Temporarily converting Earthtainer to cold frame

Salaam · July 10, 2017

Hello all,

I have five Earthtainers on the south (and slightly east) brick wall of my house and was thinking my next project would be to try and use these as cold frames to grow seedlings (probably tomatoes, kale, peppers, zucchini) next spring. Perhaps just using some flexible PVC pipes, plastic, and maybe a small source of heat.

My first question is - will I be able to get adequate seedlings - better than those at the store? My only experience growing tomatoes and peppers from seed was indoor under lights (I can't do that now because of space issues), and that was a success, but in the cool spring outdoors with 8-10 hours of sun at best, I'm not sure what quality seedlings I'd get.

Any thoughts - what type of plastic to use, etc.

By the way, I would use 32 ounce yogurt containers for the seedlings, as I found these to be the perfect size for the size of seedlings I want to grow. (I don't re-pot.)

Thanks!

July 10, 2017	#1
Salaam Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Ottawa, ON Posts: 128	Temporarily converting Earthtainer to cold frame Hello all, I have five Earthtainers on the south (and slightly east) brick wall of my house and was thinking my next project would be to try and use these as cold frames to grow seedlings (probably tomatoes, kale, peppers, zucchini) next spring. Perhaps just using some flexible PVC pipes, plastic, and maybe a small source of heat. My first question is - will I be able to get adequate seedlings - better than those at the store? My only experience growing tomatoes and peppers from seed was indoor under lights (I can't do that now because of space issues), and that was a success, but in the cool spring outdoors with 8-10 hours of sun at best, I'm not sure what quality seedlings I'd get. Any thoughts - what type of plastic to use, etc. By the way, I would use 32 ounce yogurt containers for the seedlings, as I found these to be the perfect size for the size of seedlings I want to grow. (I don't re-pot.) Thanks!