An friendly Idaho gardener informed me that 29 degrees greeting her a couple of weeks ago . . typical for September there. I am thrilled to be enjoying a longer growing season in these parts of Chester County, PA. But lower altitude and fewer mountains do not imply complacency towards tinkering with growing. No, I think once you have participated in the growth of a plant, be it Basil for a pesto sauce or squash for a hearty soup, you long to interact with them yearlong.
Two construction projects are underway these days at Cricket Thicket. The elder Mr. and Mrs. Wickes named this farm Carter’s Thicket and for the time being, I’ll show a bit of recognition for the chirper’s role in my daily interior playlist.
First, a coldframe. I found a truly inspiring design in a 2002 issue of Organic Gardening. However, due to the copious amounts of extra scrap piled in miscellaneous corners of this farm, I decided that purchases need not be made. On to improvisation! At left is a rather uneven board I came across, and below is what became of it:
Finally, the beginning of the frame: 
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Then came some caulking, and then some side pieces were added from a larger stray plank board. Uh, yeah. That would be a good old hand saw used to make the cuts.
More pix promised when I get the window on top and finish the sides.
Second, a greenhouse. This we actually have materials for, as we deconstructed our previous one from Idaho and lugged its parts back East on the big move. Not too much, some PVC piping, corners from a Cabela’s wall tent and leftover UV-resistant plastic. I’ve dug out a location, and now need to come by some timbers to drill holes into for the pipes to stand in.
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