Horticultural Fleece
How to use Horticultural Fleece to protect your plants
Horticultural fleece is a lightweight fabric that is used to cover frost tender plants to protect them from the cold. It is breathable, lets light through and is permeable. Fleece can protect against cold, strong winds, dehydration, hail, impact rain, dirt, pests and birds. It is available in packs and rolls of different lengths and can also be purchased by the metre. Horticultural fleece is available in different thicknesses, the thicker the fleece the lower the temperature it protects against. Standard fleece bought by the metre is usually the thinnest around 17 gsm. If you have purchased a lighter weight fleece you can always use more than one layer over your plants.
Place the fleece over your plants in the evening before the temperature drops below zero. Don't forget to remove the fleece in the morning when the temperature rises above freezing to avoid damaging your plants and to allow them as much light as possible.
For convenience you can also buy fleece jackets. These are placed over your plants and then the drawstring is tightened at the bottom to tuck the plant into its fleece coat.
30 gsm fleece can protect down to -5 /-6 degrees celsius. 80 gms fleece can protect down to -16 degrees celsius.
Fleece also provides an organic pest protection method for fruit and vegetables. It can also help protect against carrot fly and cabbage root fly. It can also be used to cover the soil to prewarm the ground in early spring.
