"Janet Tweedy" wrote ..

Bob Hobden writes
Our chillies out on the allotment are under one of those large cloches
(£19.99 special offer at Wyvales)

I have long raised beds and have, over the years, bought and then discarded
several types of tunnels or plastic cloches. They either are too flimsy or
don't really hold together or work.

Even wrestled with those bits of blue hose and wire etc. that dear old
Geoffrey Smith used to make but I could never get the hang of them

Do i take it you would recommend the Wyevale one then Bob? Would be good
for extending lettuce and early crops etc.


This is the first year we have used them. We bought three to cover our
chillies and aubergines when first planted out and they performed very well,
the plants growing well and taller than usual. However we did use more tent
pegs to hold them down than were provided. During the height of the summer
we removed the plastic covers just leaving the metal structure in place.
With the plastic covers back on they now seem to be helping our chillies to
ripen, indeed we are getting our best crop of red chillies ever.
If I was in a wilder area of the UK I would consider gluing the metal bits
into the plastic corners but that said none have shown any inclination to
come loose. Better (more) tent pegs is a must though and do be
careful/gentle when putting on the covers they can split at the corners if
you are rough, best to have two doing it pulling down both sides at once.
So far I think they are good value for money but only at the cheaper price.
--
Regards Bob Hobden
Posting to this Newsgroup from the W. of London UK