How to Bend Tubing for Cold Frames

Cold frames are built out of metal tubing, which is bent into a dome-shape and either attached to a frame or directly to the ground. Hoop-house cold frames are built to cover each row of plants individually; they are too low to the ground to stand up in, but they are tall enough to accommodate whatever plants will grow in them. Taller plants will need a slightly higher row, which can be built out of 6-foot lengths of wire, while shorter plants will only need the space given by a 4-foot length.

Two-by-four plank
3-inch screws
screwdriver
C-clamps
Heavy gauge wire

Instructions

- 1
  Determine the height of your cold frame. If your plants are taller, then you will need to cut 5- to 6-foot lengths of 10-gauge wire to support the row covers. Shorter plants will only need 4-foot lengths of wire.
- 2
  Build a jig to bend your wire around. Mark the center point of your two-by-four plank and, along the top edge, drive a screw into the plank 6 inches off center on each side of the mark. Leave the screws sticking out of the wood by 1 inch. Screw two more screws into the plank half an inch below the first two. Screw two more screws into the lower edge of the plank, 1 1/2 feet off center, one on each side.
- 3
  Clamp your jig to your work table so that it can't move as you bend your hoops.
- 4
  Thread your cut wire through the jig, bending the middle of the wire around the the top-edge screws until the wire is centered in the jig, resting just inside the lower-edge guide screws.
- 5
  Take the wire out of the jig and stick the ends into the ground on either side of your row.

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