Has anyone tried making the cold frame in the latest issue of Grow Your Own? It sounds straightforward(ish) but can anyone suggest where I'd get wooden pallets from?

Since I saw the feature in October's [05] issue, I have been looking out for a wooden pallet to try making my own cold frame. unfortunatly they are a bit like buses. when you don't want one you see three coming your way. Over the years the amount of wooden pallets I have seen dumped in skips could have built all the coldframes I could ever have wished for. Now all of a sudden there seems to be a famine of wooden pallets in skips round here in Cardiff. Oh well I will just have to keep looking.

You could try your local industrial estate. A company I worked for were often asked if we had any scrap pallets by the locals.
Good luck

You often find the two sided entry type pallets used for delivery of roof tiles, block paving, etc. People having their roofs or drives done will often have a skip. They often have more rubbish than 1 skip can handle so you offering to take some of it away should suit both parties!

Its just a case of keeping your eyes open!

I have now salvaged two pallets from skips, so soon will be able to start construction on the first of my cold frames. I plan to make them 4' square so that they will also be the same size as my proposed raised vegetable beds. The idea of using them to store potatoes and other vegetables over the winter is one that also appeals to me. Now all I have to do is find some more pallets in need of a loving new home.
Jax

I thought I would never find any pallets to make a cold frame but came across a lucky find round the corner from where I used to work in Edinburgh - a whole mountain of pallets that had just been dumped. We helped ourselves to a couple as we couldn't fit any more in our car and drove home delighted.

I now have a coldframe but it was difficult to make - it took me an entire day! One thing they don't say in the article is how difficult pallets are to pull apart. Luckily I have a wonderful neighbour who always has the right tools and he gave me a helping hand. The final product is a bit rickety but as I won't be moving it around I don't mind that.

I just swapped some roof felt with the same neighbour for a pot of his wood protector paint as the weather in Fife has been abismal and is only going to get worse. So my cold frame is now a lovely blue colour and should last a lot longer that it would've if left unpainted.

Hope everyone else manages to get hold of pallets!

Hi,
Just a thought I have a huge pallet yard near me. Yes, you can all be sick now but I looked through the directory and they're out there. Question is how much will they cost?

Andrewo

The guy who delivered my shed from Homebase a few weeks back very kindly let
me have a pallet out of the back of his van. He told me if I wanted more, to just go round the back of any Homebase store and there's usually loads of surplus/ broken pallets waiting to be disposed of.

Talking to my fellow allotmenteers about it, several have asked staff at DIY stores around the midlands who have usually been only too happy to let them take away pallets in various condition. They usually end up as compost bins, duckboards and decking

I got some at my local 'Country Gardens' garden centre. They had a pile in disused corner so I just asked and they were glad to get rid of them.

Are the plans on a website anywhere? I haven't got a cold-frame...well come to that I haven't got any pallets either but ya gotta start somewhere!

We managed to get hold of some larger pallets for free from Travis Perkins- they are about the same width but about 6ft long. Ideal to make a gate/door from. Had to collect though.

Use any old scrap wood and polythene for the sides - I used packaging from work. May save a bit of pallet dismantling. (Bearing in mind you need to examine all skips for window frames.)

Monty Don made quite a serviceable one on Gardeners World.

Here is a link

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/tv_an...ld/index.shtml

If you look at the portion that says "this week" you can watch a video clip of him making it.

sbp
If you want to have a look at some other cold frame plans, try the sites below
www.runnerduck.com
www.savvygardener.com

I watched gardeners world this week and I liked the way that MD did the sloping sides - that's an easier way to do it than the way described in the GYO mag as I ended up having to get my OH to saw a long plank diagonally that took ages. whereas if you build the thing with two different height - one for the back and one for the front - and then add the planls for the sides and then mark the sloping angle with a pen and saw them all individually, it makes life a lot easier.

i'm going to do that for the next one I make.