The woodworking project pictured here is construction of a couple of cold frames. Basicially, they’re really small unheated greenhouses made out of boards and old windows. The overall purpose is to extend our brief growing season.
Sun shining through the windows on a bright day will warm the soil inside quite a bit. The structure won’t retain heat after sundown, but it still will protect plants from harsh winds, standing water and a bit of freezing and thawing. Enough, in our experience, to get spinach through the winter. Our plan is to get some planted any day now.
It’s worth noting, however, that at about $20 in lumber and hardware, coldframes only are economical if they’re built well enough to last a few years. It was great picking spinach in March, April and May of this year. But we didn’t get that much. Note also that the back is higher than the front. The idea is to capture as much sun as possible. The back of the box will lie to the north and the front will lie to the south.
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