Thank you! You definitely need a bit of flexibility, when you are making it up as you go along :) and that should be part of the video - highlighting where I have gone wrong or you can go wrong so you guys don't make those mistakes :) I really want you to be able to build these things and save money. It's definitely not about me looking good, I really want to help and inspire you to have a go at these things, just like i have.
I could listen to you talk all day! Great video with simple instructions. I also get to learn new phrases and words. Love it all! Many thanks from Arkansas, USA.
@@TheOptimisticGardener Sounds great! Also it`s nice as a Sask Boy to see some gardeners in places where they have to deal with snow! Thanks for all the videos.
I think I could knock that together myself, so simple yet effective. I've tried to make a cold frame in the past without success, but I'm determined to give this a go! Thanks for sharing 😊👍
You might think of adding a hinged slat on the inside attached to the center slat to use as a prop whenever you raise the lid. Looks good, those and cheaper than using glass and not as heavy to lift the lid, either.
I like. Nice. If it rains, water runs down to front of frame could collect and rot wood so maybe add something to allow water to run off. Nice one buddy
The Optimistic Gardener that’s right!!! Trying to catch up on all your videos tonight. Discovered your channel thru Huw and love it. We homeschool our 5 and gardening is a big deal right now. Learning lots thru you! Thanks so much for all the tips!
A fellow immigrant to Canada? I'm from Hampshire originally (though if you heard me you'd think I was a Canadian who spent her childhood in Yorkshire(!)), now live in Prince George in BC. Said to be USz4, but realistically a zone 3 with about a 110 day growing season. I might see if I can secure pallets, then make a cold frame, and then see if I can grow "emergency carrots" (the "emergency" nature of them would just be a gimmicky joke).
One idea to improve the thermal efficiency is to use bubble wrap instead of PVC! This is because it acts like double glazing and you can often get it free!!! :D
@@TheOptimisticGardener nice one, I’m building a pallet bar in the garden but the pallets I have left over have different size planks that whats already throughout the bar so they will be used for the cold frames. Love a good pallet build 😜 lol
Did my first before you guested on Huw's channel, expected something like this to come up. More solid than mine, but my climate is also quite a shot more forgiving :D
Hi Steve, would the plastic give enough insulation? I have some left over pieces os acrylic sheets of an old greenhouse. I think I will use these instead. I will give it a try. Eveline in a frozen Scotland
I think the plastic will be enough, at the end of the day that is what my greenhouse is made of. You are mostly trying to keep the frost off and the sides will create a bit of a micro climate, but if you have access to some clear acrylic sheets I would go with them all day long. I just used the plastic because I had it and keeping it to the whole "just about free nature of the video :)
You don't need a circular saw for any of this, it just makes things easier on the arm! The corners of the lid are nothing special, I haven't made any angles, just cut two equal lengths for the top and bottom and two equal lengths for the sides, then screwed the sides to the top and bottom
There is always something I forget! I mention to add a length of wood to the side, on a screw, that you could put in place to keep the lid up when needed, especially as when Spring comes it can quickly get quite warm in there :)
Steve you mentioned that you will put a bottom on the box. Is that a necessary step or would it still be as effective without a bottom and having the earth as the bottom? But then I guess that would only work well if the place it sits is completely level with no gaps to let in cold air underneath. Maybe I've answered my own question 🤔. I've not used a cold frame before.
@@cherylbolivar10 you are right though, although it is still useful without a bottom, as the frost will be prevented from forming on the plants. An alternative which I forgot to mention, is to maybe build a little shelf, maybe from a leftover pallet, to keep the plant off the ground :)
Absolutely brilliant, thank-you 👍 Can you put the link in to your how to take a pallet apart video, which is excellent btw, you pointed to link but it isn't there 😉 Keep up the great work, really enjoying the videos 🙂
Ooh I will have to look that up! Glass best, plexi, then Plastic obviously. At the end of the day you are just using it for a short period in the Spring to give your young plants some extra protection, so it should really matter :)
do you think i could do with with like 1 and half pallets as i just found that much in a skip. also only thing i point out is how could you change this to make the water run off so it doesnt rot the wooden frame? thanks
It depends if you can use all the slats from the pallets. It will be tight. I have since drilled some holes through the front of the lid, at an angle down, so any water that settles at the bottom drains out :)
Ask at your local hardware store, look in the local free ads, ask any friends who work in factories. Once you really start looking you will be surprised where you can get them from.
