Do i need a cold frame?

Furny

Hi Folks
It's my first year of gardening & everything i am doing vegs/flowers will finally be in tubs/containers (many things started off inside on windowsills or in propogators ) & with no greenhouse( yet!) just a garden shed i'm wondering if it would be worth buying a cold frame?
With it been my first gardening year i'm not wanting to spend a lot initially just looking at cheap ones like Lidl/Aldi ones for now.
My two gardens are North & South Facing.
So would my new hobby benefit from this purchase do you think? its easy to waste money when you are new to a hobby.
Thanks for all your help.

gazza975526570

Id get one of those plastic type greenhouses - yo can pick them up for less than £20 so if yo dont get the bug you havent lost too much. Greenhouses are expensive to purchase unless you get lucky with Freecycle or elsewhere

4li5on

Can't speak on behalf of everyone, but I love my coldframe. Haven't really got room for a greenhouse and those plastic ones with a plastic jacket on (if you know what I mean) are useless and just blow over and tear.

I got mine about 3 years ago, similar platic construction to the Aldi/Lidl ones, £20 from B&Q. Was a bit dubious 1st summer as it seemed a bit flimsy. Used it as a stop-off point for things coming off the windowsill and things which could be started straight outside but needed a bit of protection.

It came with pegs to peg it down onto the soil or screws to fasten it to a base. My darling Dad made me a base slighlty bigger than the frame from an old wooden pallet with gaps in to drain any excess water and feet on to keep it off the ground. It made it much more stable, but still wobbly in the wind.

2nd summer I nailed some lengths of quarter round dowel onto the pallet to firm the plastic sides up and it's spot on now. Because it's on a base it can be moved if necessary. I've used it more than I ever imagined I would and had great results.

I would recommend one, but I'm sure plenty of other people will offer their advice too!