I have a new garden experiment this year: DIY garden cloches. Here in the Pacific Northwest, our gardens endure cool temperatures and abundant rainfall until mid-July. To keep my young starts warm and slugproof, I’m protecting them with homemade cloches made from recycled soda bottles. Sure, the traditional glass domes over tender green plants add sparkle and class to a garden bed—but my DIY interpretations do the job and feature a nice little air vent at the top.

Chateau cloches $77.89, set of 2. Real glass cloches for a classy veggie patch.

A DIY cloche made from a recycled plastic bottle

How can you construct this wonder dome for your own crops? Simply cut the bottom off of a clear plastic liter or gallon bottle. Leave the top open for ventilation, and place over the plants. So far I haven’t done much to keep them in place—I’ve sort of propped mine up with old leaves.  I found some more cloche-making ideas online:

Not up for a craft project? These large garden cloche plant covers (3 for $26.97) have pegs for securing to the ground as well as air vents.

And this kitchen garden cloche is $93—it’s like a clear plant tent, which can cover a sizable chunk of a garden bed.

After all this excitement over my DIY cloches, I still don’t know if they are going to do any good. Stay tuned for updates as the gardening season progresses!