Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: Norfolk n Proud on April 24, 2008, 17:59:33
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I've been given sixty 24" x 18" sheets of glass from an old greenhouse for a tenner, and i wanted to make some of the cloches that look a bit like a tent shape, I've seen some cloche clips on a website, but they are £1.90 each and you need between 4 and six on each cloche, so that would be rather expensive. Any ideas from the more talented among you on ideas , tips on making them ??? ??? ???
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I've heard that people used to make them out of wire coathangers. Maybe get one of the £1.90 ones and use it as a template?
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Ive seen somewhere maybe on here i dont know.
A brilliant answer to this ,
Take a lenth of ?3x3 4x4 whatever you have and run it down a circular type saw just two cuts.
Looking at the end of the wood imagine a corner at the bottom so you have a diamond two cuts the thickness of your glass in the upslopes of your diamond, have the wood the lenth of your bed and just slot in your glass instant cloche
mrf94
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I've heard that people used to make them out of wire coathangers. Maybe get one of the £1.90 ones and use it as a template?
Hi Robert, those cloche clips i spoke of were little green plastic clips on Two West & Elliot's website, which i don't think are possible to copy with wire ( if you saw them you'd see why ) My head hurts!!
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I just cut 3L plastic juice bottles in half. Remove the lid from one and put some nail-size holes in the other. Voila... 2 cloches. Cheaper
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We are not allowed glass on our allotments by order of the village council. Health and Saftey yet one more time. Fear of being sued.
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We are not allowed glass on our allotments by order of the village council. Health and Saftey yet one more time. Fear of being sued.
OMG that made me laugh. how sad is that.
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We are not allowed glass on our allotments by order of the village council. Health and Saftey yet one more time. Fear of being sued.
But you can have a garden tools made of steel, saw. What about a greenhouse or coldframe...
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Hi Andy :)
I got some green plastic cloche clips, about 10 in a pack from one of the bargain shops, (Poundland etc).
They are probably more or less the same thing. If I see any more I`ll pm you about posting some on if you like.
Col
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If you can't have glass, use polycarbonate. They're a bunch of idiots; don't let them stop you.
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Hi Andy,
I found the clips called tent cloche clips made of green plastic in Sainsburys HomeBase. The regular price is 49p for a pack of six - the ones I got were reduced to 35p which is why I bought them. Unfortunately they were reduced because they were discontinued stock. Maybe its worth trying the branch nearest to you though.
Best of luck, Col
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I've been given sixty 24" x 18" sheets of glass from an old greenhouse for a tenner, and i wanted to make some of the cloches that look a bit like a tent shape, I've seen some cloche clips on a website, but they are £1.90 each and you need between 4 and six on each cloche, so that would be rather expensive. Any ideas from the more talented among you on ideas , tips on making them ??? ??? ???
The Two Wests ones are £1.90 for 6 (or £5.25 for 24), not £1.90 each, so it may still be worth using them for convenience.
The old fashioned wire ones are excellent, but coat hanger wire won't be strong enough for glass cloches. You can buy heavy gauge wire from garden centres and make your own that way, but personally I'd go for the easy-to-use plastic ones.
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Hi guys, I've cut the bottom off some really big water bottles already,and they do seem just the ticket, i also have corrugated plastic cloches, but ten quid for 60 pains of glass seemed like a bargain to me.I'll have to hunt for them clips you're talking about.
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Hi Andy :)
I got some green plastic cloche clips, about 10 in a pack from one of the bargain shops, (Poundland etc).
They are probably more or less the same thing. If I see any more I`ll pm you about posting some on if you like.
Col
Hi Columbus, thats very kind of you, i'll keep an eye out too. Andy :)
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This is what i was trying to describe
http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=14937
mrf94
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I really like that idea, my only question would be, how to fix the glass in place? It's standard greenhouse glass. :) :) :)
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The slots accept the glass so there cut so you can capture your glass size
the slots face downhill so you kinda make a triangle the earth is the base
the glass your uprights to a point the wood catches the glass and holds it in place.
mrf94
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We are not allowed glass on our allotments by order of the village council. Health and Saftey yet one more time. Fear of being sued.
Having dug up loads of broken glass when I was digging my parsnip bed - with my seven year old daughter, I can understand that one. It took me ages to get it out and I had to be very careful and wear tough gloves - which made getting the small bits difficult. Glass does have issues - maybe not for the person who has the greenhouse, but if it vandalised or broken some other way, and then not cleared - it presents a real, significant and hidden hazard for those that follow. Not a case of H&S gone mad in my opinion and I would quite understand if polycarbonate greenhouses and polytunnels were the only growing structures allowed on allotments. I have been offered window panes for a cold frame and turned them down. I will be making mine with ploycarbonate.