Re: Cold Frame

    Last year my husband built a cold frame for me for Christmas out of an
old raised bed we had.
    The foundation is just plain lumber and measures 34" by 60".. 
    He built up the back of the box for the slant, it measures 18" high
whereas the front is only 12" high.
    The top is split in two, so we can have part of the window panels open
and part closed (also because it would be too heavy to have just one panel)
    Because of our mild climate, we just bought scrap single pane glass
from the local glass store cut to size, then he put framing pieces around
the panes and attached the entire thing to the back of the frame with a
hinge.  
    Next he added the side hinge for the venting, its a small piece of wood
attached to the window frame that you can prop up on the side of the frame
foundation.  I may not be explaining this very well -- sorry I'm not a
carpenter!
    I know even with the single pane glass the cold frame is much warmer
than the outside because this year I had a self-sown tomato plant come up
inside (but it never got big enough to fruit!)
    The two things we've learned here --- be sure to close the frame in
windy weather (we lost one window pane last year and even though it was
cheap to replace, it was a mess to clean up!)
    Also it doesn't have to cost alot, I think ours total was probably less
than 50 dollars because you often have the odd materials hanging around the
place.
    The one thing we do need is a reliable thermometer for inside the
frame, we had a small one we got free somewhere but it didn't work very
well, now we really need to invest in a good one.
    I have used my frame for early lettuce, basil and tomatoes, but this
year I hope to experiment more and use it to start perennial seeds and
overwinter them (I may be a bit too late this year, because our weather is
so mild right now)
    Denise, if you have more questions about the design please email me
personally and I'll get my husband to help you out!

     Evonne
     (zone 8/pac nw -- where its a very balmy 52 degrees!)
  

At 10:52 AM 12/29/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Although I have gardened for years I have just come to realize the 
>necessity of having a cold frame.  (Last year we had a very cold and 
>windy spring which really set back my seedlings I had started!)  Any one 
>have a good plans for building one or have any recommendations?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Denise Leonard
>Tanstaafl Farm
>Greenfield, MA
>dal@shaysnet.com
>
>
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