Advice
RHS Help & Advice
Using horticultural fleece on early crops
Fleece is a finely woven material which can be laid over crops, and if used carefully can last for many seasons.
Benefits
Fleece protects crops from windy, cold weather, thus allowing them to become more advanced than unprotected crops. It also raises soil and air temperatures slightly, again allowing plants to develop more rapidly. If anchored properly it also protects against flying pests, such as carrot root fly.
Fleece allows water and air to penetrate, easing water requirements and increasing airflow around the plants. This encourages hardier growth and discourages disease build-up.
Uses
- To extend the vegetable growing season, thus obtaining crops usually out of season, and utilising space more efficiently.
- To obtain better growth of half-hardy crops, such as peppers and sweetcorn, which would otherwise perform poorly in the British climate.
- To produce ‘softer’ growth of winter hardy vegetables, such as spinach and chicory, which are toughened-up by winter exposure, thus making them more palatable.
- To harden-off seedlings, ready for transplanting outside.
Being porous, fleece isn’t as effective at warming the soil as other materials, like plastic cloches or black polythene sheeting. Fleece can lay flat in wet conditions, making germination difficult, and it isn’t suitable for use in windy sites as it can easily tear.