Build a Cold Frame for All Seasons

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1st Position: Glass cover down.
1st Position: Glass cover down.
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2nd Position: Glass and reflecting covers slightly open, about 30 degrees, an angle best for spring and fall.
2nd Position: Glass and reflecting covers slightly open, about 30 degrees, an angle best for spring and fall.
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You can sum up the virtues of this innovative cold frame in one word: security.
You can sum up the virtues of this innovative cold frame in one word: security.
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3rd Position: Glass and reflecting covers up high, at about a 60-degree angle—great for absorbing winter sun.
3rd Position: Glass and reflecting covers up high, at about a 60-degree angle—great for absorbing winter sun.
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5th Position: Both covers down, for extra insulation.
5th Position: Both covers down, for extra insulation.
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Construction schematic of MOTHER's cold frame.
Construction schematic of MOTHER's cold frame.
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4th Position: Both covers off.
4th Position: Both covers off.

Feeds a family of four from just 18 square feet!

Shakes off the deep chills of December, ignores the moodiness of March, scoffs at scorching August afternoons!

Can be built in a half day by any preliterate four-year-old (with a little help from Mom and Dad)!

OK, OK, maybe MOTHER’s versatile four-season cold frame isn’t really that good. But I’ve been gardening for 15 years and have seen and made my share of cold frames. (The first one I built was a primitive wooden box I stuck a foot deep in red clay. I came back after the first rain to find a box of water that didn’t drain for days. Plants never entered its domain.) I’ve learned enough by now to know what features I’d want a good cold frame to have–and I think I’ve come up with a design that will suit most other gardeners as well.

  • Published on Nov 1, 1989
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