Your summer tomatoes may be finished, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your raised beds need to sit empty until spring. With the right crops and a few inexpensive adjustments, cold-weather raised beds can keep producing lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots and other hardy vegetables well beyond the traditional gardening season. Raised beds are particularly convenient for season extension because hoops, row covers and simple cold frames can be fitted directly over the existing structure. There’s a catch, though: raised beds can also lose heat faster than in-ground gardens once temperatures plunge. Preparing the soil, choosing genuinely cold-tolerant crops and having frost protection ready before you need it can turn an abandoned fall bed into productive garden space.
