Using Cold Frames In The Garden Learn How To Use A Cold Frame

How to Use a Cold Frame

A cold frame can make gardening year-round possible, even in colder regions.
Put your cold frame in place two weeks before sowing to pre-warm the soil.
Hardening off is fuss-free with a cold frame.
Make sure to ventilate your cold frame to keep plants healthy.

When should I use a cold frame?
What is the best position for a cold frame?
How well do cold frames work?
Does a cold frame need to be airtight?
How do you keep a cold frame warm at night?
Can you start seeds in a cold frame?
When should I put tomatoes in a cold frame?
What size should a cold frame be?
How do you keep a cold frame warm?
How can I make a cheap cold frame?
Do plastic greenhouses protect from frost?
Do cold frames have bases?

When should I use a cold frame?

When to use a coldframe or mini-greenhouse

In late spring and summer, use coldframes and mini-greenhouses to provide extra warmth for tender summer crops, such as aubergine, tomatoes and chillies. This encourages quicker ripening and a larger crop. These structures can also be used for propagating plants.

What is the best position for a cold frame?

Where is the best place to put a cold frame? To maximize warmth, light exposure, and weather protection for plants, cold frames should be sited in a south-facing position.

How well do cold frames work?

Cold frames protect plants from strong winds and retain heat. Gardeners use cold frames to extend their gardening season—both in the autumn to protect plants for a few more weeks and in the spring to get a jumpstart on sowing seeds. Cold frames are also used to “harden off” seedlings that were started indoors.

Does a cold frame need to be airtight?

Does a cold frame need to be airtight? No, a cold frame does not have to be airtight. In fact, it is better if it isn't airtight to allow oxygen and carbon dioxide to move around.

How do you keep a cold frame warm at night?

A mat or blanket may be placed over the frame on cold nights to conserve heat, but this increases temperature by only a few degrees. There are times, however, when a few degrees can be very important.

Can you start seeds in a cold frame?

Can You Plant Seeds in Cold Frames? The answer is a resounding yes, cold frames for spring seedlings is a great idea. In fact, you should consider starting your seeds in early spring this way for a few reasons: With a cold frame, you can start seeds as much as six weeks earlier than you would put them in the ground.

When should I put tomatoes in a cold frame?

Using the cold frame in the summer allows you to provide certain plants with more heat before the season actually starts. This is very useful when planting, for example, tomatoes and chillies. The increased warmth from the cold frame will encourage and speed up their growth.

What size should a cold frame be?

The ideal size for a cold frame is 3 by at least 6 feet, about 12 inches deep along the front sloping to 18 inches at the back. You can build a cold frame out of 1×12 pressure-treated lumber, assembled with nails and screws for permanency or prefabricated corners for easy dismantling and storage.

How do you keep a cold frame warm?

To capture more heat, leave room for a few black painted one gallon water jugs. Once filled with water, they will absorb heat during the day and release it slowly during the night, raising the temperature inside the cold frame.

How can I make a cheap cold frame?

Building a cold frame isn't expensive and you can easily build one to suit your budget. You can build one with a plastic sheet and some bricks or an old glass window and some straw or hay bales. This cold frame was made using plastic packaging and bricks laying around the yard.

Do plastic greenhouses protect from frost?

Yes, sometimes plastic is used for frost protection. For instance, on low garden tunnels, high tunnels, garden cloches and greenhouses. You need to be careful that your plants don't overheat when the temperature goes up, because plastic doesn't breath like garden fabric.

Do cold frames have bases?

Where do I position my cold frame? You can put your cold frame on pretty much any surface so long as it's flat and sturdy. As it's used to house pots, rather than covering anything growing directly in the ground, concrete or paving slabs make an excellent base.