London allotment gardener Michael Rand would rather make a cold frame than buy one
'A cold frame is a bottomless box with a see-through lid, used to protect your tender new-sown plants from the season's inevitable heavy rain and biting winds.'
Given the tendency of most things – from motorcars to marriages – to fall to bits, it's always a pleasure to work with plants, which do the reverse.
Not that I'm that type of observer who wants to read human qualities into everything I see. But if I were, I would have to say that the deepest desire of something like a television or a toaster is to turn itself into a busted lump of scrap. Seeds, however, are different. Like us, they have a life to lead before they're done, and March is generally when they start. No wonder, then, that for us gardeners this first part of spring is one of the best months of the year, when human and plant life alike can feel the cold weather slackening its frigid grip.
Spring does not arrive with a sudden and glorious thump, however. As we all know, it creeps in. So it's best to do as much of your March sowing as feasible in trays and pots, under a cold frame. Obviously, most of you will know what a cold frame is, but for anyone in doubt, a few notes thereon:
A cold frame for plant protection
A cold frame is a bottomless box with a see-through lid, used to protect your tender new-sown plants from the season's inevitable heavy rain and biting winds. It will also offer good protection against marauding birds, and is some help (not much, it's true!) against other predators, such as mice and slugs.
At this point, I'd like to be able to simply reel off a list of cold-frame products and prices. Unhappily, having checked out various options, so far as 'off the peg' cold frames are concerned, I'm sorry to say, I've not seen such a collection of rubbish close up since the last time I tumbled headfirst into a wheelie bin.
Most commercial products are too expensive, and/or far too flimsy. Unless your garden is incredibly well sheltered, any such frame will take off in the first gale and bash itself to bits. Also, cold-frame makers often use something called 'double-skinned polycarbonate' for the lid, which is nowhere near clear enough, blocking out much too much light and leaving your precious seedlings weak, spindly and fit only for the compost heap.
To make your own
So, to get a decent cold frame, why not try making your own? First, find yourself a thrown-out wooden window (a small one if you're feeling nervous). Then, find sufficient other pieces of timber to make a box to go beneath it. No base is needed since it'll sit straight on the ground.
The length and width of the box will be determined by the size of your window. As for depth, make this at least 38cm (15in) to allow plenty of room inside for plant growth. True DIY adepts will also think of hinges and a handle for the lid, an angled box top to shed the rain, a neat paint job and other features.
If making such a simple contraption is genuinely beyond your powers, get a handy friend to make one for you. Even if you have to pay them £15 to do it, remember, you'll be getting a far better product for about a quarter of the price of an inferior shop-bought job. Sure, like most things, your homemade frame will fall apart sooner or later. But not, hopefully, before it has done its job protecting several years' worth of seedling plants from the stop-go extremes of early spring weather.
About the author
Michael Rand tends an allotment in North London and is the author of
Close to the Veg: a book of allotment tales, price £10.99, published by Marlin Press.
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