The Saga of the Cold Frame

Yesterday we made the twenty-minute trek to the little town with a second-hand store that had stacks of salvaged wooden windows for sale at reasonable prices.

The store looked different as we arrived. A large yellow sign out front proclaimed “Everything in the Store 50% Off – One Day Only.” The inside of the store looked different, too. It looked neater. Somebody had gone through it, removed the piles of junky stuff and arranged everything tidily. Where were the windows?!!!

At first I panicked and then we calmly searched the entire store; sure enough, stacked neatly in a hidden corner were the windows I remembered. We found the perfect one for a cold frame, and I gathered the three sap buckets that I plan to use as planters next year. When we went to the cash the whole lot was less than $20. There was enough change to buy another sap bucket if I’d wanted one. (But everyone knows that you should group things in odd numbers, especially threes—so I didn’t want another one.)

The Perfect Window for a Cold Frame



Three Sap Buckets




So, with the window now in our possession, we put together a hardware and lumber list for the rest of the pieces (we didn’t need to buy as much lumber, because we still have a scrap board in the garage which will finally be put to use), and Mr. Wonderful went off to pick up what we needed, making a side trip along the way to buy feed for the birds.

Ready to Start Building the Cold Frame



Early this afternoon he gathered the necessary parts, and with a bit of help from The Boy, built a beautiful cold frame. He mostly followed Mag Ruffman's design, but without the floor, and with a modification shown in the Canadian Gardening model that allows for us to make it taller by adding another stackable unit below.

Cold Frame Set in Place and Open



Cold Frame Closed



It sits at the back of the yard, at the top of the slope, facing south to catch the sun. Even when the sun is low in the sky and the house casts long shadows, the cold frame will get some direct sunlight every day. Well, every day there is some. Sunny days have been in short supply this autumn. I hope that changes by winter.

Facing South in the Garden



Oh, did I mention how Mr. Wonderful got his name? (Other than me copying Sigrun, I mean?) He got it by being WONDERFUL of course! I really must say that he did a great job on this.