Photos - Grow Box / Cold Frame
soilent_green
13 years ago
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javan
13 years agosoonergrandmom
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Is A Cold Box worth it?
Comments (2)A cold frame works great in the fall and spring to extend the season. I'm in zone 5, and I have lettuce, spinach, mesclun mix, scallions, miner's lettuce, and mache all coming up in mine now. I have the one shown in the link below (I didn't pay $179 for it though! $29 on ebay!), and it has been great. It fits perfectly over my 4' wide garden beds. -Diggity Here is a link that might be useful: Cold frame...See More2 ft x 4 ft x 15 inch cold frame thermal mass question
Comments (12)Well, I finished my cold frame on Saturday. It was about 40 degrees outside. I put it out in my garden. It immediately went up to 80 degrees. I was shocked. Then Sunday I went out to see what it was doing. It was 30 degrees outside and it was 110 degrees in the cold frame. I figured it would heat up pretty well, but I had no idea it would get that hot in 30 degree weather. What is my cheapest option for keeping the cold frame cooler during the day(outside of me going out and opening it every morning of course :))? Would some sort of shade help? Would using window tint on the top piece of plexi help? Or should I go directly to shelling out the $50 for an automatic opener? Is there a cheaper automatic opener option than $50?...See MoreMakeshift greenhouses, hoop houses and cold frames
Comments (9)The rock wall is a great idea! I hadn't thought of that! The plastic doesn't completely touch the ground on the back side and a rock wall (if I can fit it in there without crushing the asparagus on that side) would close the gap and be a neat way of helping store heat under the hoop cover. Thanks! To keep the temperature of the cold frames (AKA sun boxes) where I want it, I merely slide the glass on top like opening a window a crack or make it a wide opening. This allows the heat to escape. I don't have much going on in them yet. I did plant carrot, radish and spinach seeds this weekend in the shallow ones as an experiment. It is supposed to warm up into the high 60s\70s at the tail end of this week, so it will be interesting if I get some germination with that. I collected more pieces from that old trampoline. The curved portions that make up the giant ring.. as it turns out can also fit together into a U-shape also (albeit curvy), but they are taller, so with more plastic I think I could get away with another hoop house a little taller on the other side. Maybe the big Swiss Chard and garlic chives would like that?...See MoreTurning box into cold frame for the winter
Comments (7)I spent a total of $30 on enough materials to cover 3 beds. What I used for the hoops was the cheapest 10' PVC pipe I could find. At the time it was 3/4" but it doesn't matter much. Just get one more pipe than you need that is large enough to fit the smaller pipe inside it. Make sure you test it in the store. Not all 1" pipes fit a 3/4". To cover it I went 4 mil clear plastic contractor's sheeting. My brother splurged on 6 mil but I think it's a bit too thick to be translucent enough. Not sure, time will tell, we're both doing winter gardens with them. To attach the hoops to the bed, I cut the bitter pipe into 6 inch sections and buy stainless brackets to clamp attach it to the outside of the bed at proper intervals. Then I just take my smaller pipe and put it into the flagpole like stand on each side. That provides great stability. Though I also use one pipe to attach to the top of the hoops. I used zip ties for it but the best way would be to drill holes and connect with nuts and bolts. I may do that. Not sure. All these supplies can be purchased from your local hardware store or big box retailer. I like shopping local but the cost is a bit more (where I am). You're choice. To keep my plastic on, I bought a box of jumbo binder clips from any office supply store. They're big enough to clamp around the plastic and PVC pipe. I realize this isn't a perfect solution as they rust, but they were cheap, so I guess I'll just buy more every couple of years. Hope that helps. Good luck extending your season or fall gardening. Here is a link that might be useful: Post after I rushed to throw it up to battle a spring snow storm......See Moretmc2009
13 years agoDeniseZone5
13 years agosoilent_green
13 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
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13 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
13 years agosoilent_green
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12 years agoDebi Rudolph
9 years agosoilent_green
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9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoDebi Rudolph
9 years agosheila0
9 years ago
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