As per the traditional terms, a cloche is a bell-shaped jar that is placed over the tops of seedlings which acts as a barrier between the seedlings and the outside freezing atmosphere. Garden cloches can be prepared with different creative ideas. Have a look on some of them.
Plastic bottles of over 2 liter size better serves as garden cloches. Just the bottom of the bottle or jug is removed leaving the cap in place. It is carefully settled over the plant and then pushed deep into the soil. You can remove the cap on sunny days to let the inside hot air outside. Plastic bottles are ideal for covering smaller plants.
In order to protect larger plants, you can choose tomato cages that protect plants late in the season from fall frosts. The plant can be simply covered with a cage. You can also place plastic over the cage. Remember to weigh down the edges of the plastic to avoid cold to enter from underneath. Ensure that the cage is much larger than the plant. Otherwise, the foliage gets touched to the plastic and gets damaged due to cold.
The other garden cloche idea is to prepare hoop houses with PVC pipes or sturdy wire. They are ideally used for protecting plants in a row or in an entire garden bed. The pipe or wire should be first bent into half circle. Be careful while bending and make sure that the arc of the circle is more taller than the tallest plants in the row. The ends of the wire should be pushed into the soil by placing the wire at an interval of about 2 feet down the bed. Then, place the plastic over the top of the wires. Weigh down the plastic with rocks and soil. That's it. Your cloche is ready. However, you should remove the plastic often during the day at one end to allow heat to vent out and prevent plant damage.
Plastic bottles of over 2 liter size better serves as garden cloches. Just the bottom of the bottle or jug is removed leaving the cap in place. It is carefully settled over the plant and then pushed deep into the soil. You can remove the cap on sunny days to let the inside hot air outside. Plastic bottles are ideal for covering smaller plants.
In order to protect larger plants, you can choose tomato cages that protect plants late in the season from fall frosts. The plant can be simply covered with a cage. You can also place plastic over the cage. Remember to weigh down the edges of the plastic to avoid cold to enter from underneath. Ensure that the cage is much larger than the plant. Otherwise, the foliage gets touched to the plastic and gets damaged due to cold.
The other garden cloche idea is to prepare hoop houses with PVC pipes or sturdy wire. They are ideally used for protecting plants in a row or in an entire garden bed. The pipe or wire should be first bent into half circle. Be careful while bending and make sure that the arc of the circle is more taller than the tallest plants in the row. The ends of the wire should be pushed into the soil by placing the wire at an interval of about 2 feet down the bed. Then, place the plastic over the top of the wires. Weigh down the plastic with rocks and soil. That's it. Your cloche is ready. However, you should remove the plastic often during the day at one end to allow heat to vent out and prevent plant damage.
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