New bulb frame

[Matt T]

Battling with the elements, I've been in need of somewhere sturdy for my growing bulb collection. Growing anything here really demands shelter and last winter I had to retrieve a cold frame from 2 fields away (I think winds hit 92mph - not unusual for us ). No more flimsy cold frames or makeshift fish crates covered with a window pane! (Although the latter still have their place.)

With the weather being so consistently terrible here since November I've been busy out in the byre. We were gifted some old double glazed windows about 2 years ago and it was time something was done with them. I present the results here (photo 1) and am pretty chuffed with it. I especially like that fact that it looks a bit like an old fashioned Victorian frame. We're in a rented property, so permanent constructions are not an option and the frame can be moved if we leave here.

I've employed the Hebridean crofter principle of not spending money if it can be avoided. So, the windows were donated, the cladding timber was surplus from a friend who's building a house as was the sharp sand. My only purchases were timber for the basic framework, some hinges, a few screws and a small tin of wood preservative - all in about £30.

The whole construction is very heavy, and nestled up against the house wall with it's sloping front it should be pretty 'aerodynamic', so I know it will withstand the winds here. I pondered how to work out the angles and dimensions for the sloping front  and settled on basing the design on a 3:4:5 triangle. I could tell you it was made-to-measure for it's location, but that would be a lie and it is purely luck that it fits perfectly on the concrete plinth surrounding the house. A miracle of trigonometry!

The windows have been removed from the secondary frames to reduce their bulk and allow maximum light into the plants but they are still heavy. They've been attached with 4 x butt hinges on each light and I think the forces are exerted in such directions that they should hold...time will tell.

I grow in plastic pots but have incorporated a 'plunge' with about 4" of coarse sand in the bottom that they stand on (photo 2). I was concerned about moisture in the sand reducing the life of the timber (especially given our wet climate meaning that it will take a battering from outside as well as inside). I built in a 'plunge liner', so the base has a double skin with an air gap of 4-5 cm between (photo 3). This lining can be replaced if it rots more easily than building a whole new frame. An added benefit is that this air gap may provide a bit of insulation. I could have filled this gap with expanding foam, but wanted to avoid the cost and heavy frosts (let alone long freezes) are very rare out here.

I now have a bulb frame with plunge of 7' x 2' (internally), sheltered at a gable end orientated south-south-east. This is a vast improvement on my previous growing arrangements and I hope my bulbs will respond. I also have more space for my growing collection 

[Maggi Young]

Wow, very "swanky" look for a frame made from recycled materials. Looks VERY solid - which I know it will need to be!

White interior to reflect maximum light - what more could a bulb ask of a new home?

[mark smyth]

I like it

[art600]

Matt

Looks so much better than Access frames and so much cheaper

Fingers crossed that the winds do not manage to shift it.

[annew]

RESPECT! And built on Yorkshire principles of finance too. 

[Matt T]

Thank you all for your kind comments.

I'm now on the look out for more discarded windows... 

[annew]

I don't know if you've worked out a way to have the lights open for ventilation without them blowing away, but this is how I did mine.

[annew]

The frames also have a moat to keep out invaders!

[angie]

Anne,  love the moat. Wish I had this it might drown some of the mice that seem to be eating all my bulbs ( sorry to all animal lovers )

Angie 

[Margaret]

Great frame, Matt. Well done.

Does anything manage to grow outside apart from grasses?

[Chris Johnson]

I don't know if you've worked out a way to have the lights open for ventilation without them blowing away, but this is how I did mine.

Matt seems to have overlooked the continuation of this thread, and I've only just found it.

Most inventive Anne. They wouldn't last a winter up here though. Even closed, the wind would have the polycarbonate side panels.

[Chris Johnson]

Does anything manage to grow outside apart from grasses?

Hi Margaret

The islands are split in two in terms of habitat. The west is wind-blown shell-sand which has stabilised as internationally important 'machair'. This supports a fine flora in late spring and summer (see images). The east in more mountainous (a relative term - hardly alpine country ) with moorland, heathland and bog.

[annew]

    the wind could have those, it's the main lights I'm worried about! I'm sure your winds are worse than ours though.

[Margaret]

Lovely wild flower meadow, Simon. Do you get sundews, butterworts, Eriophorum and bog myrtle in the wetter areas or is it too cold? As a child in a remote part of SW Scotland I spent many happy hours pressing flowers for my dried flower collection. The bog cotton always came out best. Maybe it is frowned upon now

[Chris Johnson]

Yes, we get all of those, mainly on the western side.

I thought I had loaded two images, must have done something wrong.