With a light layer of snow already covering the garden, the weather forecast is for another four inches of snow to arrive overnight. At this rate I may not get a chance to mulch the garlic and shallot beds with shredded leaves as planned. I’ve had my fill of snow already and we’re not even halfway through December.

Fortunately a snow cover works just as well as mulch for insulating and protecting the garden. If we get a break in the weather that allows the snow cover to melt I’ll quickly take advantage of the opportunity to apply a leaf mulch to a few of the raised beds.

There are two cold frames set up this winter, one of which has a soil heating cable underground that allows me to keep the soil from freezing. I plan to post a write up here in the next week or two outlining how to set up and use cold frames in the garden.

One of my cold frames is a portable device that I placed right in the garden over one of the raised beds. The cold frame with the soil heating cable is next to the house in a permanent location. I’m using both of them to shelter leafy green vegetables that I’m growing to supply a little fresh produce during the winter months.

Other Related Vegetable Gardening Posts:

• Garden Log 2-13-06
• Garden Log 4-4-06
• Garden Log 2-22-06
• Garden Log 11-24-06
• Garden Log 3-10-08: The Robins Return!