More coldframe improvements

Well, i'm off work for 4 days because of the christmas holiday - and again next weekend too. Yay! Because of the situation with my back right now, i'll have to take it easy around the house. You know that just kills me, but hey - i'm not gonna do even more damage by doing anything strenuous! Instead, i'll very gingerly carry on about my business without lifting anything - or reaching out awkwardly either. I'll still let Jude out to play each day, and do a little tinkering - but nothing that can aggravate the problem any further.

Anyway, on Sunday another improvement was made to the first coldframe constructed a few weeks ago, by applying weather stripping and backer rod to the areas of window that would allow cold air to come in at the edges. More improvements are on the way, but I wanted to show this one to ya for now. These two things were picked up at Lowes.

A closeup of the 3/4" weatherstripping at the top. You can tell that it seals very nice, but the triangular hole below it will need attention as well. A small piece of weather stripping on the bottom side of the window frame in the photo should do the trick.

Here's a closeup of the backer rod installed into the groove of the window encasement. A generous bead of caulking was applied first - then the backer rod pushed into the groove. This provides an adhesive for the foam backer rod, as well as forcing the foam rod out past the edge of the window. This was necessary to make a good seal with the side of the box, when the lid is closed. This idea was thought of while playing with Jude one evening. Come to think of it, that's when I get all of my best ideas - while playing with Jude.

I even found a good spot for it, right where the earthtainers were previously located. The area gets alot of sun even in winter (at least 6 hours), and the little coldframe fit perfectly onto the landscaping timbers. I also lined the entire area with scrap pieces of roof shingles (from the shed project), which will keep weeds from growing. That just goes to show, that almost everything that gets put into the landfill can be used for something. There might even be enough room for a second coldframe, which has yet to be constructed of course. However, over the next 2 weeks that will hopefully change. I'll at least get all the pieces cut for it, but won't do anything strenuous of course.

The gap at the bottom/front was filled up with a scrap piece of lumber after this photo was made, and all other cracks were sealed off with foil tape. Now, I can monitor the internal temps of the unit, and adjust ventilation as needed.

As a matter of fact, I went ahead and winter sowed some viola seeds in it. Oh, i'm enjoying this coldframe/winter sowing thing, because it's a piece of cake. This little dude will see alot of action over the next 4 months, as I intend on starting lots of veggies in it. I'm working on designing a homemade opener that works off of temperature, but all of the components priced so far are way too expensive. It'll come to me one day, I'm sure. Even though most people just go out and buy one of those automatic openers, I would be more satisfied with something created by these hands, and thoughts.

*Just to let you know - I haven't forgot about the 4x4 greenhouse project. It's not time for  it to be used, so the project has been put on the back burner for now. The next time it will be addressed will probably be around the end of March/first of April, as I'm sure it will be needed for holding the larger transplants once they outgrow the propagation units. Man...we've just got all kinds of things going on around here, but a busy EG is a happy EG. All of the current projects need to be finished before early spring, because gardening will take up most of my spare time then. (which isn't too far away)

Take care, and happy gardening.

EG