Undercover Device: The Cloche

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FROM INDIVIDUALTO MASS COVER

One commonly used—and effective—individual cloche is made from the ubiquitous plastic gallon or half-gallon milk bottle. The bottom is cut out, and the bottle is set directly over the plant. Ventilation is provided when the bottle cap is removed; the translucent sides help to diffuse some of the sun's fiercest rays; storage is comparatively easy (bottles can be strung up by the dozen if you simply run rope through their handles); and the cost is ...well, about as minimal as you can get. In fact, many potential bottle cloches can be found littering the roadside.

A step beyond the individual cloche is the tent cloche ...or its somewhat roomier cousin, the barn cloche. The tent cloche consists of two panels of glass or clear plastic that lean together at the top, forming a triangle with the ground as baseline. Such a design can straddle a number of plants, although—because of the steep angle of the sides—usually only one row can be accommodated. Open at both ends, the tent cloche affords less protection than the classic bell jar, but it offers considerably better ventilation ...without needing to be propped open. Tent cloches can be made from salvaged windows that are hinged together or leaned against angled posts, from plastic-covered frames, or from panels of sheer glass or hard plastic. Patent clips are available to hold such panels together at the top, but duct tape is also effective and certainly less expensive.

The barn cloche looks like a small, transparent house with two long sides and a peaked roof. It can span several closely spaced rows, and can accommodate relatively tall or bushy plants. It's also somewhat more difficult to build and more expensive than either of the two above-mentioned designs.

Both the tent cloche and the barn cloche are portable, easy to use, and easy to store. Their chief disadvantages lie in their size—which is generally limited to, say, three or four feet in length—and their open ends, which may admit too much cold air or wind-driven rain. The size limitation means that it takes several of them, set end to end, to cover a normal row of plants. They are also somewhat limited in the width to which they can be spread open, so they aren't very practical for wide-bed planting.

Somewhere between the bell jar and tent is the umbrella-style cloche, which is simply a big, lightweight (usually made with plastic sheeting) dome. Like the bell jar, it may need to be propped open for ventilation; like the tent, it can cover a number of plants. It's particularly suitable for small, broad-sown beds.

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