Challenge Brassica – Part 4 – Exploring Netting, Hoops, Cages for all Budgets to Cover Brassica Plants

The Brassicas are settling in to their newly replenished soil in their Raised beds for the winter so now all they need is a cover to protect from pigeons and the frost.

Read my guide to Frost in Winter is Coming – All About Frost for Autumn/Winter Vegetables.

Types of Covers for Vegetables

  1. Environmesh or fine mesh vegetable netting – this is a mesh that is very flexible, can be cut with scissors and can be washed in the washing machine if it gets dirty. Water, light and air can get through its fine mesh holes. It protects vegetables down to minus 5 degrees centigrade.
  2. Fleece – Fleece material is a soft slightly fluffy material that protects vegetables down to minus 5 degrees centigrade. It is an all white material meaning it has to be removed after a frost has occurred so that light can get to your plants.
  3. Butterfly netting – This will help with protection from cabbage white butterflies and pigeons however it will not protect against frost.

Once you have chosen what netting you need, you’ll now need a way of putting and keeping it secure over your vegetables. There are a number of methods which I’ll discuss below and many suitable for gardening on a budget.

Cages, Hoops, Make Your Own Frame Options

The aim here is to make a frame to be able to throw your netting or fleece over however it will need to be removable so you can get to your plants to tend to them, weed and harvest your veggies.

Gardening on a Budget

There are many options for the vegetable gardener who doesn’t have a lot of funds to spend on things like cages. These budget options are still practical and functional and will leave those pennies in your pocket for something else probably more seeds & plants!

1. Throw the netting over your Vegetables & weigh it down at the sides is the easiest and cheapest way of covering vegetables. However your vegetables might need air flow to stop mould, pests and diseases.

2. DIY Crop Hoops – These can be made from blue water MDPE pipe which is a rigid pipe that can be bent into a half moon shape. They can be fixed in the ground by pushing bamboo canes in first and then put the pipe over the top. Available in Tool Station, Screw fix and PipeStock (25m for £13.99 plus £8.99 delivery). Check on Facebook marketplace or EBay to see if anyone is selling any near you or if you do have to buy some, sell your excess amounts back on Facebook marketplace.

    I used this blue water pipe to make one of my very first crop hoops cover for red cabbages. I wrapped Velcro around the pipe to try and stick the netting onto the pipe. I thought it was a great idea at the time except the Velcro acted like one of those yellow fly traps and all the dead flies congregated there which wasn’t pleasant, yuck!

    3. DIY Wooden Frame on Hinges – Wooden Cloche – if you have DIY skills with wood, you could try and build a wooden frame with the blue water pipe and then staple your netting over the top to place on top of your raised bed.

    Here is a video from Gardeners World where Toby makes a Geoff Hamilton Cloche.

    4. Bamboo Canes with cups or small terracotta pots on top.

    Bamboo canes are what most gardeners have lying around ready to support plants, just push these into the ground and add the cups or small pots on top to create a smooth surface to position your netting or fleece over. This is easy to take down when finished with. Remember to get some tent pegs to secure your fleece or netting to the soil.

    Hoops & Cages

    Here we discover the difference between hoops and cages and which one might be better for your vegetable garden. After buying some hoops or a frame or cage, you’ll need to make sure you buy enough netting or fleece to cover the whole cage, think in 3D with the cage.

    Crop Hoops

    If you’d like to invest in some Crop Hoops, here’s more about them, cost and features.

    What are Crop Hoops or Garden Hoops?

    These are flexible pvc hoops or rods or ones made out of metal that are fixed in an arched position. You can get tall ones or short ones depending on the height of the vegetable you are growing.

    If you need taller hoops, you can buy hoops on a frame for vegetables like Brussels sprouts that can grow up to 1.2 meters tall.

    Cost: Crop Hoops start from £21.99 for 5 hoops which can span between 75cm to 1.2m wide.

    Aluminium Cages/Frames

    Aluminium Cages setup on raised beds

    Aluminium Cages are a series of aluminium lightweight hollow poles that are outdoor weatherproofed. They come in various heights and can be fixed together to make a 3D cage by using plastic corner and centre joints.

    These are very versatile and can be secured into the ground with ground spikes which helps with solid soil. They are easy to take apart at the end of the season and store in the shed.

    Cost: £21.99 for a small cage to approx £40 for the taller cages.

    My Recommendation – Aluminium Cages & Environmesh netting

    I have been using aluminium cages for several years, they don’t rust or degrade, they still look new and I have had them for more than 5 years and I bought another taller set this year for my Brussels Sprouts.

    I find them so easy to put up and leave for all of winter. Just clip your netting on and let your plants do the growing.

    They are wind, ice and direct sun proof. I buy my aluminium cages from Garden-Naturally.

    Top Tip – Working out how much Netting you need to cover the Frame

    Most of the time you will have more netting than you need, it is easy to cut with scissors if you buy environmesh or veggiemesh and you can use it with other projects.

    Firstly take the length of the aluminium pole and minus 30cm off the measurement due to how far you push it into the ground.

    So for example I bought 1.2m poles minus 30cm = 90cm – (The NEW Pole Length is now the measurement between the top of the soil to the top of the pole).

    For the Width of the Netting = New Pole length X 3 poles (two uprights and 1 cross bar).

    For the Length of the Netting = Full Pole length (down the length of the bed) + upright pole + upright pole.

    Make sure to add on a bit each side 5-10cm max to be able to peg down your netting into the ground.

    Do you need more help?

    If you need any help with poles, netting, fixings and coverings, please join and ask a question in our community and we will be able to help you.

    Challenge Brassica Series



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