The Box
I realised I really needed some way of starting the seeds on the allotment site. Carrying them up from my house (apart from the lack of growing space there) was a huge pain, damaged loads of the plants and so limited on how much I could be bothered to plant. Also, it would be great to have something where I could try possibly growing something that needed warmer weather, this year that will be pickling cucumbers. So I thought and thought about this and finally came up with a box. Not a cold frame, hopefully warmer like a mini greenhouse. Taking into consideration space and price I ended on a 2m by 70cm by 35cm high twin wall polycarbonate box (from two 3m by 70cm sheets £18 each). This twin wall polycarbonate is normally used for conservatory roofs and such, so should be good and is UV stable. You can get tripple wall at greater expense and different overall thickness, mine being 10mm. I stuck some black sheeting below it to keep weeds, slugs and bugs out and made the lid hinged. I should be able to start all my seeds inside it and then plant them out with ease. As the weather gets warmer, and the box more empty, I’ll then cut a hole in the bottom and plant the cumbers inside it straight into the ground. But will this all work? That is the experiment. I really don’t know how hot or cold it’ll get in my construction. It might not be warm enough to germinate seeds early, or so hot it cooks them in the summer. I’ll certainly have to work out ventilation and pollination for the cucumbers when we come to that.
If this all goes well, it’ll prove to be a really neat effective and cost effective greenhouse germination solution. The price of crappy cold frames and plastic sheet mini greenhouses is terrible! There is definately room for a better construction and bigger and better shapes or materials. But if this works, it really will be worth the effort.
