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Parisian Glass Veg Cloches
by Spiraclimb
In agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
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
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
. The use of cloches is traced back to market garden
A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to ...
s in 19th century France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, where entire fields of plants would be protected with cloches. In commercial growing, cloches have largely been replaced by row cover
In agriculture and gardening, row cover is any transparent or semi-transparent flexible material, like fabric or plastic sheeting, used as a protective covering for plants, usually vegetables. Covers are used to extend growing seasons, and redu ...
, and nowadays are mainly found in smaller gardens.
History
Parisian market garden
A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to ...
s 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.
"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.by Spiraclimb
See also
*Season extension
Season extension in agriculture is any method that allows a crop to be grown beyond its normal outdoor growing season and harvesting time frame, or the extra time thus achieved. To extend the growing season into the colder months, one can use un ...
References
{{Horticulture-stub Horticulture Gardening aids Farming tools Plastics applications