[DD.]

Thanks for all the ideas...
I will stick with the first one as I have already been to Screwfix to get the blue piping and down to the allotment to take some measurements...
DD, please could you answer a series of questions from me?

How long is your row? Or how often do you place the blue piping? Is there a best methoid to bend it? (I am a bit of a pain when it comes to things looking even and evenly spaced out    ) Oh and how high is your arch? How long were individual pieces of the blue piping?

How wide and long did you buy the netting? My row is 5.3 meters long...

I am sorry for all these questions but I am not really a diy person... this is my first project and I would like for it to be near enough perfect

(Oh and that will be your chance to make up for wanting to eat my kittens   )

Blimey - so many in one. This will have to be off the top of my head.

The row is 32' long.
Net goes on  after the first hoeing of the year and stays on until winter.
The pipe comes in rolls and has that natural bend in it.
It's cut to span 4 x 1' rows, spaced a foot apart with about a foot either side, so it's a 5' width total, that should give you the scale to guess the height, which I've never measured.
I bought the netting long enough and wide enough to cover the span, with a bit extra.

If you go to somewhere like here, you can buy a size to suit.

http://www.gardening-naturally.com/acatalog/Veggiemesh.html#aEM001

[Dora5]

Thank you DD

All my questions answered (although I had to convert feet to meters )

Do you think 6 meters of enviromesh will be sufficient to cover 5.3 meter plot? It will leave about a foot on each side which now thinking about it may not be enough (that depends on the height  ). And if it is 5 feet wide (1.53 m) then 2 m width should be OK or not?

http://www.gardening-naturally.com/acatalog/Veggiemesh.html#aEM001

That is the website that I am going to order from

[DD.]

It's stretching it to be honest, I'd go for a little larger, it will make life easier in the long run.

(I'll answer the cat question sometime, but it's a long story and I've only got time to pop in & out at the mo!).

[Dora5]

It's stretching it to be honest, I'd go for a little larger, it will make life easier in the long run.

(I'll answer the cat question sometime, but it's a long story and I've only got time to pop in & out at the mo!).

Ok, I'll go for the bigger size (have to work it out ). Thank you.

No problem (about the cat question ). I am off to allotment myself to have a go at the carot protection frame once I place the order for enviromesh or veggiemesh as they call it .

[Salmo]

If each piece of pipe forms a semi circle and is 1.5m (5ft) at the base then the pipe will  be 2.35m long. The net will need to be the same width plus enough to anchor it, say 15cm each side so net width needs to be 2.65m.

With a 1.5m base a semi-circle will give a 0.75m high tunnel. You will need to overlap the ends by 0.75m plus anchorage to cover the end gap.

If you do not trust my mathematics just measure the length of a piece of pipe and the height of the tunnel.

[Dora5]

Thank you Salmo
I do trust your maths .

Decided on a 2.6m x 7m piece of enviromesh... but that would be 5cm shorter...  The next width up is 3.6m and the price for that piece would be approx £10 more...

I have to come back to this as I am too tired now...

[devonbarmygardener]

I always go for bigger mesh than I need - it can always be rolled up or cut.

I'm wondering whether tight net curtain would work???
Might work out cheaper?

Emma

[Dora5]

Hi Emma,
I went for the 2.6m x 7m after a lot of thinking and taking into account Salmo's calculations .
If need be I can always do 3 rows or reduce the 'outer' space to 25cm rather than the 30cm each side . I thought that I can do with saving the £10 as I spent too much today on things I did not even plan to buy two days ago  . Hopefully it will all work out well and will last a while .

If you put the pipes in the rows rather than between them they do not get in the way when you hoe or weed, which is a pain with hoops.

This is also a good idea. If Veggimesh that I ordered is not big enough, I will try this . Or use the idea for other things .

[devonbarmygardener]

I've planted my red cabbage too far apart for my hoops so one outer row is beneath a few centimetres of net which is a bit dodo.
Will seriously have to rethink. 

Emma

[DD.]

Veggiemesh is reckoned to last 10 seasons, net curtains won't.

If you can afford it, go for the first option.

[mumofstig]

but old net curtains work for a while, and they're often free 

Just make sure if using your grannie's old ones that they're the plain woven ones, not the holey/lacy type 

[devonbarmygardener]

but old net curtains work for a while, and they're often free 

Just make sure if using your grannie's old ones that they're the plain woven ones, not the holey/lacy type 

I wasn't expecting the net curtains to last long and as you say they could be cheap or free.
Obviously not going to go for pretty curtains, but the plain woven ones might just be tighter meshed than all my enviromesh (which doesn't stop caterpillars being laid on my brassicas).
I hate caterpillars - I'll try anything!

[Dora5]

One last question (I think )...
How much of the blue piping do you put in the ground?

Thank you in advance .

[Paul Plots]

One last question (I think )...
How much of the blue piping do you put in the ground?

Thank you in advance .

Some people put canes into the ground and fix the blue pipe to the end of each cane.

[Dora5]

Some people put canes into the ground and fix the blue pipe to the end of each cane.

Thank you. I'll do it like that .