If cold is threatening your plants, don’t worry – you can fight back!
This page has a list of ways to protect plants from cold and frost, along with where to find these items.
Cloche
A garden cloche is a cover used to protect a plant from cold, wind, and pests. A cloche keeps air and soil moist to help plants survive during a drought.
A cloche is often made of plastic or glass. However, you can also use a wire cloche and wrap a row cover or frost blanket around it to keep plants warm.
Cloches are often small, so they are used at the start of the growing season to protect younger plants from cold. These “mini-greenhouses” will let you start the growing season a little earlier.
Here are a few options for cloches to consider:
Reusable Plastic Garden Cloches (Food-Safe, 6-Pack)
These cloches are made from durable plastic so you can reuse them for several growing seasons.
The PVC plastic is also food-safe, so there is no need to worry about using them to grow herbs or vegetables.
There is a vent at the top of the cloche that you can open to provide more air or water, or close to keep the plant warmer and totally safe from pests.
There is a lip at the bottom of the cloche where you can pile up soil to hold the cloche in place and keep it from blowing away in the wind.
There are 3 different sizes: small, medium, and large.
The small version of the cloche has a diameter of 7.87 inches and a height of 6.69 inches.
You can check out pricing for a set of 6 small plastic cloches on Etsy.
The medium version of the cloche is 30% wider than the small, with a diameter of 10.24 inches and a height of 7.48 inches.
You can check out pricing for a set of 6 medium plastic cloches on Etsy.
The large version of the cloche is 29% larger than the medium, with a diameter of 13.25 inches and a height of 11.88 inches.
The large cloche is big enough to fit snugly on a 5-gallon bucket to make container gardening easy!
You can check out pricing for a set of 6 large plastic cloches on Etsy.
Chicken Wire Garden Cloches
These cloches are made from durable chicken wire, so you can reuse them for several seasons.
The wire itself will keep larger pests (such as rabbits) away from your plants.
However, you will need to wrap a frost blanket or row over around a wire cloche to provide cold protection.
This chicken wire garden cloche has a diameter of 7 inches at the base and a height of 10.75 inches.
You can check out pricing for a chicken wire garden cloche on Etsy.
Row Cover (Frost Cover)
A row cover is a sheet of lightweight, flexible fabric that is used to protect plants from cold, wind, and pests.
Thicker row covers are heavier, but they provide more protection. Row covers are usually made from polyethylene, polyester, or polypropylene.
The advantage of a row cover is its versatility and flexibility. They allow sunlight through so plants can continue to grow, and some allow water through so you can irrigate plants without removing the cover.
For example, you can cut a piece of row cover to protect a small plant, or two wrap around a wire cloche.
You can also use a long piece of row cover to protect an entire row of plants at once. Supporting the row cover on hoops or with stakes will keep it suspended above plants.
Reusable & Breathable Plant Row Cover (Polypropylene)
This row cover is made from polypropylene and is UV resistant, which makes it reusable in the garden.
It allows water through, and also allows 30% to 50% of sunlight through.
There are 3 options for dimensions:
- a small rectangle (3 feet by 5 feet)
- a long rectangle (3 feet by 10 feet)
- a large square (10 feet by 10 feet)
A Small Rectangle Row Cover (3 feet by 5 feet) is perfect for covering a medium sized plant. It can also be cut into pieces to cover a few smaller individual plants.
You can check out pricing for a small rectangle row cover on Etsy.
A Long Rectangle Row Cover (3 feet by 10 feet) is useful for covering an entire row of smaller crops, such as leafy greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula, etc.)
You can also cut it into smaller pieces to cover several smaller individual plants.
You can check out pricing for a long rectangle row cover on Etsy.
A Large Square Row Cover (10 feet by 10 feet) is useful for covering a square raised bed.
You could also cut it into 2 or more pieces to provide enough material to cover multiple rows.
You can check out pricing for a large square row cover on Etsy.
Cold Frame
A cold frame is like a mini greenhouse, but it is much larger than a cloche. It is often used for smaller, younger plants – it won’t be tall enough for fully grown pole beans or indeterminate varieties of tomatoes!
A cold frame provides cold protection for several plants at once, depending on its size.
It is great for starting plants outside earlier in the spring to extend your growing season. It is also perfect for growing lots of leafy greens (lettuce, spinach, argugula, etc.) in a controlled environment to keep pests out.
You can build your own custom cold frame, or you can follow the steps in a plan like this one:
Step-By-Step Wooden Cold Frame Plan (PDF Digital Download)
This 27 page PDF contains plans to build both a 4 foot by 4 foot and a 4 foot by 8 foot cold frame (mini greenhouse).
The plans include:
- list of materials needed
- list of wood cuts to be made
- step-by-step assembly instructions
- drawings for each part
- templates for cutting angles
You can check out the pricing for the cold frame plan on Etsy.
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is the grandfather of cold protection for plants.
It is true that a greenhouse provides cold protection for young plants. However, you can build it tall enough to hold pole beans, indeterminate tomatoes, and other tall plants, even when they are fully grown.
A greenhouse usually has a wood, metal, or plastic frame, with glass or plastic acting as the material that traps sunlight and heat in the air and soil inside the greenhouse.
You can build your own custom greenhouse, or you can follow step-by-step plans if you don’t quite know where to start with this project.
If you only need a small space to keep plants warm, then a 6 foot by 6 foot square greenhouse might be just the thing.
This 42 page PDF includes instructions on how to build a greenhouse that is 8 feet tall at the peak and 5 feet tall on the sides.
The plans include:
- list of materials needed
- list of wood cuts to be made
- step-by-step assembly instructions
- drawings for each part
- templates for cutting angles
You can check out the pricing for the PDF for a 6 foot by 6 foot greenhouse plan on Etsy.
If you need a larger space for growing plants in a warm place, then an86 foot by 16 foot rectangular greenhouse might be just the thing.
This 47 page PDF includes instructions on how to build a greenhouse that is 99.75 inches (8 feet 4 inches) tall at the peak and 4 feet tall on the sides.
The plans include:
- list of materials needed
- list of wood cuts to be made
- step-by-step assembly instructions
- drawings for each part
- templates for cutting angles
You can check out the pricing for the PDF for a 8 foot by 16 foot greenhouse plan on Etsy.
Well, there you have it. I hope that some of these items will help to keep your plants warm despite looming frost and cold temperatures.
Even if they only extend the growing season by a week or two, they can still help you to get a better harvest over a wider time window.
~Jonathon