How To Make A Chicken Wire Garden Cloche?

A chicken wire garden cloche is a simple cage that shields plants from pests and light frost using basic wire, stakes, and hand tools.

Why A Chicken Wire Garden Cloche Helps Your Beds

A chicken wire garden cloche puts a light cage around tender plants so slugs, birds, rabbits and roaming pets cannot reach them. At the same time the mesh lets in rain, sun and air so seedlings keep growing without stress.

Garden cloches of all types create a slightly warmer pocket of air and give young plants a head start in cool weather, as guides from the Royal Horticultural Society explain for cloche covers in general. By pairing that idea with chicken wire, you get low cost protection that you can size for any bed or pot.

Chicken Wire Garden Cloche Materials And Tools

Before you start on how to make a chicken wire garden cloche, gather everything in one spot beside the bed. That way you can measure, cut, bend and install the cloche in one smooth run.

Item	Purpose	Tips
Galvanised chicken wire roll	Main cage around plants	Choose mesh spacing small enough to block pests you see most often.
Wire cutters or tin snips	Cut mesh to size	Pick a sharp pair so edges stay neat and safer to handle.
Work gloves	Protect hands	Thick gloves stop scratches from cut ends of the mesh.
Wooden or metal stakes	Hold cloche in place	Use short stakes at corners and the middle of long sides.
Garden wire or cable ties	Secure joins	Twist or fasten edges so the cloche keeps its shape.
Measuring tape	Check bed size	Measure width, length and desired height before cutting.
Optional plastic sheet or frost fleece	Add extra frost cover	Drape over the mesh on cold nights and clip in place.

Galvanised chicken wire or other rust resistant mesh handles rain and damp soil well, and many suppliers note that the zinc coating helps the wire last for years outdoors, as shown in product guides for galvanised steel chicken wire. If your area stays very wet, a vinyl coated mesh can stretch the life of the cloche even more.

How To Make A Chicken Wire Garden Cloche Step By Step

Plan The Shape And Size

First decide which plants need cover. Single cabbage plants or lettuce heads suit bell shaped cloches. A line of carrots, beetroot or salad rows works better with a low tunnel. Raised beds often need a long box or hoop cloche that spans the whole width.

Measure the bed or pot. Add at least twenty to thirty centimetres on each side so the mesh can curve down into the soil. That overlap lets you peg the cloche down and stops pests from squeezing under the edge.

Cut The Chicken Wire Safely

Lay the roll of chicken wire flat on a firm surface. Keep the curve pointing away from you so it does not spring up. Put on gloves and eye protection before you cut.

Use measuring tape to mark the panel length for your cloche. Snip along a full row of hexagons so the cut line stays even. Leave a row of spare wire prongs on one long edge if you plan to hook the cloche closed there.

Freshly cut ends are sharp. Fold each loose point back on itself with the pliers or the tip of your cutters. That small step makes handling the piece safer and helps prevent torn sleeves when you move the finished cloche around the garden.

Form A Tunnel Or Bell Frame

To make a tunnel, stand at one short edge of the panel and gently bend the mesh over your thigh or a wide board. Work along the length until the wire holds a smooth arch. For a bell cloche, pull the short edges together, overlap them slightly and fix them with garden wire or cable ties to form a cylinder. Pinch the top together by folding and twisting a few rows of mesh so the cylinder tapers like a dome.

The mesh does not need to look perfect. Small dips and bumps do not change how well it protects plants, and the cloche settles in once it sits among foliage. As long as there are no big gaps at ground level, pests will stay out.

Secure Edges And Add Stakes

Place the tunnel or bell over your row or plant. Press the lower edges into the soil with your boot so the mesh bites slightly into the ground. Then drive short stakes just inside or outside the mesh at each corner and at intervals along long sides. Tie the mesh to the stakes so strong wind cannot roll or lift the cloche.

If you built a box frame from timber or plastic pipe to hold the mesh rigid, fasten the chicken wire to that frame with staples or ties first. Then sit the frame over the bed and screw or peg the corners down so the whole unit stays steady.

Create A Simple Hinged Access Panel

Every cloche needs an easy way to reach plants for weeding, watering and harvest. The easiest method is a hinged flap along one side of a tunnel or box cloche.

Cut a narrow strip along one side of the cloche panel, leaving a row of uncut loops at the top as a hinge. Bend the strip up so it opens like a small door. Use garden wire, clips or even old clothespins to latch the lower edge to the main body when closed. Now you can flip the flap up in seconds, work along the row, and close it again without wrestling the whole cloche off the bed.

