Cloches, fleece and netting are the quiet workhorses of a productive UK vegetable plot — extending the season, fending off frost, and keeping pests off your crops. Here is what each does and when to reach for it.
Last updated 4 July 2026
Much of what protective equipment does is head off problems before they start — see our guide to common UK garden problems for what you are protecting against.
Most "essential outdoor equipment" lists are really about tools. This one is not. The kit that most changes what you can grow in a UK vegetable bed is protective equipment — cloches, fleece and netting — because it works against the two things that limit UK growers most: an unreliable climate and a determined cast of pests. Get these right and you extend your season at both ends and lose far less of your crop.
Cloches: Warmth and a Head Start
A cloche is a clear cover — rigid or a tunnel of film over hoops — that traps warmth over a row or bed. In a UK spring it warms the soil ahead of sowing and protects tender seedlings from cold nights, letting you sow and plant a couple of weeks earlier than open ground allows. In autumn it keeps crops going longer as temperatures drop. For salad leaves, early carrots and beans, a cloche is often the difference between an early crop and a stalled one.
Horticultural Fleece: Frost and Pest Protection in One
Fleece is a light, breathable fabric laid over crops that lets light and water through while lifting the temperature underneath by a few degrees. That is enough to see tender plants through a late frost. The Royal Horticultural Society recommends covering vulnerable plants with fleece when frost is forecast, and in a UK spring — where the Met Office notes the last frost can come well into May in many areas, later still in the north and Scotland — it is one of the most useful things in the shed.
Grower's note: Fleece does double duty. Laid over newly sown carrots it also acts as a physical barrier against carrot fly, and over brassicas it keeps cabbage white butterflies from laying eggs. One material, two of the biggest UK crop losses headed off — as long as you cover early, before the pests arrive.
Netting: The Pest Barrier
Where fleece protects from cold and some pests, dedicated fine mesh netting is the specialist crop-protection barrier. Insect-proof mesh over brassicas stops cabbage white butterflies laying the caterpillars that shred your kale and cabbage, and fine mesh or a barrier around carrots keeps out the low-flying carrot fly. Larger-gauge netting keeps pigeons off brassicas and peas. The rule with all of it is the same: get it on early and secure the edges, because pests only need a gap.
Putting It Together Through the Season
These three pieces of equipment map neatly onto the UK growing year: cloches and fleece to start the season early and guard against frost, then netting and fleece through late spring and summer to keep pests off as crops bulk up. Timing it well is the whole game — our UK spring gardening guide covers when to have each in place so you are protecting crops before the frost or the pest arrives, not after.
Plan Your Entire Growing Season
Month-by-month sowing schedules, crop guides for every UK vegetable, companion planting charts, and harvest trackers — all calibrated for UK conditions.
Get the UK Garden Planner →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between fleece and netting for crop protection?
Fleece is a light fabric that raises the temperature underneath by a few degrees to protect from frost, while also acting as a barrier to some pests. Netting does not warm the crop — it is a physical mesh barrier that keeps insects like cabbage white butterfly and carrot fly, and birds like pigeons, off your plants. Many growers use both through the season.
Do I need a cloche for a UK vegetable garden?
It is not essential, but a cloche is one of the most useful season-extenders you can own. It warms the soil for earlier sowing in spring and protects seedlings from cold nights, giving you a crop a couple of weeks earlier, and keeps crops going later in autumn.
How does fleece stop carrot fly and cabbage white butterfly?
Laid over the crop and secured at the edges, fleece is a physical barrier the pests cannot get through to lay their eggs. Over carrots it blocks the low-flying carrot fly; over brassicas it keeps cabbage white butterflies off. The key is to cover early, before the pests arrive, and leave no gaps.
When should I put fleece on to protect against frost?
Cover vulnerable plants with fleece whenever frost is forecast, especially in spring when the last frost can come into May, or later in northern England and Scotland. Fleece lifts the temperature underneath by a few degrees, which is often enough to see tender crops through a cold night unharmed.
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