Garden Cloche Sizes and Spacing

Garden cloches (sometimes referred to as cloche tunnels ) are small covers used to protect and warm fruit & vegetable crops in gardens and greenhouses, as well as for plant breeding or hand pollinating them. They’re also great for hand pollinating flowers.

Slipping over seedlings, herbs and low-growing veggies to provide cold protection while trapping heat from the sun to extend their growing season and protect from pests like snails and slugs. Cloches also act as deterrents against potential damage from these creatures.

Size

Cloches provide protection for young plants, seedlings and cut flowers against frost and dry conditions. Furthermore, they help warm the soil so planting can begin sooner in spring.

Garden cloches can be constructed out of various materials such as plastic, polycarbonate and glass. They tend to be lightweight and easy to move around. Depending on the material chosen they may also provide protection from birds, insects and diseases.

Cloches are dome-shaped glass pieces used to provide light and warmth to plants growing under them, increasing growth rates while protecting from pests or diseases from entering their crops. Cloches are commonly combined with fleece or insect proof mesh to increase protection and ensure optimal results for growing.

Bell cloches are popular dome-shaped covers and the most basic type of cloche. They can be opened during the day to allow adequate ventilation – which is essential as stagnant air can encourage fungal diseases like damping off or botrytis to grow in a home’s air quality. Some cloches come equipped with ventilation built right in, or can be equipped with separate venting systems for extra safety.

Spacing

Cloches may be one of the easiest tools in your gardening arsenal, yet they provide a major boost to growing success. Cloches provide protection from late frosts while pre-warming soil before planting or giving heat-loving crops a jump-start – all benefits which make gardening life simpler!

Bell-shaped glass cloches were initially used in early market gardens to protect seedlings and extend the growing season, while lightweight plastic cloches are more practical when covering larger garden beds with frost protection. Fabric row cloches provide additional blanket-like frost protection; and there are even fabric row cloches designed specifically to cover entire rows at once with one covering.

Cloches can quickly overheat in sunny weather, so it is wise to open or remove them for short periods on sunny days in order to let plants breathe and reduce overheating. In addition, their enclosed microclimate reduces pollinator access and promotes fungal diseases like mildew. To mitigate these issues add ventilation holes or use a hoop house with air venting channels to circulate air flow more freely through your cloche or house.

Height

Garden cloches can extend your gardening season, protecting tender plants from harsh conditions, pre-warming the soil in preparation for speedier planting, and protecting against harsh weather, animals, and insects.

These cloches are much more cost-effective and easy to assemble and dismantle as needed, providing a great alternative to walk-in greenhouses in your garden. Lighter weight makes these an excellent option for windy locations; metal clips or stakes make anchoring them to the ground simple.

Cloches should be opened or removed on sunny days to protect plants from overheating, while remaining closed in frosty temperatures may pose problems, as their lack of insulation won’t retain heat that already exists in the ground and won’t provide sufficient warmth to even hardy plants. Cloches also impede pollination and make the plant susceptible to diseases that might otherwise not manifest themselves as adversely.

Materials

Cloches (hot caps or plant covers) serve as mini greenhouses to provide seedlings with warmth at night to deter frost, extend the growing season in spring or fall and protect tender transplants from cold winds, frost and rain that would otherwise rot them or cause fungal diseases like damping off or botrytis.

DIY garden cloches can be as straightforward as cutting open a plastic milk jug on three sides and placing it over plants at night; simply lift to ventilate during the day. Larger versions come in fabric, plastic or glass forms designed for low tunnels through to high tunnels – some cloches even allow green leafs photosynthesize while remaining protected; these clear permeable versions can even be suspended over seedbeds to monitor progress as seedlings emerge and then moved as their leaves develop further.