In my travels today, I stopped at my favorite materials salvage facility. (A dumpster with a friendly owner, my father. Whatever I pull out of the dumpster is less materials they have to pay for to remove!)
In the dumpster, I found 3 dual-pane storm windows with wood frames, and some chipboard with 1x2" wood screwed to the edge, which was part of a shipping crate.
Look at that in the back of my truck - it looks like something I would have spent money on!
The windows had screens on the one pane. I had to bend/kink them to get them out, as they were "built-in". They had to come out as screens provide a fair amount of shading.
I didn't notice it, but one of the windows is a little taller than the rest.
I put the windows over the top of the bales to see how it looks.
The three windows together are not quite as wide as the poly cover I had, but the glass is much more clear than the plastic as well.
Here's the same windows propped up onto the second story of bales.
I should be able to use the two sheets of chipboard to make triangular ends and some sort of front and rear base for the windows.
I would like to build something similar to this:
Only it would be larger, and the back wall would be straw.
(Check out the builders blog at
ONE STRAW.)
Here's another great photo of that same cold frame.
That's made by the same guy who I was recently helping build a 8' tall arched greenhouse.