If you have an old chest freezer, you can make a cold frame and start your seeds early.
I have discovered that an old chest freezer makes a good cold frame to start seeds.
I place 5-gallon buckets filled with water, which act as thermal mass, in the bottom of the freezer. On top of the buckets, I set the trays of soil and seeds on old refrigerator shelves. I tape plastic sheeting to the top back edge of the freezer, under the lid. For the front and sides, I fold over the sheeting to make sleeves to hold metal pipes that keep the plastic from blowing off.
When it's warm and sunny, I open the freezer lid and fold the plastic back. When it's near freezing, I reposition the plastic and close the freezer lid. Rain has filled about a third of the freezer, but I have left it for additional thermal mass. The extra humidity seems to help the sprouts, and I don't have to carry water from the faucet to water the flats.
Betty Goolsby
St. Paul, Arkansas
Whether you want to learn how to grow and raise your own food, build your own root cellar, or create a green dream home, come out and learn everything you need to know — and then some!
LEARN MORE
