early spring start????

[tony kelly]

i am looking for low price easy to use ways to get my raised gardens warmer quicker in the spring so i can plant some spinach, beets etc so i do not have to wait till mid may... i live in Brantford, Ontario so we usually have a long cold wet spring. if i could warm up the soil it would be great to be able to get some leafy veggies in say in late April.

 

[ducks4you]

Your Googlefoo is very poor.
https://wholelifestylenutrition.com/gardening/warm-garden-soil-up-early-planting/
I suggest heavy duty black garbage bags, the largest you can find, and then you can them open.

 

[tony kelly]

that is an easy cheap fix for sure,, i am wondering, you say black, how would clear work?

 

[canesisters]

not as well.
The black absorbs the sun's energy better.

 

[digitS']

Why not set up some hoops and use that clear plastic to enclose 1 or 2 beds?

PVC pipe is inexpensive and can be supported by stakes driven into the soil or pipe holders attached to the bed frame. The pipe and film can be set up during several months in the spring and be returned to cover the bed(s) during the fall, if desired.

Ventilation during sunny days has to be accounted for. It's likely that both ends of the structure will have to be opened during many of those days and be easy to close against overnight cold.

Steve

 

[majorcatfish]

yes warming up the soil is very important for seed germination...just a suggestion start some seeds indoors like lettuce, spinach, bok chio,broccoli,kale .. veggies with tap roots like beets,carrots dont like to be started indoors, unless you can start them in a 3-4"deep pot and carefully transplant them early enough before they get root bound...

once your soil is warm enough and able to plant would go with clear plastic....works darn good here keeping everything going in the winter.. worth a shot..

 

[Beekissed]

Agribon helps and it also lets the rains through, so you don't have to uncover to let them get rain. Everything you mentioned are cool weather crops, so unless you are getting some pretty severe cold all the way up to mid May, you should be able to get those crops in the ground pretty early.

You can also research a composting hot bed method for your raised beds to warm them up...we have a thread here that is currently discussing composting methods and you'll find some links about it there.

 

[ducks4you]