This year, in honor of the shiny new patio I decided to "upgrade" to a purchased, more attractive and theoretically more functional model. I purchased the cold frame above. It has been a huge waste of money. I am two days into the first spring wind storm and already the frame is falling apart. Now one could argue that perhaps it was never meant for 40-50 mph winds. Fair enough. Shouldn't one still be able to expect a frame that the lid closes squarely and tightly on? Also, a means to anchor it other than the tiny wire I am supposed to hook over the tiny screw might be nice.
Because the frame is so ill fitting, I don't have nearly the insulation value of previous ugly frames, which means a lot more careful watching of the weather and will likely mean a lot more hauling plants back inside. What a disappointment.
5 comments:
I've also had terrible luck with expensive, purchased cold frames. Mine look even flimsier than yours - just wires and soft plastic. I'm going to look into making some ugly but tough ones myself! Aesthetics be damned! :-)
Sorry to hear about the purchased cold frame. If only we did not have to sacrifice functionality for aesthetics.
Spurge I have heard that the wire ones are a problem. They have so much appeal because theoretically you could store them easier. I've read that the sun destroys the fabric fast though.
We shouldn't have to Prairie Cat! This isn't rocket science. How hard would it be for a company to build a decent nice looking frame that we could wrap in plastic each year?
Sorry to hear about your uncold frame. I wonder if there is a way to way it down, or to place it in a protected area against your house. I do agree, though, that our purchases should have some standard of quality. Hang in there.
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