The experimental 4-by-8 pup tent cold frame has survived two winter storms, one with gusty winds. The next step is to plant cold-loving crops beneath its shelter. In "The Winter Harvest Handbook" (Chelsea Green, $30), Eliot Coleman lists lettuce, endive, arugula, spinach, chard, mizuna, mibuna, tatsoi, beet leaves, carrots, leeks, mache, radishes, onions, scallions, watercress, beets, new potatoes and turnips.

I want more land. But less involved than a physical move - uprooting family, changing schools - is using the eight raised beds and associated space more effectively. Hard choices: Fennel is beautiful but I use it sporadically - is it in, or out? Ruthlessness is required, especially in small-space gardening, but the sight of a volunteer tomato seedling, and knowing that it has survived the winter to fulfill its destiny - can I rip it out?