Cloche (agriculture)
{{Short description|Covering protecting plants from cold}}
File:Organic garden cloches at Beningborough Hall - geograph.org.uk - 788128.jpg
File:Culture sous cloche laitue.jpg
File:Faceted garden cloche MET DP875315.jpg
In agriculture and gardening, a cloche (from French, cloche for "bell") is a covering for protecting plants from cold temperatures. The original form of a cloche is a bell-shaped glass cover that is placed over an individual plant; modern cloches are usually made from plastic. The use of cloches is traced back to market gardens in 19th century France, where entire fields of plants would be protected with cloches. In commercial growing, cloches have largely been replaced by row cover, and nowadays are mainly found in smaller gardens.{{cite web | url=https://garden.org/learn/articles/view/546/Using-Cloches-in-the-Garden/ | title=Using Cloches in the Garden | publisher=National Gardening Association | accessdate=19 March 2015 | last=Reich | first=Lee}}
History
Parisian market gardens in the 1800s used 18-inch diameter bell-shaped glass jars (cloches) to protect plants in cold weather. They were used to protect everything from young seedlings to mature plants. Notched wooden sticks were used to prop up and vent the jars on sunny days, and were placed back down on the soil before nightfall.[https://archive.org/details/winterharvesthan0000cole/page/17/mode/1up?view=theater&q=cloche Winter Harvest Handbook] by Eliot Coleman (2009), pages 17-18, {{ISBN|978-1-60358-081-6}}
"Chase barn cloches", introduced in the early twentieth century by Major L.H. Chase, are constructed with flat panes of glass and held together by wires. They can be connected together to make a long row. They were vulnerable to falling shrapnel in World War II England. This style is still in use today where the wire assembly pieces are purchased as a kit and you use generic glass pieces.[https://www.essexrecordofficeblog.co.uk/tag/kitchen-garden/ Give peas a chance Part 2: Protection], April 23, 2020 by Essex Record Office[https://www.spiraclimb.co.uk/plant-cloche.html Glass Veg Cloches] by Spiraclimb
See also
- {{annotated link|Bell jar}}
- {{annotated link|Season extension}}