Cold Frames And Grow Racks

Cold frames should not be mistaken for a device for keeping things cool. In fact it is quite the opposite. A cold frame is a cut down version of a greenhouse. It basically resembles a crate lying on the ground covered with a glass roof. The purpose of a cold frame is to harden the seedlings that are growing inside it. The seedlings are placed in a growing tray inside the cold frame.

A cold frame is built on the ground and care should be taken that where it is built the ground is not damp or threatened by water seeping into it if it happens to rain. Usually the roof which has a glass sheet is sloping. This is done to achieve two objectives; one is to capture the maximum sunlight and the other is to drain of the rain water.

Most cold frames are self constructed as they are no great engineering feats to construct. However here are a few points to note if one is planning to construct one. Make sure that the soil that one is going to build it on is not humid and not in the passage of a rain channel. Secondly the cold frame should be build with slant of the roof towards the south so that during the day the maximum sunlight is captured. The cold frame can be a flat square box, however it is preferred that the back wall is about six inches higher then the front to maximize on the sunlight. For the top a glass sheet can be used but if that is not available plastic sheeting can also be used. For heating during the night a naked electric bulb can be placed inside the cold frame. All this is assuming that the cold frame is not very large in size.

Some ambitious farmers and gardeners construct both a hot bed and a cold frame in the same structure. This is done by running a heating electric cable in the ground under the cold frame and covering it with sand. The heat from the cable seeps into the cold frame and helps the seedlings to start once they have started the heating is stopped. At night the cold frame should be covered with a burlap or thick cloth so that the trapped heat does not escape. Of course one would need to open the cold frame for a short time daily to let in some fresh air. Once the seedlings have hardened they can be moved from the cold frame but this is a decision for the grower to make.

There are plans and kits available on building a hot bed and a cold frame and one could also use concrete in the construction. But all this effort would only be required if one is planning on building a rather large cold frame.

The purpose of having a cold frame is for seedlings to harden after this they need to be taken out of the cold rack and planted in flower pots. To keep these young plants safe and healthy one might think about getting some racks on which to place them. Now these racks can be of any material and of any dimension. A rack could have several shelves or just a couple and could be just simple racks or rather exquisite racks. Designer racks are also available however these racks should be to show of the plants that one has grown so painstakingly and not to steal the show. The racks should compliment the plants.

How much one wants to invest in time and money on their favorite pastime which is gardening depends on the individual. There is no greater joy then seeing ones hard work bearing fruit and of course all the effort is made to try and extend the period of this pleasure as much as possible.