Question
Hi guys

 Spring is only a little more than a month away here in the great northeast, but that would be the calendar spring. In New york winter can hang on well into April. So had this idea of how I might give my outdoor plants a jump start.

  I am thinking about creating some sort of temporary greenhouse to put over my bogs till the weather gets consistently warmer. I would make it out of PVC pipe and some heavy gauge clear plastic.

  The idea being that I would remove the mulch from my bogs as early as the beginning of March, cover them with this greenhouse structure. This would hopefully create a warmer micro-environment that would encourage my plants to grow more robustly during the early part of the growing season.  

But I do see couple of potential problems. March in NY can still be very cold, do you think that this setup would work for periods where the daytime temps are below freezing for a few consecutive days ? Perhaps as much as a week ?

Presumably along with setting up a warmer climate, it it would also set up a more humid climate -- will I need to be careful about plant shock when I uncover the plants ?

I would like your thought son this idea and any other potential problems I might have missed.

As always, thanks for the all the help you have given me.

Nicole

90 miles north of NYC  

Answer
Hi Nicole,

Your coldframe will work.  We have our smaller Venus flytraps in a simple unheated coldframe, and they definitely emerge faster than the ones outside.  The trick is going to be to monitor ventilation on the structure.  On clear days the temperature can build up quickly, so you'll want to be able to open it some.  You can then close it back off at night, or during really cold periods.  The ventilation will also help  with the excessive humidity.  Be sure to have a thermometer in there to monitor the temperature.  Otherwise, it should work fine.  You might also check some gardening websites or sources to see how coldframes work with vegetables.  I know many gardeners do this to extend the season in regular gardens.  They may have some additional information on potential pitfalls, and techniques.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com