Has anyone used a cold frame for gardening?

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I’ve made a cold frame for one of my beds to get a head start on gardening and I’m wondering if it will actually work. Has anyone used one before and how did it work?

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  • RaeBeeBaby
    RaeBeeBaby Posts: 4,245 Member
    edited March 2018
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    My husband made me one about 5 years ago. I had totally forgotten that! I need to go find it because I still am going to do some container gardening this year.

    They totally work to jump-start your seedlings, especially if you have limited space indoors to start seeds. I've had great results using it over the years. Mostly great with one major fail.

    Word of warning, though . . . . as the days get warmer you have to keep a close eye on it. Assuming you have it in the sun, it will need to be vented during the day and closed up at night. Some are built with a lever to open them up, but since mine was homemade I vented it with just a little block of wood to hold the top slightly open. As the seedlings got bigger I just opened it up all the way during the day. One sunny day I failed to vent it and I lost all my seedlings because they got cooked inside the mini-sauna. So sad. :'(

  • OBXbrit
    OBXbrit Posts: 48 Member
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    @kerrimiller2018, I have used a makeshift version of the more effiencent cold frames you can probably buy today. Yes, they work - in my case at least. Overheating and excessive moisture from condensation can be a problem....