Protecting crops

[highonthehill]

Hi

Is there any difference between using a cloche and using netting? Do they both achieve the same thing? Also, what sort of pegs should I use, plastic or metal? I'm leaning towards using netting with metal pegs, bamboo canes with yoghurt pots.

[Bigmallly]

What are you trying to protect? Cloches are used to increase the temperature around the plant as in a greenhouse. Netting is used to protect plants from beasties eg Butterflies laying their eggs on your Brassicas or birds nicking your prize fruits.

[veggiechicken]

Cloches keep the ground beneath dry, so you may need to water your plants; netting lets rain through.

[highonthehill]

Thanks - but to confuse matters I've seen cloches made of netting. I'm trying protect against birds and insects, so netting seems the way to go.

[Kristen]

My understanding is:

Plastic film covered hoops - put in place some weeks before the crop is sown / planted, warms the soil. After crop planted provides some extra "greenhouse-style" heat to bring crops on more quickly, and keeps any drying/cold wind off. Won't provide any/much protection from frost.

Hoops (whether already covered by plastic film, or not/something else) can be covered with horticultural fleece to provide some protection from frost. Fleece should be removed during the day to let more light onto the crop.

Netting covered hoops - keeps the birds off

Very find netting, such as Enviromesh, is fine enough to keep certain insects off the crop - such as Cabbage White Butterfly, Carrot Fly and Allium (Onion) Leaf Miner

[rary]

You could look for the poly sheets that are perforated, I have seen them used by farmers for their crops , as the crops grow the poly sheet is pushed up and the perforated slits open letting in air and water, but still creating a micro climate for the plants

[highonthehill]

My understanding is:

Plastic film covered hoops - put in place some weeks before the crop is sown / planted, warms the soil. After crop planted provides some extra "greenhouse-style" heat to bring crops on more quickly, and keeps any drying/cold wind off. Won't provide any/much protection from frost.

Hoops (whether already covered by plastic film, or not/something else) can be covered with horticultural fleece to provide some protection from frost. Fleece should be removed during the day to let more light onto the crop.

Netting covered hoops - keeps the birds off

Very find netting, such as Enviromesh, is fine enough to keep certain insects off the crop - such as Cabbage White Butterfly, Carrot Fly and Allium (Onion) Leaf Miner

Thanks, just as an aside Aldi are currently selling off netting cloches and polythene cloches for £2.99 down from £5.99 (Handsworth, Sheffield branch - maybe elsewhere too?) I've bought a netting one and might also get a polythene one as they obviously have different uses.