A short while ago I bought a batch of cloches from Greenfingers.com. They are actually made by Botanico, and are therefore widely available. I got two packs of the medium-sized ones (3 per pack) and two of the small-ones (4 per pack). I put them into service this weekend:
They were on special offer at the time, so very reasonably priced. Although they are made of fairly flimsy plastic, they are quite flexible and therefore not too prone to damage. If you look after them they will last for several years.
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| Medium and small dome cloches |
They were on special offer at the time, so very reasonably priced. Although they are made of fairly flimsy plastic, they are quite flexible and therefore not too prone to damage. If you look after them they will last for several years.
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| Medium dome cloche |
In March and April we often get warm days but very chilly nights with occasional frost, so plastic cloches like this are ideal at this time of year, when you are trying to establish new young plants that are vulnerable to the ravages of wind, rain and frost. The Botanico dome cloches have vents at the top (even on the small ones), so you can regulate the temperature a bit even when it is sunny.
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| Small dome cloches |
All sizes come with pegs or staples to keep them in place, though I have found that these are sometimes too small to do the job in the face of a howling gale, so I have made some much longer ones from heavy-guage wire.
One other good thing about these cloches is that they fit easily one inside another so you can stack them up very compactly when they are not in use, which is a bonus when storage space is at a premium.
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Just in case you thought this was a sponsored post, it isn't. I just genuinely think these products deserve some praise. So does the company that supplied them (www.greenfingers.com), whose service has been prompt and efficient every time I have bought from them.
Very nice Mark. I still don't see anything like that for sale here. Maybe someday. Love the way they have the little vents in the top.
ReplyDeleteIt must be very useful for my garden. But I have never seen it's sold here.
ReplyDeleteI bought a set of 3 medium domes from H'base recently and so far have used only one! Do you think this works better than having fleece tunnel protection or one of your long cloches over the little plants?
ReplyDeleteI think they are more versatile in terms of layout than the long ones, since they protect a single plant. Also they are more rigid than fleece which often sags when it is wet or gets mauled by animals. Easy for access too, and for watering through the top vent. I love them!
DeleteI noticed some similar cloches in Wilko's today. They look to be doing their job well.
ReplyDeleteI guess when you store then you need to make sure they are dry or they could weld together, We've found Greenfingers to be a good supplier too.
ReplyDeletevery interesting tools that can be usefull also here in the north of Italy, where I have similar weather!
ReplyDeleteI bought these from Greenfingers around 6/7 years ago and are still going strong. The metal fixers have rusted and some of the top vents are come away but that has more to do with my storage. I miss my big vegetable plot in our old house. Now its all about the twins (2 yrs!). I will be back growing in the future. Good blog :)
ReplyDelete