One Man's Junk = Another Man's Cold Frame, or Greenhouse, or...

Some people collect stamps. Some collect whiskey glasses, or salt shakers, or garden gnomes. I collect windows:

This is my current collection after prowling alleys around my neighborhood. These are windows that people cast out due to remodeling or upgrading their windows to more energy-efficient models. My initial plan was to use the first few windows I salvaged (plus a 4' x 5' bay windowsash that I'd also acquired) to build a cold frame. A cold frame is basically a small box with a glass top that sits on the ground to provide a little extra heat to cold-sensitive plants, or to provide an intermediate zone to acclimate, or harden, young seedlings to the outdoors before transplanting. Cold frames can also extend your growing season by a couple of weeks in both spring and fall.

So far, though, I've accumulated a full dozen windows of various sizes, and now my thoughts are spinning up even grander projects...like a mini-greenhouse! Tonight I measured all the windows and noted the dimensions, and in the next couple of weeks I'll be playing with numbers and drawings to see just what I can make with them. Combined with the discarded-but-fine lumber I also collected this winter, I just might have a tiny greenhouse for nearly zero cost! Reduce, repurpose, recycle!

More updates on this front later, dear Reader...