coldframe ,the heat was too much....

[stubedo]

Hi,I bought my first coldframe for my garden this year, my turnip greens were looking & tasting good........then yesterdays sun, was too much, they are now all shriveled up to nothing ,sigh , I`ve put the coldframe in a shadier spot,is this the best thing to do? also should i open the top of the coldframe on hotter days? I noticed in the allotment earlier lots of people had their coldframes & greenhouses left open,



Stu in B`ham

[fishpond]

My glass cold frame is used as a halfway house between g/house and garden, it has been fully open since May---day and night.
It was opened up during good days in April.
G/house has been left open day and night since 2 weeks ago.
Even with doors and 4 vents fully open & damped down last night and this morning, todays temp went above 100f.
Wonder what the temp got to in your coldframe?

[Martin H]

I take the lid off my cold frame once the frosts finish and leave it off till autumn. Things still get frazzled though!

[Bal]

I am growing my melons in my now empty cold frame. I have propped the lid half open so that there is some circulation of air. Will it get too hot for the melons.

[Penellype]

It really depends a bit on the location of the frame, but I would think anything that gets the sun when its as hot as yesterday is going to get very hot indeed behind glass. I have my growhouses and my friend's greenhouse fully open 24/7 at the moment. There are melons in the growhouse as well as a few tomtoes, but strangely the melons in there did not wilt yesterday whereas the ones outside did. I can only think that the wind was a factor outside.

Really all you can do is keep an eye on things and learn what happens under various conditions.

[Two_Sheds]

I don't use a cold frame April-August ... they're for providing protection from the cold