Cloches

Now it's our third year of gardening, so we're thinking "time to get professional". Which is why we've now got cloches. After a bit of research and internet shopping, we've decided to fashion a large one, big enough to cover one of the brassicas bed, out of polythene and water piping plus bamboo for supports. We've chosen the brassica bed because they aren't insect pollinated (so will not mind being covered) and last year they were attached mercilessly by cabbage flies etc etc. The polythene will be replaced with fleece as it warms up and finally with a net cage once we hit summer.

The large cloche was constructed quite quickly - cutting long lengths (approx 2m?) of water piping and pushing into the ground to form hoops at regular intervals. The hoops were secured by linking them with bamboo canes and garden wire then covered with the polythene, which was held in the ground with tent - like pegs. The idea will be that we can then easily roll up the sides when we need access. We didn't secure the cloche to the actually beds as some do, because we want to be able to move it around. Finished product is pictured.

I've also built a tiny cloche in the side bed to house my early red cabbages. This was a much more simpler and smaller affair (about 3ft by 0.75ft wide) and the hoops made of flexible branches off a tree pushed into the ground. As it's only temporary, I'm not too concerned about how sturdy it is although it did survive the snow last month!