To cloche or not

I am convinced the Prince has a hidden warehouse full

Cloche (pronounced kl-osh) is the French word for "bell." 

A garden cloche is a clear object used to cover plants and protect them from frost, while allowing sunlight through at the same time.

The original cloches were large bell-shaped jars that 19th-century French market gardeners placed over plants in spring and fall to act as portable miniature greenhouses. At one time, these glass jars covered acres of fields outside Paris that supplied out-of-season vegetables to the city's households and restaurants.

Cloches can also be used to encourage better germination and quicker growth of spring sown parsley. Any late sown parsley can be protected by cloches from late autumn onwards to provide fresh parsley throughout the year.

Cloches are very useful for raising and overwintering plants sown direct from seed and forwarding the early plants after they have been placed in their final growing position in the spring.

I found the following tips via IGROW VEG

http://igrowveg.com

Advantages of Cloches:

• They can protect seedlings from frost, wind and cold temperatures.
• They can warm up an individual vegetable, row or area in the spring to allow early sowing.
• They can help maintain healthy growth of the seedling or plant.

Disadvantages of Cloches

• Solid cloches rely on you to remove them when watering. Although self-watering cloches are available that have holes in the top for rainwater, they divert the rain collected on the sides back towards the plant.
• The spring or summer sun can damage seedlings through a glass or plastic cloche.
• Pests and diseases could attack under a cloche and you may not be aware until the cloche is removed. 

Le Prince  Jardinière


have a lovely week


Colette x