How To Build your own ‘Geoff Hamilton’ Cloche

Posted on 22. May, 2009 by Tracey in My Veg Plot

Its Bank Holiday weekend, tipped to be the hottest one of the year, so get out into your gardens or do some DIY. Why not do a bit of both and try out the following weekend project?

At the beginning of the year, I wrote how I was going to build my own Geoff Hamilton Cloche on my Post – Happy New Year and Master Plan 2009. For those who haven’t seen it, here’s the Video Clip from YouTube.

After I received the The Geoff Hamilton BBC Collection (40th Anniversary Gardeners World DVD Box Set) for Christmas (Highly Recommended by the way), I was inspired when I saw the above piece of extended film where he builds a cloche to put over his raised beds to warm up the soil. He covers the cloche in polythene sheeting so I thought I would adapt the original idea and cover my cloches with Enviromesh netting (which I have always covered my plots with success in the past).

Finally here are my results of the Giant Cloche Build, built by my boyfriend, so a big thanks to him! I am so happy as they look fantastic!

What you will need to build you own ‘Geoff Hamilton’ Enviromesh Cloche:

• 2 inch by 2 inch Timber – 5 pieces cut to size (3 cut to the length and 2 cut to the width of raised bed),
• 4 x Bracing strips of wood for the corners,
• 4 x Galvanized long angle brackets and some galvanized screws,
• 4 x Pieces of wooden dowelling, (for 3 cloches I bought 2 x 1m x 14mm dia Beechwood Dowelling).
• 1 x 14mm Flat Drill Bit and a drill,
• MDPE Blue Ridgid Pipe 20mm diameter (I bought my MDPE Pipe from Screwfix)
• Some Enviromesh netting (I bought 3.6 x 6m for 2 cloches from Gardening Naturally.com through Ebay)
• A Staple Gun and large staples,
• A tin of Procol Fencecote 225ml – a non-toxic, non-flamable water based wood protection paint from the Organic Gardening Catalogue or similar product.

Instructions

1. Put the 4 pieces of timber in a square or rectangle shape and use the angle brackets and bracing strips to fix the pieces of timber together,
2. Using the 14mm drill bit, bore a shallow hole in each corner of the timber frame,
3. Cut the dowelling to desired length and glue into bored holes,
4. Put one end of the pipe over a dowel and measure and cut the piping to the desired height of cloche. Then push down the pipe onto the dowelling and repeat on other side of frame.
5. Fix the top baton onto the top of the blue piping with screws to form a rigid frame.
6. If using Procol Fencecote you will need to dilute with water as directed, then give the frame two coats and leave to dry overnight.
7. Open out the enviromesh netting, place over the frame leaving enough netting to cover the sides. Start folding the netting under the frame on the smallest sides first. When you are certain the netting covers all parts of the frame, use the staple gun to pin the netting to the frame either on the side or for neatness underneath the frame.
8. When it comes to the corners fold the netting inwards and staple again or trim to size and staple in place.
9. Place the new cloche onto your raised vegetable bed.

You will only need to lift up the cloche when sowing, harvesting or weeding. Watering can be done through the netting.

Here’s the Video of How to make the Toby Buckland verson of the Giant Cloche.

Removable Netting
If you have a Peas and Beans raised vegetable bed which doesn’t need to be covered in netting all year due to the pollination of flowers, a simple alternative is to use strong velcro to fix the netting to the frame. The netting then can be removed when required leaving the frame in place.

Cloche and Wildlife

• Take care that you don’t trap any cabbage white butterflies under your cloche to lay their eggs, otherwise you can kiss your cabbages or brassicas goodbye with a caterpillar invasion.
• If you are propping your cloche open to weed or sow for any length of time, please check for bees and flying insects and free them, remember if they are under your cloche, they are not pollinating your beans!

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Tags: Cloche,, Enviromesh, Geoff Hamilton, Raised Vegetable Bed,