McGyver'ed Cold Frame...good Idea?

Thaddeusjd

I just wanted to get a few opinions on something I cobbled together to try and protect my trees (cotoneaster, blue moss cypress and juniper) from the Kansas winter. As an apartment denzien I had to try to get creative....
I took a large cardboard box and one the open end, taped one flap shut. I cut along the top to create a flap I could open and close and trimmed the inside flaps off. I lined the inside of the box with styrofoam on the "walls" and packing peanuts on the "floor". This I covered with plastic sheeting (and the outside of the box to make it more waterproof) and filled with a mix of clean potting soil and spag moss (60/40). I placed my trees in plastic bags around the pots and buried them slightly in the soil. I plan on removing them every 3-7 days to see if water is needed. I also added a alum cake pan in the back buried in soil that I can add heated gravel into to keep the temp up slightly if needed to protect the roots. Additionally, I have a infrared heat lamp I can train on the box. The flap is nice, when I head to work in the morning I open it up for light and air, and the plastic sheeting is such that it blocks the wind from the front. Close it at night when I get home.
Overkill? I know the cypress needs cold, but I am trying to protect the roots.

-Thaddeus

Advertisement

Tony

Do you think the cardboard will hold up to a Kansas winter? I think it would be hard to keep the moisture off of it even if it's covered in plastic. My worry is that it may collapse mid winter. It would be much better if you build something out of wood. You don't really need a box though. As long as the pots are sitting on the ground and mulched all you need is a good wind break. If your keeping them on an above ground balcony then you'll need alot more protection. Maybe even some heating cables for the coldest nights. Also the plastic bags could cause a problem by holding water around the pot. I'd nix that idea.

Tony

Thaddeusjd

Thanks for the advice! I was kind of sure my idea was, ummm, "ambitious." But you know how you can talk yourself into a bad idea by self-delusion? I am glad someone with more experience helped talk me out of this as a perm solution.

W3rdSmyth

I built a very inexpensive shelter using 1 inch PVC pipe and the heavy duty opaque building plastic sheeting that construction sites use to close in window and door areas before. I built it so it has two sides, a back, and a top (which is at a 45 degree angle so snow slides off). It has no bottom or front, so it allows plenty of air circulation and also lets me put a bunch of mulch under it for insulating and burying the pots.

Using PVC as the frame is very easy to work with and incredibly cheap (10 feet is like 2 dollars). I'm an apartment dweller in Ohio, and this frame worked fantastic for my trees last winter. I put a loose piece of the plastic sheeting up to cover 3/4 of the front when the weather was getting to 20 below.