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Hi all
I've been making cloche covers using polythene (of various thickness and opacity) that I blagged - it was wrapping polythene from Topp's Tiles.
Someone has told me, though, that you have to have the right kind of polythene, otherwise it blocks UV and your plants starve.
Anyone know any more about this?
cheers
H

never heard that, we used the covering off our washing machine and bed, don't remember a problem  ???

It's true, the black stuff is no good at all.   ;D

Darnit - so, black bin liners are Factor 60?!
I'm assuming for the purposes of cloche-making that the polythene should be translucent... a little milky at worst... :D

Seems OK so far, anyway. All my seedlings are doing OK under it (pak choi, spinach, chard). I cut some ventilation holes in today, as I was worried about mildew. I hope the switch to colder weather won't make me regret that...

Quote from: hellohelenhere on December 29, 2008, 20:02:18

I'm assuming for the purposes of cloche-making that the polythene should be translucent... a little milky at worst... :D

Sounds about right.

I got some cheap polythene sheet from B&Q for this so was interested to see what people had to say!

A good tip if you are going for enclosed cloches (eg squared frames rather than the tunnel type) is to stick some all weather tape in places to strengthen the plastic then hammer in some plastic eyelets for ventalation  :)

http://www2.westfalia.net/shops/gardening/plant_protection_and_fertilizers/appliances/foils/75946-plant_foil.htm

I'm thinking of getting some of this, to let the rain in. I need to buy other things, of course, to make the p&p worth it.

Thanks for finding this.  What else would  you send for to make postage worth it?   I don't see anything I really need.  Could stock up on something.

If you have any pests such as pidgeons or magpies or foxes around, You may need to put protective wire mesh over the cloches. Unprotected plastic covering wouldn't last a day on our site.