Large Plastic covered coldframes for £9.95

Saw these going for £9.95 at Argos and bought one.

1.88 x 1.44 x 0.80m high plastic covered tubular steel framed cold frame



I have loads of timber sided cold frames with polycarbonate lights, but they're no good for temporarily putting over a raised bed over seeds/seedlings (solid walls too high), or for covering the likes of an early planted out pumpkins or marrows -2 would fit under this (as they're too big, heavy and sit on plinths).

I was also thinking of contstructing some plastic covered propagators for early use in polytunnels (sited in between raised hot beds), heated with tea light/flowerpot heaters, but as this has got about 9m2 of material, 42m of tubing, 26 push-together fittings, 4 zips, velcro closures, etc. all for <£10 it didn't seem worth the effort of making something myself. 1.2m wide would have been perferct for my 6 x 3m tunnel, so I may have to have asymmetrical boders.

 

Bargain

Spruce

 

Some of the reviews on the Argos website are rather negative, but with the addition of some duck tape on/around the fittings, and the addition of a few 'extra bits' (I've got loads of old gazebo poles/ fittings, etc. and I'm always pulling broken tent bits out of bins on campsites), I'm confident they will withstand whatever the weather can throw at them (yes, it is them 'them' now because after assembling the first one I've gone and ordered another 2 of them! Now I have to change some of my raised bed sizes before next spring.

 

How do you make Tea-light/flower pot heaters Please

 

http://heatstick.com/_Process.htm

http://pesn.com/2006/03/15/9600246_Candle_Power/

http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-make-a-candle-heater.htm


I assembled one yesterday and now understand comments in reviews about ill fitting connectors, but all it needs is a narrow strip of 'duck' tape once around the tube to get a nice tight fit. Decided they're just that little bit too big for inside polytunnel use and I'll adjust/make new raised beds to fit them and fix pieces of vertical tube on the outside of the boards so it will simply drop down into place and skirts will lay flat on the ground around the outside of the bed.