The Carnival Gardens Cold Frame Secret
Cold frames, as a general rule, lack any sort of flair. At their most basic, these tools for expert gardeners consists of nothing more than a diminutive unheated greenhouse.
Giving tender plants an early start as seedlings or lengthening the gardening season into the fall are the two primary reasons for making use of a simple cold frame.
But this no-muss-no-fuss emphasis on functionality in cold frames does nothing to diminish their usefulness or ability to improve how someone gardens. In order to magnify this utilitarian capacity inherent to cold frames, we at Carnival Gardens conducted research on ways to improve the device. Our finding have resulted in a spiffed up cold frame whose special characteristics cannot help but “open up naturally” for avid gardeners who decide to purchase it.
The piece de resistance of our cold frame is its self-opening mechanism. Many longtime gardeners may ignore this feature as old hat; several current models also tout this amenity, which should make Carnival Gardens’ rendition on the cold frame old news. In actuality, the nature of our cold frame’s self-opener helps it to stand out and above its competitors.
But we, it might be best to clarify the exact benefit of having a cold frame that can open on its own. Cold frames are designed to nurture and support plants with sustained warmth during cold weather or a frost. As the temperature external to the cold frame warms up, and as the seasons transition from winter into spring, the climate inside the cold frame will retain the additional heat, which will see its inner temperature begin to escalate.
Yet cold frames were designed to bolster cold-season crops, such as lettuce and radishes, tender vegetables that are susceptible to both extreme cold and excess heat. Though the cold frame can successfully weather these crops through a cold spell, it must be ventilated as the temperature climbs, or else the plants inside will overheat and wilt.
Self-opening cold frames make handling a heatwave in spring much easier on gardeners. As the temperature rises, these cold frames will prop themselves open and provide crucial ventilation for the plants inside.
But most self-opening cold frames present two additional challenges. Constructed to be utilized overhead, which means that they open inward, bombarding into the plants’ space and thereby reducing the amount of usable room inside the cold frame. What is more, these frames open at temperatures that are, by all accounts, far too hot for cold season crops, oftentimes between 75 and 90 degrees. By the time the outdoor climate becomes this warm, the plants inside have already been adversely affected.
Carnival Gardens’ self-opening cold frame sidesteps both of these very real hassles. It opens between 45 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit, just the right time to provide fresh, cool air for delicate plants. And the technology behind our self-opener means that it props open outwardly, reserving every inch of space in the cold frame for a bounty of crops.
Our opening mechanism boasts a cylinder placed midway in a hinge, reminiscent of the door-closing cylinder that many screen doors feature. We’ve placed a unique chemical inside the cylinder which thermally expands, or takes up space as the temperature rises. Solid at 45 degrees Fahrenheit, this chemical becomes an expansive liquid as the weather reaches 55 degrees. The expanding of the liquid places pressure on a piston in the cylinder, forcing it to move. This piston hits opposing levers, which in turn prop the lid of the cold frame open. The liquid shrinks and solidifies as the temperature dips; as it does so, the levers force the lid downward and closed.
The simple yet precise technology and design of the Carnival Gardens’ cold frame self-opener makes it an ingenious and wise choice for the experienced gardener who enjoys products that support her planting efforts. For those green thumbs who already have a cold frame they enjoy, Carnival Gardens also sells a standalone self-opener which installs incredibly easily into an existent product.
Those who are “open” to improving their enjoyment of gardening should certainly consider Carnival Gardens’ cold frame, designed for convenience and with the plants’ best interest at heart.