Best Grow house and cold frames

Top rated garden cold frames and wooden plant grow houses

A nice grow house is an excellent addition to the green fingered gardeners garden and a great alternative to a full green house. In this guide we also cover cold frames to help make the right selection for your garden. They are a handy option for small gardens for growing tomatoes or bringing on seedlings in the spring and protecting them from frost. Best positioned against a sheltered wall that are compact enough to not encroach space when used on a patio.

*Scroll down for cod frames

Best wooden grow houses

We’ve selected our best choices of grow house from wood as they are a much sturdier option than the cheap plastic ones. These are good solid wooden frames that won’t blow over with every gust of wind! They can be painted to blend in with a garden colour scheme and left open in summer to show all the plants off.

Top rated grow house – The Gardman grow house.

The first note is to confirm it’s made from FSC wood meaning it’s a sustainable source which we’re always keen on. This is our best rated grow house for value as it comes in at a reasonable price for the product. There’s 2 shelves built in which gives you plenty of room for your plants.

If you’re not putting it against a wall it has a back so its protected from all sides regardless. Here’s how it looks (manufactures image).

Best wooden shelved grow house

 

Pros of the Gardman wooden grow house

  • Great value for the price
  • Can be treated or painted to bland in with your garden
  • 2 Shelves plus the ground means it can be packed full of plants and seedlings

Cons

  • Is a little flimsy with out the shelves in it, which fine if its against a wall with tomatoes in but you may want to get a bracket and secure it in place.
  • Only 2 bonded layers on the outer means its not that insulated but will be fine if its in a sheltered position (which is advisable anyway!)
Gardman grow house - Quick review
  • Quality
  • Value
  • Design
  • Usablility
4.5

Best wooden Cold frames

 

Top rated – Rowlinson cold frame

Rowlinson are the leaders in wooden garden products and with quality like this its easy to see why. This fantastic timber cold frame comes with two levels of openers and can be left propped open on the warmer days and left shut overnight or on colder days as you see fit. Its a cracking product for getting your veggies started early from leeks to early season salads.

The openers are a clear perspex thats easy to see through and looks just like its glass. What we really like about this product is it looks just like a standard planter so you can unscrew the covers in the summer and keep your plants in there if you like. This means its a nice feature in your garden and not just something that sits empty once it gets to the summer – or is put back in the shed for next year.

There’s also a free standing option from Rowlinson as shown below. This needs to be placed against a wall in a sheltered spot and can be used for seedlings and plants in trays. This is a hardwood frame with poly carbonate glazing. As shown in the photo below the lid can be left propped open on warmer days.

Best wooden cold frame

Best cold frame for covering garden plants – Spear and Jackson

The Spear and Jackson garden cold frame is included in best list as its very versatile and comes in handy. It can be placed over plants anywhere in the garden or used to grow trays and pots under on a patio.

What we really like about this is using it to establish plants early in spring in a border and keeping them protected from the occasional cold nights or frost. The wood is tanalised to give it a greater protection from the elements.

Best over plant grow house

The product comes flat packed and is easily constructed – its nice and light to move around too which is great if you keep moving it on and off the plants. There’s no base to the product so its easy to just place over your plants when its cold and should weather well over time.

Individual plant cloche

If none of these are suitable then a cloche maybe the answer. These small plastic domes can be placed over individual plants to give them some extra protection.


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