Home Made Fleece Cloche

[sandersj89]

I have had a request to re post something I did a while ago on how I protect my carrots with fleece, so here it is, it will work just as well with Environmesh if you have it:

I always sow and cover with fleece tunnels which stay in place until harvest. I find this the only sure way to stop the problem.

Over the years I have tried barriers and varieties that are meant to be less prone to attack such as sytan, resista fly and fly away but find the fleece tunnel works far better than any other method.

This is how I make my tunnels:

Firstly what you will need:

Row of fleece
Garden string, preferably polypropylene
3mm or 4mm galvanised wire, not too thick or you will have a problem bending it.
Pliers and wire cutters
Scissors or a knife



First step is to cut the wire into lengths about 14 to 16 inches longer than the width of the fleece.



Bend the wire into a hoop and at each end make a full twist, leaving a leg of about 4 to 6 inches below the loop. The leg is driven into the soil so if you are in a very exposed area you might want to cut the wire longer.



Cut a piece of string long enough to tie from one twist, stretching to the other twist, leaving enough spare to allow you can tie it.



Place each hoop over the crop row, driving the legs into the ground. Place a hoop about each 3 foot along the row.



Cut the fleece to length, allow about 20 inches over the length of the row. Bunch the ends and tie. Stake one end of the fleece at the end of the row and stretch the over the hoops to the other end of the row. Stake this end as well.



Finally take the string and bring it over the top of the fleece and tie to the other twist in the wire so the string holds the fleece to the hoop. This stops the fleece billowing around too much in the wind. I also place clods of earth along the bottom sides of the fleece to keep it tight to the ground.



If you need access to the crop it is the work of seconds to lift one side of the fleece. No need to untie anything or remove the hoops. I leave the cloche in place until harvest.




The wire hoops last years and I tend to get 2 years out of my fleece. Still far cheaper than bought cloches and it certainly keeps carrot fly at bay and gives good crops! You could also use environ mesh as this will allow more rain through which may be a factor early on during germination.

I hope that all makes sense and is useful to some.

Jerry

[Jude]

Dear sandersj89,
I've used 'fleece cloches' again this year, made the same way but not from your recipe exactly, saw it in a book somewhere can't remember where, but yet again I've had brilliant results from carrot and parsnip sown in early Feb. I will leave the fleece in situ until I pull the carrots and then leave the parsnips to fend for themselves, it worked well last time, so, fingers crossed for a repeat.

[Jenny Green]

Thanks for that excellent description Jerry.
I use fleece over my brassicas as it protects them from the millions of pests they have. Up until now I've used bamboo canes with jamjars on the top, draped the fleece over them and pegged it into the ground. However, I think your method is more stable and looks a lot nicer too. Could I ask where you get the wire from and how much it is?

[richard p]

mine are similar design but made from half inch black plastic , cos it was in the shed, the plastic is drilled through about 6 inches from the ends to take a short piece of 2mm wire, also found in the shed, the wire has a pig tail bent in the outer end to tie the string to at ground level, the inner end is bent over to stop the pigtail falling out. in practice a string with loops in both ends can be slipped in and off over the pigtails without having to undo the loops.
the wire is plain galvanised fencing wire, usually available upto 5 or 6 mm from fencing suppliers, agricultural merchants or some building suppliers
the fleece is 1.5 metres wide
ive now got 60 hoops which makes 6 tunnels each about 30 ft long , keeps the pigeons amnd pheasants at bay till the plants are mature enough to stand a chance

[Beryl]

And if you don't want to fiddle about making your own you can always buy them direct from LBS. They will last a lifetime. Also fleece pegs to anchor it down.

http://www.lbsgardendirect.co.uk/

Beryl.