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Wintering Plants in Pots - Part 2 - Page 3

© Marge Talt

 I've even used a fence as the center post and leaned a wood frame up against it on each side to support the plastic. I have two holding beds I made on either side of a section of old fence that used to enclose my vegetable garden that I have covered this way. Watering is a bit tough, but it protects the plants from frost damage.

 Even more temporary is the straw bale frame. This is really simple to do; you just lay bales of straw out on the ground; fill the center with mulch and bury your pots to the rim. The straw provides a good deal of insulation for your plants, but it also harbors slugs, so you need to keep an eye on things once the weather warms up enough for the slugs to be active.

 Straw bales will last for two seasons if they're covered with plastic to keep them relatively dry. Plus, you can use the straw as mulch or add it to your compost heap once it's done duty as a cold frame or holding bed. You will get weed volunteers from the seed heads in the straw, so be prepared.

A simple concrete block frame can be either temporary or semi-permanent. You can set concrete block up two layers with no mortar if you fill the block with earth and pound in a stake or two to hold them. Two blocks high will give you ample space to bury your pots to the rim.

 To make the straw bales or blocks into an actual cold frame, top them with a cold frame or even with a flat, simple wooden frame covered in plastic or corrugated fiberglass. It is better to have one edge higher than the other so the lid will drain, but you can get away with a perfectly flat top if you monitor it.

 I've even just laid boards across the top and draped plastic over them. If you add a third block or a second bale in the center of each of the short sides and lay your board across them, the board will form a ridge beam on which you can lean a plastic covered flat frame or drape loose plastic sheeting. This creates an A-frame. Hold plastic sheeting taut with stones, bricks or blocks so that rain and snow will slide off to the ground. Set bricks or stones on hay bales to keep a plastic covered flat frame in place or drive stakes into blocks to do the same with a block frame. If you do this using two sections of flat framing, you will need to drape a loose piece of plastic over this to cover the ends in bitter weather; otherwise, the small open triangles at the ends will provide venting for the frame so you won't have to worry about plants cooking.

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