Cold Frames

[seussiii]

I live in 8b (15-20 deg in the winter). Was looking up options to dig up, pot, and overwinter. Seems like the benefits are pretty awesome.
 
I stumbled onto cold frames though... Couldn't i save myself the trouble an build a large temporary cold frame that i could reuse season to season? That would provide the same benefits as overwintering and save from having to use the grow lights etc? Idea would be just to cut the plants back and install it.
 
It would be similar to what this guy put together in this video. Id just lay it across the existing plot. Easy install..

Anyone have experience with this? Curious how tight the fit would need to be since we only get down to ~20 deg most winters and how well it would retain heat etc.
 
I'd imagine id have to crack it a few inches as spring came around.
 
Thanks in advance

 

[seussiii]

Ok looks like no one bit. After doing more reading it seems like a cold frame will only raise temps 15-25 deg max. Im guessing thats with fully insulated top notch construction. Even then I'm guessing peppers would die in the best case scenario at 40 deg...much less at night.
 
I'm going to look into an option using a heating element thats temp controlled. See if i can turn them into perennials. I will give it a shot this winter and update.
 
Probably seems like more trouble than its worth but once setup it can't be much worse than potting/ winterizing multiple plants by hand. Will likely use solar panels to power a heating element. This will keep it at a specific temperature during the day that will either last until morning or will require a battery supply for overnight heating.
 
Potentially wired power from the house but solar is something ive been wanting to play with.