Cloche Gardening in Early Spring with Chatsworth’s Glenn Facer
Here at Claverton Cloches, our snowdrops are in full flush, our office is filled with the scent of hyacinths, and the days are getting longer – all wonderful signs that spring is fast approaching.
This week, we caught up with Glenn Facer, head kitchen gardener at Chatsworth, and he very kindly shared his cloche gardening insights with us for late winter and early spring. Glenn has been gardening at the iconic Chatsworth estate in Derbyshire, seat of the Duke of Devonshire, for over 30 years, with the last twelve years spent heading up the kitchen garden.
A row of antique Victorian cloches warming the soil at Inverewe Garden in the Scottish Highland. Photograph by Peter Barr
Warming the Soil
If you haven’t already, Glenn suggests placing your cloches directly onto the soil where you intend to plant out seedlings. Keep the lid on the cloche, and over a period of 1-2 weeks, this will create a microclimate that will warm the soil beneath the cloche. This makes the soil perfect for accepting young seedlings and minimises risk of cold shock. This is similar to a how a cold frame works, but with the benefit that when using a cloche, the seedlings will be planted directly into their final position, and do not need replanted – less disruption for the plant and less work for you!
Which Vegetables?
In terms of seedlings, Glenn proposes to plant out carrots, broad beans, turnips, beetroot and even early lettuce. Hopefully you already have some of these germinating in your greenhouse or kitchen windowsill, and once sprouted, they can be planted into the open ground, with the soil hopefully already prewarmed from a cloche. In essence, using the cloches should mean that one is able to harvest earlier – likely around May, Glenn estimates.
Hardening Off Seedlings
The cloche can be kept on for the next few weeks, protecting the plants from the worst of any lingering winter frosts, and helping to harden off the seedlings – the cloches can then be removed as the outdoor temperatures rise. Provided the cloche is on a bed, you should rarely have to lift the lid to water the seedlings directly as the soil should provide sufficient moisture, and any rainfall will run off the lid of the cloche and onto the surrounding soil.
Hardy (and Not-so-Hardy) Herbs
Another great use for cloches is protecting tender herbs, Glenn adds. The woody herbs, like rosemary and thyme, usually fare well over the winter and can survive quite the beating from the elements, but softer herbs would really benefit from cloche protection from the snow and frost. Glenn suggests that cloches are particularly useful for forcing chives, which have a tendency to go flat this time of year. Cloches can be used to cover chives from December onwards, forcing them up quicker, he says.
Spring Strawberries
Finally, what better thing to dream of on a dull Sunday in February than summer strawberries. Glenn proposes planting out strawberries in December (although they could still be added now if you’re quick), covering the area around them with straw and placing a cloche atop of the plants, hopefully resulting in a May crop.
If you are using cloches in your vegetable garden this year, we would love to hear your tips or see any photographs – please leave a comment below. Wishing you all the best in your early Spring gardening endeavours.
With many thanks to Glenn Facer for sharing his knowledge and insights. If you have any questions or cloche gardening tips that you would like to share, please do get in touch with us at enquiries@clavertoncloches.com