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Cold Frame Ideas

wildlife, gardening, environment, Rural living, Pets and Vets
neversay
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Cold Frame Ideas

#126322

Postby neversay » March 20th, 2018, 10:53 am

Does anyone have any recommendations/tips on a small inexpensive cold frame that will last a while (unlike the plastic one that lasted just months) and won't be destroyed by the kids putting a football (or other projectiles) through it?

Thanks in advance!

UncleIan
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Re: Cold Frame Ideas

#126340

Postby UncleIan » March 20th, 2018, 11:30 am

When we took down our shed, I chopped out parts of it to make a coldframe. A bit of polycarbonate thermal sheeting on top secured by half a brick, and job's a good 'un.

I made my previous one out of scrap wood.

For me, it doesn't have to look good, so even my rudimentary woodworking skills are up to the task. It's basically 50x50 struts with planks nailed to it. The slope was the trickiest part.

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Re: Cold Frame Ideas

#126352

Postby tjh290633 » March 20th, 2018, 11:51 am

I made one out of some scrap wood and a couple of old windows, which had been replaced by double glazing.

It worked fine.

TJH

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Re: Cold Frame Ideas

#126385

Postby bungeejumper » March 20th, 2018, 1:16 pm

Agreed, if cheapest is best then you'll do fine with some old windows, a few bricks and a smattering of hinges and so forth. You might want to replace the top glass with polycarbonate if, like me, you have cats or small kids.

Personally, I'd blow thirty quid on this (all aluminium and polycarbonate) and spend the afternoon down the pub. ;)

https://oypla.com/garden/garden-tools-e ... gJ0U_D_BwE

BJ

neversay
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Re: Cold Frame Ideas

#126393

Postby neversay » March 20th, 2018, 1:22 pm

Wonderful answers - thank you!

I read the first two replies and was feeling very inspired, although finding the time to gather the parts is an issue (plus my dodgy handiwork).

Then reading @BJ's post made me think about spending the afternoon down the pub! ;-)

N.

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Re: Cold Frame Ideas

#126502

Postby Nimrod103 » March 20th, 2018, 6:11 pm

bungeejumper wrote:Agreed, if cheapest is best then you'll do fine with some old windows, a few bricks and a smattering of hinges and so forth. You might want to replace the top glass with polycarbonate if, like me, you have cats or small kids.

Personally, I'd blow thirty quid on this (all aluminium and polycarbonate) and spend the afternoon down the pub. ;)

https://oypla.com/garden/garden-tools-e ... gJ0U_D_BwE

BJ


It still looks rather flimsy to me. I received one as a present a couple of years ago, not the same design, but with an arched top. The problem is the plastic sheets and thin aluminum with plastic fittings and hinges are not robust for use over many years. I would like to build one with wood/brick sides, and a big window top on counterweights - I think Monty Don has several, but I don't have the time.
I have something more like this:
http://www.greatgardensonline.com/growi ... sAQAvD_BwE

The advantage is that it can be taken apart and put away neatly - it is only used in Spring after all.
The disadvantage is that it must be well weighted down with rocksand pins, otherwise it just takes off in the wind.

Breelander
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Re: Cold Frame Ideas

#126547

Postby Breelander » March 20th, 2018, 8:43 pm

Nimrod103 wrote:...I have something more like this:
http://www.greatgardensonline.com/growi ... sAQAvD_BwE

The advantage is that it can be taken apart and put away neatly - it is only used in Spring after all.
The disadvantage is that it must be well weighted down with rocksand pins, otherwise it just takes off in the wind.


I use something similar but taller, looks like this (but a bit wider)...
http://www.greatgardensonline.com/plant ... 13133.html

I don't ever take it down, in the summer it's where I grow my tomatoes.

bungeejumper
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Re: Cold Frame Ideas

#126632

Postby bungeejumper » March 21st, 2018, 8:29 am

Nimrod103 wrote:It still looks rather flimsy to me. I received one as a present a couple of years ago, not the same design, but with an arched top. The problem is the plastic sheets and thin aluminum with plastic fittings and hinges are not robust for use over many years. I would like to build one with wood/brick sides, and a big window top on counterweights - I think Monty Don has several, but I don't have the time.

I wouldn't disagree with you. That frame will last five years before the plastic connector strips fatigue or deteriorate from the UV light and it falls apart. By that time the polycarbonate panels will be turning yellow and cloudy. (You can get polycarbonates that won't yellow, but we're talking twenty quid a sheet.) It will also need pegging down, as you say, although I reckon a few metal tent pegs ought to take care of that.

I did all that when I bought my own cold frame (all hefty aluminium and glass, costing about £90 IIRC.) But the point here, surely, is that the OP was looking for something quick, inexpensive and suitable for somebody whose handyman skills were a little on the short side?

FWIW, I've had several of those floppy-plastic frames, and they never last more than three years either. Either the wind gets under them and rips up the covers, or the cheapo Chinese tubular frames simply rust through and collapse. They do, however, have the advantage of being ultra-cheap!

The pub joke was just a joke, but yes, some people don't have that much time for these things. Just saying :P

BJ

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Re: Cold Frame Ideas

#126728

Postby Nimrod103 » March 21st, 2018, 1:38 pm

bungeejumper wrote:
Nimrod103 wrote:It still looks rather flimsy to me. I received one as a present a couple of years ago, not the same design, but with an arched top. The problem is the plastic sheets and thin aluminum with plastic fittings and hinges are not robust for use over many years. I would like to build one with wood/brick sides, and a big window top on counterweights - I think Monty Don has several, but I don't have the time.

