How Do You use a fleece?

[Julian]

Hi Everyone,
I have recently invested in a buddle of fleece for the vegetable plot,i know that the fleece is a excellent method of keeping the crops of veg warm and also is useful by protecting young crops from pests.I have put in the ground loads od garden canes then i threw the flleece over.Is this the correct way to put a fleece up or do you just lay the fleece over the crops of veg.

[Two_Sheds]

No!
your canes will just tear your fleece.
It's best lightly draped over the crop, and pegged down with bricks.

Personally, I hate fleece ... it just tears.
I like voile (solid net curtain) or debris netting.

[Two_Sheds]

Oh, and another thing. Slugs and snails just LOVE the warm moist environment under a fleece

[Julian]

Oh, and another thing. Slugs and snails just LOVE the warm moist environment under a fleece

Thanks Two Sheds,I was worried about causing any damage to the young crop of vegetables,but will go with your suggestion,and i did hope this would stop the slugs lol

[squashysu]

I dont think anything stops the slugs!!!!, i have planted out some winter cabbage today and all year round caulis, i have fleeced them, so that the butterflies wont come, but will be checking every eve for my mates, slugs and snails!!!!!

I also just lay the fleece over the top, but i use tent pegs instead of bricks, it did a good job last from jan onwards this year and i have washed ready for use this winter.

Good luck with the growing!

[Megans-mum]

fleece

Hi Everyone,
I have recently invested in a buddle of fleece for the vegetable plot,i know that the fleece is a excellent method of keeping the crops of veg warm and also is useful by protecting young crops from pests.I have put in the ground loads od garden canes then i threw the flleece over.Is this the correct way to put a fleece up or do you just lay the fleece over the crops of veg.

Hi julian ive bought the giant fleece cloches. it will be my first time using them. Up to now no slugs etc but i do check every night and morning. The fleece cloche just is like a tunnel with hoops. you just un wind it and stick it in your soil.
I do hope it doesnt tear as they are quite expensive. The gardening site says they shouldn't tear, as they are made from 45 gsm. I think thats the thickness of it.
Beware on mild warm days though, they get very hot inside and your plants wilt, as the soil heats up very quickly. As its dry at the moment and quite mild, ive taken mine off to let the plants breathe etc. Anyway good luck.
ps i read in a magazine ,to go to your local plumbing merchants and get some blue water pipe, cut it to the required lenght ,width and height of your plants ,stick each end in the ground ,then lay the fleece over the top.
Apparently ive heard some building sites, now they are quiet will actually give you , any surplus and off cuts. So thats worth a try, as it will be cheaper than buying the cloches as they range from 25- 30 each. kind regards judith.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Remeber to leave enough slack for the plants to grow!

You can support the fleece by using short canes topped with upturned plant pots/pop bottles/coloured plastic balls like you get in the kids ball pool and throw the fleece over that. Weigh down the edges with bricks.

[Brengirl]

OMG. I bought a lemon tree during the year. An ornamental one. The seller said just cover it with a fleece during the cold months. Lol I thought she meant an old fleece jacket or such like. Silly me

[piskieinboots]

I thought she meant an old fleece jacket or such like. Silly me

now I love that

[Flobalob]

I used some fleece to make a cloche over a raised bed..Found it very effective
Beets Beans and Boxers: March 2009

[Brengirl]

Surely a fleece is only a panoply

[Florence Fennel]

Surely a fleece is only a panoply

Well done Bren!

[SlugLobber]

I was planning to use arches from my broken greenhouse to lift the fleece up, forming a make-shift polytunnel (I decided this after seeing the price of polytunnels - balls to that!).

For shrubs, I gently wrap the fleece around and then use a few clothing pegs to hold in place. Last winter, they survived all the high winds and nasty weather, like that and the fleece is undamaged, so I'm using the same sheets this year! I just check the pegs every few days and adjust if necessary.