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By MikeB
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Posts:  1854
Joined:  Sat Apr 25, 2020 4:13 pm
#371204
A cold front rolled through my area on Christmas eve. Yesterday, it was unusually warm (about 64 F / 17 C) and rainy. Behind the front, it was cold, with snow flurries on the back end of the rain. Today, the temperature stuggled to reach 37 F (3 C), and tonight it's dropping down to 20 F (-7 C). That is way below normal for here. Now that my back patio is "carpeted" in plants
Back patio - before.jpg
Back patio - before.jpg (909.09 KiB) Viewed 3133 times
it's a nuisance to pick up everything and move it into the garage. A few weeks ago, I decided to find a way to leave them in place, and I hit on the idea of making a cold frame (like a greenhouse, but designed to keep the temperature a little bit less cold instead of really warm). I went to Home Depot and bought some 3/4-inch (19 mm) PVC pipes, connectors, and plastic sheeting. I went hunting online and bought a Palma Bio Green heater and thermostat.

This afternoon, I volunteered my younger son to help me assemble everything. It wasn't difficult to do, but the wind made it feel like 26 F (-3 C) while we were working.
Back patio - after.jpg
Back patio - after.jpg (437.53 KiB) Viewed 3133 times
I set the thermostat at 40 F (5 C). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this works as expected. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the temperature has already dropped to freezing, and it's supposed to stay that way until around 11 AM tomorrow. In 6 days, I'll be back at 64 F (17 C) again.... I plan to put up the cold frame only on those few days that really need it, then disassemble it and stash it in the garage.
Panman, Apollyon, Matt and 1 others liked this
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By optique
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Posts:  1879
Joined:  Fri May 24, 2019 11:15 pm
#371206
as long as you don't stay in the 20's for day time hours also you will be just fine.

my weather, i have no fear
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By MikeB
Location: 
Posts:  1854
Joined:  Sat Apr 25, 2020 4:13 pm
#371226
The temperatures aren't that different here. I'm taking the cold frame down on Sunday. As long as the temperature is 28 F or higher, my plants will survive without any issues.
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