A Cold Frame made with Recycled Stuff

On either New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, I always plant all of my tomatoes, peppers, and egg plant from seed.  In past year's I've done so in the house, in the laundry room, to be specific.  We have a stand-up freezer and the top of it gets very warm.  That is a perfect place to start seeds as the warmth from the freezer keeps the soil warm and enables the seeds to germinate.  There is only one problem - I have to climb on top of the dryer to water the seedlings and the dirt (seed starting mix) gets all over the place.  One of the things on my to do list was to build a cold frame so that I can do this dirty (pardon the pun) job outside.

Out of the blue, my beekeeper friend called me up around Thanksgiving.  He, like me, employs what I call the "Sanford and Son" method of obtaining things you need around the farm.  So he called me and told me that he was driving across town the other day and a lady was having all of her old wooden windows replaced with the new energy efficient ones.  She had all the wooden windows by the sidewalk.  My friend stopped and asked what she was doing with them and she told him that they were going to the landfill.  She generously gave them to my buddy and he gave me five of them.  I knew immediately that I would use these to build a seed-starting cold frame.


Anyone around here do windows?

I gathered some sand paper, a can of primer (pink, of all colors), a can of exterior latex, and a paint brush that we had lying around from a previous adventure.  Due to the fact that these were very old windows, Tricia wanted me to totally prime and paint the windows as the original paint may have been lead based paint - a neurotoxin.  

Items needed for the job

I used the sand paper to 'rough up' the paint on the windows so that it would accept the primer and new coat of paint.


Roughin' it up.

The photo below shows the pink primer on the window frames. 

Pretty in Pink

Once all the primer has dried, I begin to put the final coat of green paint on the window frames.


It's not easy being green.

Now I screw hinges to two sets of windows, ensuring that they open and close properly.  

This photo gives you a partial idea of what it might look like when done.  Notice I've put 3 flats on the ground to show you how big the cold frame is.  The size will be just right for what I need.


The project is almost done.

Here is the cold frame with all four sides on it.   


All we need is a roof

Now we've simply made a 'roof' out of the one remaining pane that should block wind and rain from the cold frame.  I intend on putting a heat lamp in the cold frame to keep things warm and toasty so we'll achieve germination on everything.

Finished job

A benefit of this design is the storage of the cold frame once planting season is done.  As the picture below illustrates, the hinges make the cold frame easy to fold up neatly and store away safely for use later.



Neatly stacked

Now all we have to do is get everything ready for planting time in about a week or so.  By the way, the windows need washing so that the sunlight can warm things up in the cold frame.