My Recent Project

Right now, you may be saying to yourself, "What the heck is that?" A valid question. You are probably noticing the delicate plywood veneer, authentic refuse windows, gratuitous internal frame or upon closer inspection; handles on widows and hinged side door-then it becomes clear. It's a cold frame...sort of.

I picked up these two old windows in Burlington, VT my senior year of college and they've been stored at my parent's house ever since. About 2 years if you're curious. Luckily, my family has packrat tendencies and the windows didn't get trashed. It was always my intent to use them in an enclosure for my plants that may need more moisture and higher temperatures than available in ambient house conditions. Since I had a surplus of free time and my Dad had extra wood in the basement, I finally completed this little project. The windows needed a little planing on the edges and some glue for some cracking, but everything is relatively snug. I caulked seems on the bottom and outside to make the contraption a little more airtight. I plan to paint the inside white to maximize light availability. The more air-tight the box, the more moisture. To allow airflow I may install an old computer fan. It's not really transportable, so perhaps I'll add a wheel, wheel-barrow fashion.

Winter months in the Northeast tend to be a little harsh on some of my sensitive plants like, well, my sensitive plant (which actually died in the care of my parents while I was interning in Florida). A couple of my favorite plants (Guiacum sanctum, an apparently weeping Lysiloma latisiliquum phenotype and Acacia faresiana) that I acquired in Florida, will greatly appreciate their new home, especially the heat.

The design of this "moisture box" is probably suitable for withstanding the elements of spring, summer and fall. It is my hope that my parents will use it as a cold frame,if/when I no longer require it. My mother is already thinking of things she could use it for, but she can be whimsical, so maybe my dad will use it. So I guess it could be used as a cold frame, but it's initial contrived function was to keep certain plants happy.

I guess this was all just one big excuse to make something with junk windows...mission complete. A much easier solution would be to buy metal wire shelves, a plastic encasement and lights, but that's no fun.

This post was sort of lacking in fun botany stuff, but the project was fun to complete. Next week I think I'll discuss some crazy plants chemical/s. My inspiration for this topic comes from earlier this week when after I had my wisdom teeth removed and was coming out of an anaesthetic stupor. Apparently I was asking the oral surgeon about curare...