In the vegetable garden, accessories are as useful as they participate in its decoration. The vegetable garden bell, thus protects young plants from the cold and pests such as slugs. It saves several days or weeks on the date of the first harvest.
A classic, Victorian or cylindrical bell
Practical, quick to move and often very light, the vegetable garden cover protects your plants from frost. There are 3 different forms:
- The most classic looks like a bell. Its wide base offers stability and more room for the growth of sheltered seedlings.
- The Victorian bell, born in the United Kingdom, is a more decorative variation of the previous one, usually in glass.
- The cylindrical bell is less attractive, but it is the one that offers the most space.
Glass or plastic vegetable bells
The real bells to force were made of thick glass: a durable material, very effective in trapping the sun’s rays, but heavy and above all too fragile.
They were indeed surmounted by a pretty ball which allowed them to be manipulated but which unfortunately almost always ended up breaking or unsoldering the rest of the bell.
There are still some old models of these traditional bells in flea markets and garage sales, often at high prices …
Nowadays, garden bells are made of plastic, but their quality is uneven:
- The thin, flexible plastic bells, available in different diameters, are of poor quality. They break easily and do not last long. Worse, plastic turns yellow and opacifies very quickly.
- Rigid plastic covers (translucent polypropylene with anti-UV treatment) are more expensive, but of much better quality. They are stacked for easy storage. They are light and have a ventilation system on the top. There are even versions with risers to support the height growth of plants to be protected, for example tomatoes. They also last for several years without yellowing.
In addition, if you are a handyman, know that the top of 5-liter water cans can play the same role of salad cover, once the base has been cut, but the collar is missing, which means that they are anchored to the ground. is not obvious.
How to use and maintain the vegetable garden bells?
Unlike a garden greenhouse, a cultivation tunnel or a garden frame, the bells are elements of individual protection for your plants.
You can use them for the first time in winter to protect plants to be harvested or growing in winter from frost and all your early sowing: lettuce, lamb’s lettuce, chard, sorrel, chicory …
You can then move them and reuse them all spring on other young plants (rhubarb, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, squash, melons)… They are used more here to force, that is to say to accelerate growth. plants and thus save precious days on the harvest.
Some rules for their use and maintenance:
The bell is placed flat on the ground above the plant to be protected, if possible without contact between the plant and the walls. Cold air should not come in either. Don’t hesitate to rub some soil around it.
Glass bells are heavy enough to hold themselves in place.
Sardines or steel picks must be used to secure the plastic vegetable covers to the ground, otherwise they will fly away with too much wind.
Regular ventilation is essential to avoid disease but also to prevent the plants from burning out if it is too hot! During the day, raise your glass bell on a wooden block or open the ventilation hatches of the plastic bells. But don’t forget to close them before dark.
Remove the bells during downpours to moisten the soil.
They should also be cleaned regularly. You can use a damp sponge and a few drops of black soap to restore transparency to the glass and polypropylene bells. The detergent will also eliminate parasites and fungi stuck to the walls.
However, you won’t be able to do anything if your bell has turned yellow.