Author Topic: Home made Cloches  (Read 59720 times)

Digeroo

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Home made Cloches
« on: May 06, 2009, 21:53:22 »
Decided to make some cloches and netted areas using some piping hoops.  Ordered some from Screwfix at 4.30 pm and it arrived 9.15 next morning.  Amazing

However I have made a complete mess of laying out my allotment, since the bed width too narrow to be covered with hoops, while two strips are too wide.

Has anyone any idea of a good way of attaching plastic to piping hoops.   

Justy

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2009, 21:57:21 »
This is really spooky as I was just about to post a thread asking where I could get the blue piping from as I saw some really good cloches today!!

Could you maybe get some wider tubing/piping and cut a small piece off to use as a connector?

Unwashed

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2009, 21:59:27 »
I've done the same as you, MDPE from Screwfix.  I think of them as Geoff Hamilton cloches, though he might just have popularized the idea.  I haven't made mine yet but I think what you do is anchor the plastic at the ends of a run of hoops and then hold the plastic against the hoops with a loop of string.
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Buster54

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2009, 22:23:19 »
I did the MDPE pipe hoops last year on 2 raised beds,what I did was I ran a length of MDPE pipe along the outside of the raised bed  held on by screws then cut a number of 2" pieces of MDPE pipe then split one side down the centre so you can pry it open ,put my polythene over the hoops and the MDPE pipe on the outside of the raised bed and held it in place with the split MDPE pieces,you could try to peg it down with stones or pop a couple of holes in the polythene either side of the hoop and tie it to the hoop,its just a question of how easy do you want to get to what ever is inside
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grannyjanny

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2009, 22:37:45 »
Someone on another site uses the £5. rose arches from Wilkinsons & got 2 structures out of it. They used cable ties to attach the canes across the top to support netting or fleece & put canes in the ground to put the structure on. It should work for the blue piping.
 Hope it makes sense,
Janet

grannyjanny

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2009, 22:39:02 »
Silly me it was this site & it was Shirlton.
Janet

Digeroo

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2009, 23:01:31 »
Thanks Justy I like the thought of piping clips.  Had some on a cloche many years ago and had forgotten about htem.  Held the plastic very well. 

Someone on our site has made some lovely ones with netting but tied that on with string.  But I have a very very windy site and want to make some huge cloches for my courgettes and squashes.  Hoping that if I protect one set the rest will manage to stay out of the wind.

Sorry folks but I do not have any raised beds.  Only use them for runner beans.   Only had the allotment 5 weeks.

Where is a good place to get plastic sheeting.  Got some cheap in Lidl but since it is heavy duty sheeting is not UV resistant so don;t expect it will last long in the sun.

lewic

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #7 on: May 08, 2009, 17:40:26 »
I was planning to make a bender/windbreak from piping and plastic sheet, to shield some tomatoes. Am thinking that Duck tape (the thick silver stuff) might do for holding the plastic in place. Its fairly waterproof and very sticky.

shirlton

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2009, 18:06:13 »
Janet I read the first post and thought how interesting that someone else was doing the same as us. ;D ;D ;D
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Digeroo

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #9 on: May 08, 2009, 18:08:27 »
I proudly took my cloche down to the allotment today.  Piping with pieces of wood from tree pruning, and a poundland garden furniture cover.  (Previous year current offering black).  I put it up and within 15 seconds the cover had blown off in the wind.  

Several more tries later and several damaged plants.  I gave up, the site is too windy.

However, have also managed to get metal pieces from old twirly whirly washing line, so hope to make a tomato  house.  But it will have to go somewhere sheltered in the garden.

asbean

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #10 on: May 08, 2009, 22:13:54 »
I made this from 2 Wilko's arches, some polythene sheeting from Ebay, some netting from Ebay and clothes pegs and bits of old fence posts to hold it down.  All for just under £15.  I've got 4 aubergines and 7 peppers inside it, and we've had some windy days and it's still standing:

[attachment=1]
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Lauren S

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #11 on: May 08, 2009, 22:56:37 »
Hubby made this one for me last Saturday and we will be putting the cover on the second one tomorrow.

Total cost for two = under £20

The water pipe I got from Freecycle and the plastic was from B&Q

From the wood frame to the highest point is 1 metre and the growing area is 7ft x 4ft (sorry for the metric and imperial measurements mix)






:) Net It Or You Won't Get It  :)

Manouche

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #12 on: May 08, 2009, 22:58:51 »
We have these cloches too made from water pipe from B&Q.

As we do not have raised beds we used some rigid plastic pipe cut into 6" lengths which we knocked into the soil . Inserted the hoops into them which made them more rigid and of course canes along the top of the hoops.
Our site is very exposed to the sea so lots of strong winds but the cloche remains in place.

asbean

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #13 on: May 08, 2009, 23:03:34 »
Lauren - those pleated ends are so neat!  Do you hire him out ever ??? ???  My late OH was brilliant at making anything I wanted, but my two sons are USELESS, so I hve to do everything myself  ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)
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Hector

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #14 on: May 08, 2009, 23:43:30 »
Asbean/Lauren, can I ask you two a few questions as these are great!!!

...how do you access the inside...is one of the ends open or do they tilt?

..what dimensions height/length/width are they...

...how do you hold the polythene in place...especially at the ends

....is one end totally open?

...Lauren...how do you connect the waterpipes on top...

thanks!
Jackie

Jackie

shirlton

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #15 on: May 09, 2009, 07:58:24 »
Very smart
When I get old I don't want people thinking
                      "What a sweet little old lady"........
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asbean

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #16 on: May 09, 2009, 11:37:46 »
Hector - the ends are polythene sheets up as far as where the straight bit ends, fixed on with repair tape from our full size polytunnel.  Extra length has been buried inside the tunnel.  The Wilko's arches aren't full height, four metres of the sheet goes up and over with enough to weight it down with rusty pieces of fence post or bricks.  Canes to stead the whole thing and hold the polythene in place, the edges are fixed to the posts with clothes pegs.  I've got a piece of netting over the top to stop birds getting into it through the end gaps.  I access it from the sides (no problem, it's only 54ins wide and 72 ins long) - I just unpeg the lower half, fix each end to the frame to hold it up and then let it down again when I'm done.

Here's some more pics:

The frame ready
[attachment=1]

The ends in position
[attachment=2]

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Hector

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #17 on: May 09, 2009, 13:25:05 »
Thanks Asbean!! That is so good of you...we will be making cloches!
Jackie

Twoflower

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #18 on: May 09, 2009, 13:57:10 »
gosh, Lauren your plants have a good view :)

lewic

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Re: Home made Cloches
« Reply #19 on: May 10, 2009, 19:51:58 »
Asbean and Lauren - I am so impressed. I was thinking of getting a cheapo polytunnel on Ebay (which would have to be on a credit card  :( ) but I feel inspired to have a go at making something myself!

Perhaps something like this http://www.schnews.org.uk/diyguide/howtobuildabender.htm
covered with plastic sheeting, and maybe a trusty old Lidl mosqito net to hold it all down and provide some ventilation.

BTW the tomato-shield windbreak stuck to the canes with duck tape has held up so far..
« Last Edit: May 10, 2009, 19:53:49 by lewic »

 

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