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DIY: Cold Frame From A Bed, Pallets & Shower Curtains
This DIY project is all about sustainability, creativity and practical gardening. By repurposing a metal bed frame, scrap wood, old pallets, and used shower curtains, we’re building a cost effective cold frame to extend the growing season and protect plants from harsh weather., while using items we have around the home. A cold frame acts like a mini greenhouse, capturing heat and shielding crops from frost, making it perfect for early spring planting or late season harvesting.
The goal of this build is to demonstrate how everyday, discarded materials can be transformed into something both functional and environmentally friendly. Rather than buying new supplies, this approach embraces recycling and is ideal for gardeners on a budget or anyone looking to reduce waste. The metal bed frame provides sturdy structure, while the scrap wood and pallets serve as framing and support. Clear shower curtains allow sunlight to reach the plants while trapping warmth inside.
Not only does this project promote sustainability, but it also empowers people to take on simple, rewarding construction tasks with minimal tools and experience. By the end, you’ll have a durable cold frame that helps your garden thrive year-round, proof that with a little creativity, trash really can become treasure.
What Did We Do?
Built a cold frame from scrap. So this was our Easter break project. This project was everything we had collected over the years and 2 clear shower curtains.
What Did We Use?
Old Metal Bed Frame: We’ve had this outside for 3yrs now, we picked them up for free snd used them as beds for 5yrs before they got moved outside. They are perfect for putting plants on so they drain freely.
Scrap Wood & Pallets: Wood left over from fencing & part of the large fruit cage that was never used & free pallets we’d collected from around the village. These pallets do take some time to get apart & remove the nails, but worth the effort.
Using Clear Shower Curtains: Picked these up cheap from Amazon, heavy duty thickest ones I could find, thought I’d only need 1 but actually had to get a 2nd. Prices of polycarbonate sheeting was just out of budget!
BUILDING THE FRAME
Built a frame around the bed, out of the wood I had available so very mixed, but I knew I was painting it all black anyway so wouldn’t really be noticed.
Screwed onto the back, sides & front bottom part of the frame with pallet wood. Getting the wood off the pallets took much longer than the build!!
PAINTED
Painted using left over black fence paint to cover it all. Eliza spent the afternoon with me doing this.
ADDING THE SHOWER CURTAINS
Taped together with waterproof double sided tape down the edge to form a larger rectangle. You can see this white strip down the middle
Stapled onto the wood all round the top/sides with heavy duty staples like you’d use for furniture upholstery.
Cut off the excess at the side and the triangle to leave just the front flap.
FIXING TO THE SIDE & BOTTOM
Hair bands looped through the shower curtain holes that attach onto hooks, this will give it a bit of movement in the wind but stable enough not to rip. Fingers crossed!!
Velcro strips of heavy duty waterproof velcro put on the sides and on the shower curtains to close it up tight enough to have a seal (stuff I had already but can be picked up cheap)
FLOORING
Black sheeting was put across the whole area that we were given for a few reasons.
1. This has really coarse slabs here so you can’t go barefoot. I like to be able to just quickly nip out & not have to go find my shoes first
2. There is constant weeds growing through and I just can’t get the time to constantly weed them AND don’t want to have to move this to do underneath
3. This is the MAIN REASON. The black attracts the heat, like our black fences it keeps this area warmer and holds the heat into the evening.
All there is left to do is start filling it up!
Building A DIY Cold Frame With A Metal Bed Frame
PART 1: Video Reel
Building A DIY Cold Frame With Shower Curtains
Part 2: Video Reel
Happy Gardening!
Katrina & Clayton and family live in East Ayrshire and share their daily life in the garden on instagram. They practice permaculture principles in the garden, reducing & repurposing waste whenever they can. Katrina shows how home educating in nature has helped Clayton thrive.
Clayton Completed The 2 Grow and Learn Courses with the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society This Year. Clayton has just turned 17, Autistic, Non Verbal & has been Home Educated for the last 7yrs. Katrina & Peter both hold their PDC Permaculture Design Course from Oregon State University
They featured on BBC Beechgrove Gardens Ep23 2022 and returned in 2023 for an update,Katrina & Clayton are also columnists for ScotlandGrows Magazine, Guest Blog for Caledonian Horticulture as well as working with Gardeners’ World Magazine and many other brands.
They are also Author of the new Children’s Book Series: Clayton’s Garden Journey: Stories of Autism and Gardening. Topics on Growing, Harvesting, Sowing & Composting and 108 Page Weather and Seasons Weekly Gardening Record Book available on Amazon and Kindle. Listen in on their Guest Podcasts to learn more about them.
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Author of the new children’s book series: Clayton’s Garden Journey: Stories of Autism and Gardening and Sowing, Growing, Weather and Seasons Weekly Gardening Record Book available on Amazon and Kindle
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