Everyone has a general idea of a greenhouse on a garden or homestead plot. Building one usually takes a lot of expensive, hard-to-get material: load-bearing metal or wooden posts, film covering or a framed structure with glass — plus heating. Because of that, not everyone can afford such a structure, but working in it is a pleasure — there is plenty of light and you can move about standing upright.
A cold frame is of course much simpler and cheaper. In essence it is only the roof of a greenhouse plus a box at the base. So people build it more often. Although, as a rule, these designs are less convenient to maintain than the first type.
If only one could combine the economy of a cold frame with the convenience of working in a greenhouse! It seems we managed to do that on our plot (subsoil water made it possible) — we thought of a dugout. There, too, you practically only need a covering — but you can stand and move without bending down.
1 — glass or film roof (on a frame), 2 — entrance door, 3 — ladder or steps, 4 — terraced side of the cultivated soil, 5 — trench walkway, 6 — sloping side of the cultivated soil.
Along the central path of the future cold frame they dug a trench about waist-deep: car owners often make similar pits in a garage. The top cover, i.e. the roof of the cold frame, was built with support directly on the ground. Its width is such that you can freely work by hand over the whole area. For convenience, the beds on one side were dug one spade deeper, then given a slight slope (in the drawing — on the left); a terraced layout is also possible (in the drawing — on the right). This increases the space under the film and allows the trench-path to be dug deeper. The path itself is only just wide enough to walk along the cold frame.
That is all. The advantages of this design are obvious. Still, let us list some of them.
It is much easier to maintain the thermal regime of the cold frame when heating with biothermal, electric, or any other method.
It is inexpensive and quick to build.
It is highly resistant to strong winds. Even a hurricane can pass over this seemingly fragile structure without damage.
You can tend the cold frame standing up, instead of bending double as you must on open beds or in ordinary cold frames.
“Modelist-Konstruktor” No. 7’96, P.D. Chornobay, P.P. Chornobay, Cherkasy
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