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Cold Frame Greenhouses

Your Professional Cold Frame Greenhouses Manufacturer!
 

SUNSHINE GARDEN is a manufacturer from China with 12 years OEM & ODM experience. We are dedicated to providing one-stop products and solutions for Home Garden and Commercial Planting. Our main products can be divided into two series, including Home Gardening Series like garden greenhouses, grow tent complete kits, fabric grow bags & beds, garden compost supplies, etc., another series is Commercial Planting Series like grow racks & rolling benches, led grow lights, greenhouse structure and the whole supporting facility system.

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One-stop Solution

With rich experiences in manufacturing and strong power in the industry supply chaine, we helped a lot of gardening clients creating their own brand and we can also provide one-stop solutions for greenhouse grow.

 

Custom Service

We support product customization services, you can talk to our customer service center about your sourcing requirements, whether selecting a current product from our catalog or seeking assistance for your application. 

 

Quality Control

Our factories are supervised carefully, there are strict quality assurance test and lab test and multiple inspections.

 

Global Shipping

Our products are exported to more than 20 countries including America, Canada, UK, Germany, France and Japan, with a good reputation in the market. 

 

What Are Cold Frame Greenhouses?

 

 

A cold frame greenhouse is a clear, insulated outdoor structure that protects plants. Unlike a traditional greenhouse, which often uses gas or electric heat, a cold frame greenhouse depends on the sun’s warmth to create a safe microclimate for your garden. It protects plants from wind and cold without the risk of burning them.

 

While it is possible to find a small cold frame greenhouse, most are very large and used for commercial growth. These are also known as high tunnel greenhouses.

 

 

Benefits of Using Cold Frame Greenhouses

Extends the growing season

Cold frames can extend the growing season as much as 1-3 months beyond your frost-free climate! With a cold frame you can leave certain cold-hardy plants like greens and root vegetables well into the depth of winter until you’re ready to harvest them.

Protection from the elements

A cold frame keeps plants warm by insulating them, but they also protect from wind, rain, snow, and hail. Plus, cold frames have the added bonus of keeping out pests and animals such as snails, rabbits, and deer, which would happily snack on your vulnerable sprouts and seedlings.

Easy to use

Most cold frames can be assembled quickly and put to use immediately. They are not technically challenging to use. They are mobile and versatile so they can be moved around the garden throughout the season and over the years.

Inexpensive

Compared to a traditional greenhouse, cold frames are much less expensive to buy and even less so to build yourself with scavenged materials. Moreover, they are less expensive to maintain since there’s no electrical bill associated with a simple cold frame.

 

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Cold Framer Greenhouse: Everything You Need to Know

A cold-frame greenhouse is an invaluable tool for any gardener looking to extend their growing season. This mini-greenhouse without a bottom allows you to grow plants in a protected environment, sheltered from external factors. Cold frames are mini greenhouse structures that help extend the growing season. They shelter plants from cold weather and frost without needing heating or electricity.

 

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Cold Frame Greenhouses

 

 

Follow these tips throughout the seasons for maximum success:

 

1. During winter, insulate the cold frame with straw, leaves, or blankets to retain more warmth.

 

2. On sunny winter days, prop lids open for an hour to provide fresh air and prevent premature sprouting.

 

3. In spring and fall, ventilate the cold frame when temps exceed 80°F inside to avoid overheating.

 

4. To conserve moisture, add a layer of compost or mulch on the soil surface inside the frame.

 

5. Monitor for pests like aphids and diseases like damping off. Remove any infected plants immediately.

 

6. Prevent weeds from taking over open soil by using landscape fabric or a thick mulch layer.

 

7. Check soil moisture every few days and water when the top few inches become dry. Prioritize consistency.

 

8. In summer, shade cold frames with shade cloth if temps will exceed 90°F inside.

 

Grow in a Cold Frame Greenhouse

You can grow a large variety of crops in cold frame greenhouses. When planning your growing season, remember that cold frames don't provide an additional heat source to keep your plants warm in the frigid months. Here's a closer look at a season-by-season crop schedule for an unheated greenhouse. 

 

Early Spring (Feb. – April)

You can use your cold frame to grow hardy early crops and cool-season root crops from February through April. Some of the vegetables to plant at this time include Lettuce, Spinach, Arugula, Kale, Cabbage, and Broccoli. You can also start growing carrots, onions, radishes, and beets from seed and eventually harvest them from the soil under your frame.

 

Late Spring (April – May)

As things warm up a bit, you can start growing warm-season crops in your cold frame. This includes Cantaloupe, Tomatoes, Beans, and Pumpkins. It's important to make sure your cold frame doesn't become overheated in hot weather. Otherwise, you'll end up with plants that are weak and spindly. The best way to do this is to ensure you have plenty of ventilation.

