happening or what to do about it.  Is it due to a lack of sunlight or daylight in general - too much time buried under the remnants of the last storm?  Is it a result of excess moisture in the frames coupled with a warmish environment thus causing hospitable breeding grounds for mold? When the weather was warmer we did notice a lot of condensation build-up on the insides of the frames.  Maybe it's a matter of airflow and circulation inside the frames.  We're not sure.  For the time being while we're getting some nice sunny days we're experimenting with venting the frames, not so much for temperature regulation, but for air-flow.  If this doesn't seem to impact the mold at all maybe we'll just try removing it to see if it comes back.

In other news, today we finally finished cutting the pieces we need to construct our saw-dust toilet for humanure compost.  Check out the simple and affordable design we're building here.  There's an alternative to dumping 5 gallons of otherwise drinkable water along with incredibly nutrient rich material down the drain every time you flush. Read the book that started it all (for FREE).