Cold Frames in Green Houses
This year we didn't quite get around to covering the green house with heavy plastic as we normally do. Although it is April here in the Ozarks, we still have the chance for cold and nasty weather at least until the middle of May. So, this year, we opted for cold frames built directly over our fish tanks.
The fish tanks were built several years ago and have been used to raise tilapia, brim and even goldfish. I think there may have been a bass in one a few years ago. Currently both tanks, while filled with water, are empty of fish so we decided to utilize the moisture (and heat) by building our cold frames above the tanks.
Now that we have a sawmill, getting the needed lumber was easy. Actually, it gave us a use for the boards and dimensional lumber we made mistakes with during our early use of the bandmill. Although there weren't many of these 'mistakes', there were enough that it was simple to come up with the eight or ten board feet needed for the project.
First Kevin measured the fish tanks and built a support system around the perimeter. Next, he built the removable frames that would hold the 6 mm, opaque plastic. Each panel is now removable so that as the need arises they can be either lifted or removed to allow for heat changes.
The only tools used in this project were a drill, a staple gun, a miter saw, a hammer and a drill press. Dowels, nails and a few screws completed our parts list. In all, the entire project from start to finish took less than a day to finish. It's amazing what the two of us working together can accomplish.
Our next goal for the greenhouse is to build similar panels that can be used this fall and winter for the roof. Like the cold frames, this will allow us to remove them for storage once the weather is warm enough next spring.
It didn't take me long to plant enough tomato, pepper, squash and pumpkin seeds to fill the trays to be placed into the cold frames. By May 15th, our date for placing seedling plants in the 'real' garden, these little pots should be bursting with healthy, strong plants that have benefited from the sun and warmth of the cold frames.
As each of the components is removable, it will be easy to restock the fish tanks for our food needs over the rest of the year. Since tilapia are warm water fish, having the cold frames in place may allow us to continue production year round. At the very least, they will allow us to continue until the Ozark winter becomes frigidly cold.
