Using garden fleece

[Leek Inquiry]

My peas and broad bean seedlings are covered with fleece at the moment, which is tacked to lengths of 2x4 on two sides of the bed.

I'm thinking that I should remove the fleece during the warmest part of the day (say from noon until about 4pm). This would let a bit more light directly onto the seedlings, but also the dark earth would warm up more (some of the sun's light/heat must be reflected by the white fleece.)

Is this worth doing?

[zazen999]

Nope. It will be warmer underneath due to shelter from the wind

[Two_Sheds]

They don't need to be under fleece at all at the moment. You don't want them getting too warm because they'll grow all soft & leggy

[rustylady]

What sort of peas and beans are you growing? I wouldn't have thought they need to be covered.

[Leek Inquiry]

They are hardy types - the broad beans are 'Aguadulce' and the peas are 'Meteor' (a dwarf, hardy, smooth-seed variety). I was just assuming that they'd get bigger before the really cold weather arrives, and therefore survive better, if I kept them a bit warmer. At the moment the pea seedlings are about an inch tall, and the first three broad bean shoots just poked out yesterday. I will take off the fleece if it's not doing any good, and they shouldn't have been softened yet.

Would the fleece benefit any of my other beds? I have a bed with onion sets, 'senshyu yellow', and garlic 'Avignon', and one with cabbage, 'advantage F1', a hardy, overwintering one. The cabbage seedlings are also about an inch tall, and the onions and garlic only went in on Thursday and have no sign of green shoots yet.

[Chef_uk]

The Aguadulce are extremely hardy let alone hardy. Keep the fleece well away lol. Even through last years weather peeps were seeing their broadies survive.

the whole point of using fleeces and cloches at the end of the season is to prolong the summer/autumn crops, not help out the winter ones

[zazen999]

Personally, after losing so many in last year's weather, I'd just leave it on until they are ready to crop - that means all winter.

I'd also put it on onions and leeks, as in the West Mids you have Onion Fly which burrows down into your onions [yuk].

If I only had one bit, the onions/leeks would get priority