What is a cloche in gardening?

A cloche is a bell-shaped glass cover that works like a mini-greenhouse in the garden. It offered frost protection to small plants and relief to newly planted seedlings trying to develop adequate root systems.

What is the point of a cloche?

Cloches function in the same way as greenhouses and polytunnels but on a miniature scale. Unlike coldframes and mini-greenhouses they are normally easy to move around. They are used to protect rows of low growing plants such as vegetables, strawberries and cut flowers, or cover individual plants in ornamental gardens.

Can plants survive in a cloche?

Cloches provide a constant level of humidity by allowing moisture to recycle. These hothouse conditions make them ideal for humidity-loving tropical plants that thrive in a moist, warm environment.

Will a cloche protect from frost?

Cover with cloches

Giving winter crops protection from the worst frost and wind can make all the difference to their survival, and may even allow small harvests. Use cloches to protect broad beans, curley parsley, hardy lettuces, peas, salad leaves, spinach and Swiss chard.

What does a cloche look like?

Cloche (kl-osh, pronounced like gauche or skosh) is a French word that means bell. Centuries ago, they were made of glass and looked like bell jars. Just like today, gardeners placed the cloche over individual plants to extend the growing season by protecting them from cold temperatures.

The English Garden Editor's choice - Cloches

What can I use as a cloche hoop?

Making your own hoops for a fleece/net tunnel is really easy and a great way to protect brassicas from pests. All you need is a few equal lengths of old hosepipe measuring around 100-130cmcm (we've used an old drip hose) and a few short lengths of bamboo, approx 40-50cm long.

What grows under cloche in winter?

Best Vegetables for Tunnel Cloches

Overwintering onions, seeded in August or September and grown under cover through the winter have been quite successful in numerous climates, as have leeks and bunching onions. Other good candidates include rocket, carrots, baby lettuce, spinach, and kale.

How do you make a cloche out of a plastic bottle?

What's the difference between a cloche and a bell jar?

The word actually means “bell” in French. The glass enhances the light and heat for the plant and protects it from direct contact with snow or ice. These are most useful for small plants and starts. A bell jar is basically the same item, but fans out slightly wider at the base and has a handle at the top.

Can you use glass jars to protect plants from frost?

Flower pots, Mason jars, baskets, and milk jugs with the bottoms removed can all be placed over plants to shield them from freeze and frost. Stake lightweight cloches into the ground to prevent them from blowing over.

Can you use glass jars as cloches?

Gardeners of modest means used old Mason jars or other saved glass jars for their cloches. Glass cloches are still manufactured today but are used to cover cheese plates or precious objects indoors.

Do plant cloches need air holes?

Garden cloches must have ventilation holes so the plant can breathe to prevent mold and mildew from choking your seedlings. Cut holes at the top of your cloche or lift it slightly from the ground to ensure proper air flow.

Can you put glass jars over plants?

Jars are my favorite way to protect single plants, like early cabbage seedling, zucchini, or cucumber. On very cold nights, it is easy to give the jars a second layer of frost protection with a blanket or even a bucket on top of the jar. Glass jars are also great for protecting seedlings from sudden, wet, spring snow.

What can I use instead of horticultural fleece?

Alternative materials to garden fleece

For protection against pests use fine mesh, sometimes called insect mesh. This keeps insect pests at bay, as well as birds, while netting only protects crops from birds. For protection from frost use clear heavy-duty polythene.

Do cloches keep plants warm?

A cloche is a small, portable plant covering designed to be easily moved around the garden. A cloche traps the sun's warmth raising the temperature of both the air and soil inside. A cloche can cover a single plant or a small group of plants.

What is the best thing to use to cover plants from frost?

Cover Plants – Protect plants from all but the hardest freeze (28°F for five hours) by covering them with sheets, towels, blankets, cardboard or a tarp. You can also invert baskets, coolers or any container with a solid bottom over plants. Cover plants before dark to trap warmer air.

How do you keep plants warm outside?

Use a frost blanket, cloche or row cover material – not plastic — to insulate the ground around your outdoor plants and keep them warm. Prop the cover with sticks or stakes to keep it from coming into direct contact with the new growth. And, make sure to remove the cover the next morning after the temperature warms up.

Can you put an orchid in a cloche?

Although a tricky endeavor, many orchids that grow no taller than 25 inches are suited to life under the shelter of a particular type of cloche. These delicate plants may suffer under the tightly-sealed conditions of a traditional glass dome, but an orchid cloche is made to compensate.