Editing Season extension (section)

{{Short description|Crop growing method}}

'''Season extension''' in [[agriculture]] is any method that allows a crop to be grown beyond its normal outdoor [[growing season]] and [[harvest]]ing time frame, or the extra time thus achieved. To extend the growing season into the colder months, one can use unheated techniques such as [[floating row cover]]s, [[Polytunnel|low tunnels, caterpillar tunnels, or hoophouses]]. However, even if colder temperatures are mitigated, most crops will stop growing when the days become shorter than 10 hours, and resume after winter as the daylight increases above 10 hours. A hothouse — a greenhouse which is heated and illuminated — creates an environment where plants are fooled into thinking it is their normal growing season. Though this ''is'' a form of season extension for the grower, it is not the usual meaning of the term.<ref name="Fortier">{{Cite book |last=Fortier |first=Jean-Martin |authorlink=Jean-Martin Fortier |year=2014 |title=The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower's Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming |publisher=[[New Society Publishers]] |isbn=978-0-86571-765-7 |pages=119–125}}</ref><ref name="Coleman-2009">{{Cite book |last=Coleman |first=Eliot |authorlink=Eliot Coleman |year=2009 |title=The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year-Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses |isbn=978-1-60358-081-6 |oclc=262883165}}</ref>{{rp|pages=2, 43-44}} 

Season extension can apply to other climates, where conditions other than cold and shortened period of sunlight end the growing year (e.g. a rainy season).