Allotments 4 All

Hi

I know this may seem a bit early, but I am just sorting out how much fleece and mesh to buy (and where from!)

Question...

(e.g. for potatoes, but suitable for all plants requiring fleece...)

If you use fleece, do you drape it over the plants loosely (e.g. dug into soil) so it ends up touching the plants and grows with the plants

or do you construct a frame so there is a gap between the plants and fleece?

Which is better for frost protection?  Is it better to have little air gap for warmth, but the fleece touches the plants so frost could too?  Or is it better/not a problem to have the air gap?

Any other hints and tips?

mat
???

Hi,

I got my fleece from NA Kays, via tinternet seems really good value for money and cheaper to buy a roll rather than a few meteres from the garden centre.

As for how to lay it, i just drape it and secure it to the ground with ground pegs (NA Kays again) seems to work OK, my shallots and garlic have grown at least 1" since I covered them this way just a couple of weeks ago.

Maybe draping is OK for some plants but not others, I'm not sure.

I allow enough so that even brassica can grow to full height.

But more & more, I'm going for mesh.

I had fleece last year over the spuds but it was very prone to blowing off and so I got frost-scorched foliage at one point. Double thickness seems to work better there,  as did the pack I just laid over rather than suspending over hoops.

I started early carrots under cloches and replaced with enviromesh and had a lovely clean crop. I'm looking to get more as what I do have got a bit mangled the first season (my fault - I stapled it to a wooden frame, and it pulled around the staples leaving holes after the foxes bounced on the frame!!!) so had to be doubled up this last time to make sure the carrot flies couldn't get in.

I would really like the ultra-fine mesh so I can protect cabbages from both devilbirds and flea beetles. 

moonbells

Yes - have you noticed that, when you cover against an expected frost, it blows a gale? Totally against the teachings of nature!

So - pin it down!!

:-) And then Murphy's Law steps in,  and the foxes get underneath and ping! go your pegs. 

I'd got mine held down by bricks, pegs and broom handles.  No chance!

moonbells

Foxes? We had the hunt over our patch more than once.

Prefer the foxes!!

Quote from: tim on February 15, 2006, 19:54:12
Foxes? We had the hunt over our patch more than once.

Prefer the foxes!!

Oh dear!  That's not much help unless you want everything churned up!

(And I bet the fleece didn't like it much either)

moonbells

Hi all,

I use lots of fleece, much to the amusement of my plot neighbours.  ;D

I lay it under the strings that mark the rows and then peg down the edges but with bamboo canes or green pea sticks across the fleece too. If you can picture that ? The canes are at about two feet intervals along the length of the fleece. These are pegged down with plastic pegs or I use snapped off peices of cane that makes a X shape.

I`ve never had any blow away. I just leave it like that until I can see the leaves of the crop and the weeds lifting it up. Then it depends on the weather. I try not to fiddle with things and also stay off the soil at this time of year.

Col

I use fleece for protecting against weather, and mesh for protecting against pests. Tim has just summarised the pros and cons of mesh and fleece at http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,57/topic,15432.0
Fleece does protect from squirrels too  ;D
Fleece lies over the plants and they push it up. Mesh is supported over hoops/frames.

After a lot of chasing after runaway fleece  >:( this is how I do it:

Take a 1m x 4m bed planted with whatever crop needs protection
Take a piece of fleece much wider than the bed (mine is 2m wide)
Down long side A, put dowels/old broom handles and roll up inside the spare fleece like a Swiss roll
Down the other long side B, weigh down with long heavy bits of wood
Make sure the fleece is fairly loose over the top of the bed, but not too loose as to rub the tender growing points when it's windy
Leave the bed alone until the leaves are pushing the fleece up, then unroll side A however much is needed to give the crop more room to grow. Keep doing this til the fleece is no longer needed.

Even if I haven't planted the whole bed, I will cover all of it anyway. I do re-use the sheets of mesh and fleece til they shred. Am considering washing the mesh sheets in the machine this year  :o

Quote from: supersprout on February 16, 2006, 05:23:17
... Am considering washing the mesh sheets in the machine this year ...

Cold wash, and shortest possible only supersprout ! (it works)

Rub a dub dub then jenny, thank you!  :)

Quote from: mat on February 13, 2006, 19:28:44
If you use fleece, do you drape it over the plants loosely (e.g. dug into soil) so it ends up touching the plants and grows with the plants
or do you construct a frame so there is a gap between the plants and fleece?
mat
???

One solution I have seen used is to sow a tall growing plant (in this case a grass)  between the crop rows to lift the covering above the plants.
If you weigh down the edges with bags of soil (I use old plastic fertiliser bags I get from a farmer) rather than digging in the edges you will minimise the damage to the covering as any weed roots that penetrate it can be quite destructive. I find it also makes it far easier to peel back the covering to go weeding.
These products were initially adapted for horticulture to boost yields (by increasing germination rates for direct sown crops such as carrots-they keep the soil wetter- or by reducing transpiration losses from crop leaves). If you leave the covering on for the entire crop, not just for frost protection, you could potentially increase your crops significantly- potatoes are the most responsive to this treatment and it could be worth your buying extra just to keep this crop covered.

Try using short, bushy "pea sticks" along the rows. I use dogwood prunings. It holds the fleece just clear of the crop in the early growth stages and is very easy to do. ;)

Thanks Guys for all the ideas.  I have just had a roll of fleece rom Kays delivered to me at work... so loads there

mat

Mat - can you be a bit more specific with the web address of Kay's that you & others purchased from please.

I've tried for days to find someone who sells fleece cheaply but when I get into Kays Discount Garden Store, which I presume is the one you're talking about  - I just cannot get into any of the sub-headings they ask you to look at....maybe it's cos I'm not registered!!

I did find another site - thegardensuperstore.co.uk but when I'd chosen my small amount of fleece & some pegs to anchor it which totalled about £7.50 I then found the postage or shipping as they called it....was £6.99 - I thought that was terrible!!....so didn't order it....or am I expecting too much?

It was only in Andover, which isn't too far from me in Berkshire but too far for me to go and fetch it.

Other peeps often mention poundland but I'm about 4 miles outside of Reading and have made two special journeys into town so far, only to find they've not got any in stock (or some of the other things I see mentioned in this group) so disappointing and a waste of time  & bus fare :'(

hi h_p, it's http://www.kaysdiscountgarden.co.uk/ - not the slickest website, but you should be able to explore the categories in the navigation bar on the left without registering. They will also send you a catalogue if you prefer to browse thru same. It really is worth it to persist, they are good value.

Had another try S.S. but still not having much luck...get into site ok but just cannot find the right category for fleece...have tried various headings & sub-headings - also, when I type 'fleece' into the 'search' facility - the only thing it takes me to is a fleece cloche @ £22.20....not quite what I'm looking for  ???

The few headings that I can get into list a few things but many of the headings are totally blank after clicking onto them....also - no pics. in the ones I can get into....bit disappointing.  :(

fleece is under plant protection and then fleece

full address for fleece is:

http://www.kaysdiscountgarden.co.uk/products.asp?subcategory=Fleece&category=Plant+Protection+and+Support

I use FireFox and tI have no problems with the site. Not sure what browser you are using, but the issues you are seeing, I sometimes see when a site will not work on a specific browser.


mat

Me too. Mozilla Firefox takes me where I want to go.