stewarjm192
Mame
Hey nuts!
My wife and I just signed a contract to buy a new home, probably with a move in date in October. One of the first things we will need to do is figure out our cold storage for the winter and get it prepped for the oncoming winter. Here in upstate NY, we are zone 5b.
A few years ago, we built a cold frame w/treated lumber that’s about 8x12x10. We built it about 6in into the ground, and each year wrap it in 6mil painters plastic. We place heat mats on the ground and the one bench in the structure, as well as run a small space heater, all attached to a thermometer controlled outlet. I set it so that the heating elements turn on when the temps get below 36F degrees. This process has resulted in a cold frame that even on the coldest days never dips below about 25F. It has allowed us to grow things that we love, that wouldn’t survive our cold.
We have been looking for bigger structures, with more permanent plastic walls to reduce waste, and have a greenhouse structure we can utilize for propagating and triage sitting the summer months.
We have been looking at the following kit from Home Depot:
Cedar frame greenhouse
What sort of solutions have you all found for this project? We have been through this rodeo a few times so we know the perils of ventilation. We certainly would like a more aesthetically pleasing option, but functional is paramount, and we’d love it to serve both as cold frame and as summer green house.
Thanks in advance!
My wife and I just signed a contract to buy a new home, probably with a move in date in October. One of the first things we will need to do is figure out our cold storage for the winter and get it prepped for the oncoming winter. Here in upstate NY, we are zone 5b.
A few years ago, we built a cold frame w/treated lumber that’s about 8x12x10. We built it about 6in into the ground, and each year wrap it in 6mil painters plastic. We place heat mats on the ground and the one bench in the structure, as well as run a small space heater, all attached to a thermometer controlled outlet. I set it so that the heating elements turn on when the temps get below 36F degrees. This process has resulted in a cold frame that even on the coldest days never dips below about 25F. It has allowed us to grow things that we love, that wouldn’t survive our cold.
We have been looking for bigger structures, with more permanent plastic walls to reduce waste, and have a greenhouse structure we can utilize for propagating and triage sitting the summer months.
We have been looking at the following kit from Home Depot:
Cedar frame greenhouse
What sort of solutions have you all found for this project? We have been through this rodeo a few times so we know the perils of ventilation. We certainly would like a more aesthetically pleasing option, but functional is paramount, and we’d love it to serve both as cold frame and as summer green house.
Thanks in advance!
