Cloches can be an useful aid for the vegetable grower . Photo: Howard Sooley
I have had some great feed back in my Ask Dan box regarding the allotment which is really rewarding and I too am looking forward to progress over the next few weeks. I have yet to discuss this with Allan and the team, but I wondered if it might be worth investing in some cloches as I have found them to be incredibly good value in the first part of the growing season.
Hardening off tomato plants. Photo: Howard Sooley
Even if over the next few weeks we have a spell of unseasonably warm weather, there is no point in sowing seed into soil that is not warm enough to sustain growth. Soil is like an old enamel bath - it takes a while to heat up, so I set out my cloches ahead of sowing time so that the soil soaks up the amplified sun's rays.
Dan's cloches warming up the soil. Photo: Howard Sooley
The cloches also help to keep the soil a little on the drier side which in a wet spring is a good thing. Although the impatient among us might be thinking that cloches mean you can force things into life even sooner, in truth, it is never worth forcing things too much in advance, so we have a while to wait yet before direct sowing is possible. We will keep you posted.