How To Make A Chicken Wire Garden Cloche For Raised Beds

Build A Lightweight Rectangular Frame

Raised beds often sit at hip height, so a solid frame makes lifting the cloche on and off far easier. Use scrap decking boards, untreated timber, or PVC pipe to build a simple rectangle that matches the inner size of the bed. Screw the corners firmly or use elbow fittings for pipe frames.

Once the frame is square, stretch chicken wire over the top and sides. Staple or tie the mesh down every five to ten centimetres along the wood. For pipe, run cable ties through the mesh and around the pipe until it feels snug. Trim all loose wire and tie ends so they do not snag sleeves while you garden.

Add Height For Brassicas And Tall Crops

Some crops such as kale, sprouting broccoli and dwarf fruit bushes need extra headroom. You can raise the cloche height by adding arches made from thicker wire, conduit or flexible hoops that span the frame. Fix these to the long sides and then stretch chicken wire across the hoops, tying it along each rib.

This hoop and mesh mix gives a strong cage that keeps pigeons and rabbits away from leafy crops. At the same time, useful insects can still reach the plants through the mesh, which keeps the mix of insects and soil life in better balance.

Anchor The Raised Bed Cloche

Place the finished frame over the bed and check for gaps where slugs or rodents might squeeze in. You can screw short blocks of wood to the bed edges so the frame drops between them like a lid. In windy spots, drill holes through the frame into the bed sides and add removable pins or bolts so gusts cannot lift the cover.

When you want to plant or harvest, lift the whole frame off and lean it against a fence or wall. The chicken wire keeps the frame fairly light, so one person can handle even a wide bed as long as the timber is not overly thick.

Using And Maintaining Your Wire Garden Cloches

Daily Use Through The Growing Season

After you work out how to make a chicken wire garden cloche, the next step is learning how to live with it through a full season. Check the fit around the base every week, as soil settles and plants push against the mesh. If roots or stems rub too hard, shift the cloche slightly or trim back a few leaves so air can move freely.

Lift the flap or frame on bright days to let bees reach flowers that need pollination. For leafy crops you can keep the cloche closed for longer stretches, since they do not rely on insects. Just remember to water under the cover during dry spells because the mesh catches some spray.

Seasonal Adjustments For Weather And Pests

In spring and autumn a chicken wire garden cloche helps break cold wind and slows frost on leaves. For nights with a sharp frost risk, drape horticultural fleece or clear plastic over the mesh and clip it to the frame. This extra blanket traps more warmth without blocking all air flow, as many guides on cloches point out for early vegetable crops.

As summer heat builds, lift one side of the cloche slightly with a brick or short stake so air can pass through. That small gap cools the plants but still blocks rabbits and most birds. On very hot days you can set the frame aside completely and bring it back once temperatures drop again.

Cleaning, Storage And Rust Control

At the end of the season, brush off soil and plant debris from the mesh. A stiff hand brush or old washing up brush works well here. Leaving wet leaves pressed against the wire through winter speeds up corrosion and invites mould.

Inspect each cloche for broken strands or loose joins. Twist damaged areas back together, or patch them with a small piece of fresh mesh tied in place. Many chicken wire guides note that galvanised coatings slow rust, yet scratches and cut ends can still corrode over time, so a quick check once a year goes a long way.

Task	When To Do It	Why It Helps
Check base for gaps	Every week in growing season	Stops slugs, mice and rabbits slipping under edges.
Lift cover for pollination	On sunny days for flowering crops	Lets bees and hoverflies reach blossoms.
Add fleece or plastic	Cold snaps in spring or autumn	Gives extra frost and wind shelter.
Brush off soil and leaves	End of each season	Reduces rust and keeps mesh tidy for next year.
Repair broken strands	When damage appears	Prevents sharp edges and fresh gaps.
Store cloches dry	Over winter	Dry storage slows corrosion and extends life.

Stack smaller bell cloches inside each other and hang tunnel cloches on hooks in a shed or garage. Good air flow around the wire helps it dry after rain and makes each cloche last for many seasons, which saves both money and waste.

By following these simple steps, how to make a chicken wire garden cloche? stops feeling like a mystery job and turns into a quick weekend task. Once you build one or two, you can repeat the process for every bed that needs cover and keep your crops safer from hungry wildlife all year.