I wouldn't disagree with you. That frame will last five years before the plastic connector strips fatigue or deteriorate from the UV light and it falls apart. By that time the polycarbonate panels will be turning yellow and cloudy. (You can get polycarbonates that won't yellow, but we're talking twenty quid a sheet.) It will also need pegging down, as you say, although I reckon a few metal tent pegs ought to take care of that.

I did all that when I bought my own cold frame (all hefty aluminium and glass, costing about £90 IIRC.) But the point here, surely, is that the OP was looking for something quick, inexpensive and suitable for somebody whose handyman skills were a little on the short side?

FWIW, I've had several of those floppy-plastic frames, and they never last more than three years either. Either the wind gets under them and rips up the covers, or the cheapo Chinese tubular frames simply rust through and collapse. They do, however, have the advantage of being ultra-cheap!

The pub joke was just a joke, but yes, some people don't have that much time for these things. Just saying :P

BJ


Of course, you pays your money and takes your choice. My problem is that I have nowehre spare in the garden (on the earth) to put a coldframe. I do however have a very large sunny patio. Hence I put up various collapsible coldframes and mini greenhouses on the patio, just in the Spring when I need them for raising seedlings, and keeping geraniums/dahlias safe until the frost has passed. The main problem, is that they have to be strongly weighted down to stop even a slight breeze lifting them and turning them over. An added problem with the tall multishelved growhouses is that they can be top heavy, rock and just fall over - as one of mine did last year. This year I am having to strengthen it with an internal wooden frame. However, I still prefer taking it down and putting it away during the summer, as it is much less likely to harbour pests than a permanent greenhouse.

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Re: Cold Frame Ideas

#126756

Postby Breelander » March 21st, 2018, 3:58 pm

Nimrod103 wrote: An added problem with the tall multishelved growhouses is that they can be top heavy, rock and just fall over - as one of mine did last year.


I find that in the summer the weight of the soil in the large pots I use for my tomatoes (particularly when well watered) is sufficient in all but the strongest gales. In winter I store a large bag of my 'homebrew' compost on the bottom shelf.

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Re: Cold Frame Ideas

#126822

Postby Nimrod103 » March 21st, 2018, 6:35 pm

Breelander wrote:
Nimrod103 wrote: An added problem with the tall multishelved growhouses is that they can be top heavy, rock and just fall over - as one of mine did last year.


I find that in the summer the weight of the soil in the large pots I use for my tomatoes (particularly when well watered) is sufficient in all but the strongest gales. In winter I store a large bag of my 'homebrew' compost on the bottom shelf.


I made the mistake of placing some heavy-ish pots with sprouting dahlias on the top shelf, and the thing just went like the letter Z during the night. Although a good make (Gardman), it is quite wide, so I blame a design fault - it really needs cross bracing. It relies too much on the plastic cover zipped up to give it rigidity.

neversay
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Re: Cold Frame Ideas

#127285

Postby neversay » March 22nd, 2018, 7:53 pm

Thanks again for all the great replies. I have been to the pub but I'm still without a cold frame!

I did read the reviews on the aluminium ones and, like a lot of cheap imports, they are built to dissolve in a matter of months/years. Likewise, the wooden ones rot and the plastic cover ones that can't cope with the wind, shelf weight, or just degrade in the sunlight.

The general issue for me is that price is not an indicator of quality and it is hard for the amateur to discern what is the best investment. This is true not just for gardening, but my regular beef on LBYM; I can cope with the beer-time-money trade-off but 'quality' is no longer signalled by price.

N.

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Re: Cold Frame Ideas

#127487

Postby bungeejumper » March 23rd, 2018, 12:03 pm

neversay wrote:I did read the reviews on the aluminium ones and, like a lot of cheap imports, they are built to dissolve in a matter of months/years. Likewise, the wooden ones rot and the plastic cover ones that can't cope with the wind, shelf weight, or just degrade in the sunlight.

The general issue for me is that price is not an indicator of quality and it is hard for the amateur to discern what is the best investment. This is true not just for gardening, but my regular beef on LBYM; I can cope with the beer-time-money trade-off but 'quality' is no longer signalled by price.

Up to a point, Lord Copper. There are exceptions, but on the whole I'd say that quality does tend to be signalled by price.

The point is that you, as the consumer, have the right to decide whether you want to pay £150 (say) for something that'll last a quarter of a century, or £400 for a style icon (as seen at the Chelsea show), or £30 for something that can reasonably be expected to last you four or five years. Or £13 for something that comes with no expected lifespan at all. (But which might be all right with average luck and not too much wind.)

The factors you'll want to consider are not just cost, but also how much time you feel like devoting to the construction, and how long you need the thing to last? Our Edwardian forebears would have built everything in bricks and timber and glass, and they'd have been disappointed with a lifespan of less than 50 years. Modern families often reckon that five or ten years is enough because they'll have moved on by the time the thing falls to pieces.

The one thing I'd suggest is that, assuming adequate ventilation and correct positioning, there won't be very much to choose between the cheapest and the most expensive frames when it comes to the important matter of helping your plants grow. Multi-stacking wall frames aside, perhaps. They're all good really.

BJ


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