After a pretty hard freeze the other night, I went out to check on my little toy that has some things planted in it. Man, the glass was iced over. I'm not sure if that's necessarily a bad thing, but we'll just have to see. If any of my readers have experience with coldframes, please feel free to chime in at anytime - because I don't know anything about using one! I'll learn, though...
Photo below - here's a shot of the current contents, which includes seeds of carrots, lettuce, pansies, cabbage, and collards. I just had to try something in there...Oddly enough, it's the pansies that i'm really looking forward to growing. I've never grown a flower from seed before. They're planted in yogurt cups located in the white colored tray....
Photo below - I built another one! Ha! Hey, you know if I have 4 days off from work - something's gonna get built around here...Oh, I was careful not to aggravate my current back problem. I really enjoy making these things, but won't make another one - I promise. heh.
Here's a shot of it opened up. It's a little different from the first one constructed, but like the first one - made entirely from scrap lumber laying around. My wife can't stand looking at my pile of scrap, but it sure does come in handy sometimes. Hmmm....I wonder if there's enough left to make a third one....Nah, just kidding...Two's enough!
And for you dog lovers out there, here's a photo of ol' Jude. She's such a good dog, and can't wait for me to get home each day. We're big buddies, and had a great weekend!
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
11 comments:
My large hoophouse is reaching 80 inside on a 45 degree, sunny day. I'm not sure what yours will do. You might want to look at installing something for heat if you're worried about the night time temperatures. A single strand of green Christmas lights would probably keep it above freezing most nights. Green, because the plants don't absorb that wavelength so they'll believe it's night time. I'm considering doing the same inside my hoophouse as soon as the Christmas decorations come down. Overnight, it dropped to 27. It's 25 outside.
Your carrots and cabbage seedlings can handle those temperatures. Mine did fine last year with no extra heat on those. I'd say the pansies can handle them too. Warmer weather annuals might benefit from a little warmth though. Tomatoes especially. ;)
Jude is a happy looking dog! Those timbers behind her (for the compost turner project) are really huge. You gave a contrast in your previous post - but the picture of Jude in front of them really shows the size more.
Great cold frame! I wish I had a few of them around the place but am not such a builder as you are.
i wonder if they can double for solar cookers , dehydrators in the hot months ...
Jude is a good good girl. Thanks for including her. You know, I don't think I have any OCD kind of disorders, but I do get on thinking jags. I fall asleep (and often dream) about whatever's obsessing me. Pie, gardening, bees, baking. . . whatever. Just plays on endless loops, really.
They're beautiful, EG! I know you'll enjoy them.
The glass on my cold frame freezes over all the time. They even out the temp really well so at times it will be colder inside them out. The slow thaw really stops a lot of crop damage. They will heat up really fast though come Feb when the sun gets strong again.
Tom - I'll come up with some type of small heating source - may be 12vdc, though. The pansies are "viola", and should handle the cold much better than regular pansies.
kitsapFG - yeah, Jude is happy all the time, especially when she gets a treat of some kind. Thanks, I enjoy building things.
Happy Hermit - Hmm....I haven't thought about that. I bet they would really do a good job of solarizing a container with diseased soil in it. Thanks for the suggestion!
stefaneener - I figured you would enjoy seeing a picture of Jude. I have a problem getting my brain to shutdown....
ribbit -thanks.
Dan - thanks for the info, i'll need some coaching from time to time. Between you an Tom helping me out with them, I feel like i'll do ok.
When I read this, I get the urge to build one myself. I don’t know if I need it, but I would like to build it.
You've never grown a flower from seed? Oh it is high time for those pansies. Mine are mostly vegetables, but I always have a few flowers. Your wife will love them.
Those look great! Wish I had one. Maybe we'll build one someday. I'd like to see more posts about how they work for you and your problems and fixes for them, what works and what doesn't. How do you know what to plant in there and when? I am assuming it is a bit different than seed planting indoors because of the temps...
I like the Christmas lights idea though!
Insulation is key for cold frames, and wood is a decent insulator, so you should see some good heat retention. The angle of the windows to get the most sun also helps. To cool in the day, some folks use a temperature controlled opening system for the window. Seems too high tech for me, but I'm sure you can rig something.
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