Re: Cold frames

John, thanks much for your suggestions & info. I especially like the 
idea of using a screen door for a cold frame topper. I happen to have a 
"retired" wooden one that would be just peachy & I love being able to 
recycle it rather than breaking it up to burn.

I imagine the screen itself helps protect seedlings or small plants even 
after you remove the plastic for the season, by tempering the force of 
hard rainfall, for example. And the Chinook winds we get thruout the 
spring months can suck up moisture in a heartbeat so the screening would 
offer some help for that problem, too. Super! 

BTW, I've been in Columbus, OH in very early March & I'd say it 
certainly qualifies for the Great GREY North label if the not the WHITE 
-- cold, wet & miserable, at least during my 10 day visit.

Marte in the mtns	Zone 4/Sunset 1  Colorado
-----------------
John Bruce wrote:
> 
> >I don't know of anyone who uses a cold frame for flowering plants up
> >here.  A major question I have is how MUCH protection is provided by a cold
> >frame -- *in my climate* would seeds germinate enough sooner within than
> >they would without to be worth the bother?
> I am in zone 5 and have used a cold frame for several years for potted iris
> and
> perennial seedlings. My frames are constructed of plywood and 2x4s, 12" high
> in front and 30" in back. An old screen door is used for the top. When the
> temps
> are consistently < 30f daytime (Usu mid December) I staple two layers of
> heavy
> plastic around the edges of the screen door.  And other than checking about
> every
> 10 days for water, they stay this way until spring. After the hard freezes
> are over
> and the temps may reach 50 during the day, I prop the doors up by about 2"
> and
> leave them until it's warm enough to remove the plastic.  Both 8 foot long
> frames
> have south exposure.
> The plastic is from a furniture store and covers the matresses they sell,
> about 6 mil
>  thickness. It's free, and good to solarize beds with also.
> I raise undersize rhizomes and seeds sown about the same time the plastic
> goes on
> with very good results.
> >A cold frame could help in the hardening-off process but I'd be worried
> >about cooking the seedlings in our intense sunlight -
> I did cook some bloomstalks one year, but I was late removing the plastic
> and
> the temps hit 75. The plastic does afford some protection from the sun, more
> than clear glass or plex.
>  Does zone 5 Southern Ohio qualify as the great white north?
> .
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index