IF YOU look up the word cloche in the dictionary it is described as 'a small translucent cover for protecting or forcing outdoor plants,' which summarises the role of a cloche perfectly, writes TOM ATTWOOD. But for the purposes of this column I should probably expand a little.

If there’s an opportunity to speed up the growth of plants using low tech means in the vegetable garden, I’m all for that. Our growing season can be somewhat truncated with cold starts to the spring (an increasingly common pattern) and thus if you can help nudge things along to your advantage then a cloche is a neat way to do this.

In essence it’s a small tent that covers the soil surface and produces within it a ‘micro-climate’ the same way that a larger polytunnel or greenhouse might but on a humbler scale. I like to use a cloche to warm the soil when sowing salad, peas or carrots directly into the soil. The soil is prepared and the seed sown as you would do under normal circumstances, the only difference is that once the seed is covered with soil, you cover the area over with a cloche or cloche like structure.

What you choose to use is largely dependent on your budget. If money is no object then the world is your oyster. Handmade, glass, bell-shaped cloches (dripping in tradition and aesthetic charm) look fabulous but you can achieve equally good results using recycled plastic piping with clear polythene stretched over the hoops and weighted down. The latter option lacks beauty but is none the less very effective. Between these extremes are a plethora of options to buy: semi-rigid structures to small tunnel ‘kits.’ User friendly off the shelf options are much faster to put up so it’s worth bearing that in mind.

You can start using them now to begin warming the soil even if you don’t anticipate sowing anything yet. I like to have the soil prepared; ‘cloche’ it and you’re ready to go when the time comes.