Alaska-style coldframe

Teena Garay of Homer, Alaska, gets an early start on annuals, perennials, and vegetables by growing seedlings in a coldframe designed and built by her husband, Pete. He used pressure-treated 2-by-4s to build the frame, which measures 9 feet long and 4 feet wide. It’s covered by three hinged lids (framed with 2-by-2s) that slope from 30 inches at the rear to 18 inches in front. Translucent fiberglass sheeting encloses the sides and lids. To make it easier to open the lids for ventilation, he rigged them with pulley-drawn cords that tie off to cleats in a 2-by-4 mounted above the frame. A fine mesh screen is fastened across the bottom to prevent voles and other critters from tunneling up to the seedlings.