Build a Greenhouse for Under $25

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Gail M Gates © 11/08 www.ThePondPlantGirlShow.com

For step-by-step instructions see: www.pondplantgirl.com/coldframe.htm

Hey welcome to The Pond Plant Girl Show! Welcome. Hey thanks for stopping bye. Finally, I’ve got all that information for you about the cold frames which are the mini greenhouses that you can make yourself for under $25 dollars. So sit tight and take a look at this…

This is your typical cold frame that you might see on eBay or in your hardware store. And, this one is meant not for ponds but for starting your vegetables – giving them an early boost for the springtime. And as you can see, it’s kind of small and actually a little bit pricey.

This here is my dream cold frame. I showed this to my husband and he laughed, but I am still drooling. So, we are going to see if I can do this myself in the near future just with supplies that I find around town and on construction sites. That should be pretty cool. And, my plan is to not build something like this not for plants but to breed my koi.

For all you ponders out there, here is something that would be ideal for keeping your plants warm in the wintertime. This is a cold frame that I found on eBay. Can you believe it's actually for sale? All it is, is plastic and duct tape. So I thought, "I can do better than that." I went back to this idea right here and I thought, "You know, I can do much better." And I was searching online and I found this... This is a plan for making a dome tent. And I thought, "Well I can do that." And, I tried to find some old dome tents and couldn't find any. You know, it's November and not too many people are camping.

So, I got some PVC pipe. As you can see, I am not into construction although I try, and I got purple all over me. That's the primer, and you use primer and glue. Here's some connectors I had to use to put the pieces together.

Here is the end result of the PVC pipe that I put together. It is 10 foot sections of PVC pipe that is 1/2 inch. I have it arched over a 5 foot section and glued together. And this was fairly simple to do. And my end result... TA DA!!! TOOT DOOT TA DOO DOO!!! Hey! My cold frame turned out pretty cool! I did this all by myself and it cost under $25 dollars. Can you believe it? I've got all my containers in there. They're nice and warm and snuggly. It got kinda cold last night, but I took a peek - with all the humidity that was created with the plants, it was really kind of tropical inside. Here's another view. Very nice. I'll be also posting some of this on my myspace if you are a friend. And if not, come and join me!

In the episodes to come! I'll be showing you how to cook with water hyacinth! I little water hyacinth salad. I little water hyacinth salsa. And so I will keep those secrets for next time. And Sheila, you'll be doing your hummingbird feeder, right?

(Sheila) OF COURSE!

YEAH! So thank you for coming. This is Gail Gates... and Sheila over there!

(Sheila) Hi!

Keeping on being you! Happy Gardening and Happy Ponding!