 

Autumn

In the fall, you can use your cold frame to extend your harvest of warm-weather summer crops and to grow salad greens or other compact cool-weather crops. This growing season typically runs from late August until sometime in December. Some of the crops to grow in the autumn include Lettuce, Radishes, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Spinach, and Kale. 

 

Winter

The winter is the harshest time of year to grow plants, so this is when you'll want to stick to the hardiest varieties. Sowing seeds in January will likely yield you a March harvest. Some of the crops you can grow in winter include Leeks, Parsley, Arugula, Spinach, and Lettuce. You can also use your cold frame to over-winter vegetables like Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, and cauliflower. While they won't grow during the winter season, you can keep them safe until they can provide new growth in the spring.

 

 

Using and Maintaining the Cold Frame Greenhouses

Once built and in place, use these tips to maintain ideal conditions inside a cold frame:

 

1. Ventilate properly on sunny days - Open lids, ends, or vents to prevent overheating.

 

2. Water when needed to keep the soil consistently moist but not saturated.

 

3. Monitor temperatures daily and add or remove insulation as needed.

 

4. Adjust manual vents and lids based on weather conditions. Close tightly at night.

 

5. Remove dead leaves or plants to prevent disease and pests.

 

6. On warm days in winter, open vents for an hour to prevent dormant plants from prematurely breaking dormancy.

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FAQ

Q: What is the purpose of a cold frame?

A: Cold frames take up minimal space and create the growing conditions crops and vegetables need to flourish. Plus, they're perfect for giving your seedlings the best start in the spring and protecting plants and crops over the long, harsh winter.

Q: Is an unheated greenhouse the same as a cold frame?

A: Coldframes are usually permanent, smaller, shorter rigid structures mostly used to harden off plants. Mini unheated greenhouses can be any size and used for the same but primarily for growing small crops like lettuce, spinach, etc in cooler weather.

Q: What is the main difference between hotbeds and cold frames?

A: The hotbed and the cold frame are identical in structure. The only difference between them is the source of heat. The sun supplies all the heat in a cold frame, whereas sunlight is supplemented by another heat source in a hotbed. Plant growth is slower in a cold frame than in a hot bed.

Q: How to use a cold frame greenhouse?

A: Pack the cold frame tightly with pots, and add leaves or mulch over the soil surface and into any significant air gaps. Make sure all the pots are well watered. Once you have your tender plants stored in a cold frame, you will need to control the weather conditions to maintain a healthy dormancy.

Q: What grows best in a cold frame?

A: Root crops like beets, carrots, leeks, onions, radishes, and turnips. Forget about trying to grow fruiting plants like tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, cucumbers, and squashes. They require pollination to set fruit and the pollinators are not around in the winter.

Q: Can I grow seeds in a cold frame?

A: This includes cold frames, lean-tos, unheated conservatories and car ports with clear roofs. All these make good places to sow seeds that don't need heat, but benefit from protection until the plants are big enough to put outside. The more control over your conditions you have, the more successful germination will be.

Q: What is the temperature in a cold frame greenhouse?

A: A cold frame is a rudimentary plant forcing structure used to protect plants. It has no artificial heat added. The temperature inside the structure generally is not more than 5 to 10 degrees above the outside temperature.

Q: Does a cold frame need to be in the sun?

A: As cold frames are not externally heated and require sunlight to keep warm, they can lose their heat during the long, dark nights of winter—and this can stunt the growth of your tender and young plants.

Q: What is a cold frame greenhouse?

A: In agriculture and gardening, a cold frame is a transparent-roofed enclosure, built low to the ground, used to protect plants from adverse weather, primarily excessive cold or wet. The transparent top admits sunlight and prevents heat escape via convection that would otherwise occur, particularly at night.

Q: What are the benefits of a cold frame?

A: In late spring and summer, use coldframes and mini-greenhouses to provide extra warmth for tender summer crops, such as aubergine, tomatoes and chillies. This encourages quicker ripening and a larger crop. These structures can also be used for propagating plants.

Q: Do you need a cold frame if you have a greenhouse?

A: While a cold frame is sufficient to protect seedlings from the ravages of the weather, a greenhouse or polytunnel makes sowing and tending the growing seedlings much more comfortable. No more sore back from crouching over a cold frame! And even a small greenhouse can be put to good use every single month of the year.

Sunshine Garden has been engaged in offering cold frame greenhouses wholesale service for over 10 years, and now is known as one of the professional cold frame greenhouses manufacturers and suppliers in China. Please rest assured to get the quality garden grow products made in China from our factory.

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