[coo!]

whats a cloche and whats its used for on a packet of seeds it says plant em under 1

[SnooziSuzi]

it's like a mini polytunnel - it keeps the young plants sheltered from bad conditions

you can search for cloches on any gardening company website; why not click on one of the ad banners on this site which will help John out with his sponsorship and they're a good place to find out loads of things out.

and welcome to the site  :happy:

[coo!]

would this be the same as using half a plastic bottle on some?

[Ice]

Yes it would.

[Stripey_cat]

Yup.  Traditional cloches were lovely blown-glass bell-shapes (hence the name) to cover individual plants.  Then you got arrangements of panes of glass to cover whole rows - either in pairs like a ridge tent, or more complicated arrangements with walls and a pitched roof.  You still see them sometimes.  Nowadays, though, most amateur gardeners use plastic, especially if there are kids or animals around, and on windy sites.  The poly-tunnel types are cheap and you can use the frames for fleece or enviromesh too, but rigid ones in the same designs as the glass sorts give you better insulation.  Lemonade bottles are great for seedlings and transplants, but harder to use on larger plants (although the 5 litre water bottles give you a bit more scope).

[Knoblauch]

Maybe what's more relevant is to ask "When is a cloche not a cloche"?  Any answers?

[Stripey_cat]

When it's a hat!

[Knoblauch]

   It might help your hair grow though!

But when it's 40 degrees outside a cloche would be more like an oven?