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Saturday, April 20, 2019 Matt D. Connecticut

Entry 44 of 210  
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Cold Frame Set-up Is Now Plant Ready

This shows the area prepared before the plant goes in the ground.

The drip lines have been already installed so the plant can easily grow over them and the planting location can be selected so that it does not have a drip line directly in contact with the initial planting site.

A ceramic 100watt reptile heat lamp is on a timer (on at 7pm and off at 9am) and used as a heat source at night that does not give off any light to ensure the proper photoperiod is received by the plant.

Heat cables have been buried and running for at least 24 hours prior to planting and the white circle is actually a soil thermometer which is reading 72F (22C) which is the ideal soil temperature.

There is a black wire decorative fencing around the plant site which helps support blankets and sheets that may need to be put on during cold nights. This keeps the area to heat small and the sheets off the plants and heaters which reduce the chance of damage. The fencing is also fold-able which makes for easy off-season storage.

The orange color at the top of the image is mill fabric/ plastic belting material that will go under the pumpkin, but at the moment it is acting like a weed block for the cold-frame. It is a great width (5ft) and also helps hold in some of the heat generated by the heating cables to help improve soil warming efficiency.
 



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