Tomato plant cover buying guide

Updated: October 2026

A tomato plant cover buying guide starts with a tape measure, not the word tomato on the box. If you grow a cordon in a grow bag on a UK patio, Gardeners' World puts that plant at about 1.5–2 m once it is trained. A cover of 45 cm, 50 cm or 110 cm will not finish that season. The Products Compared editorial team set the sizes, prices and star lines below from amazon.co.uk extracts on 16 October 2026. This is not a lab test. The tomato plant cover comparison holds the full table. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Our top picks

Badge	Product	Height	Type	Access	Note	Price	Offer
Best overall	VOUNOT VOUNOT tomato grow house, white	150 cm	Film growhouse	Roll-up door	9.0	about £23.49	View offer
Best value	DIVCHI DIVCHI tomato growhouse	150 cm	Film growhouse	Roll-up zip door	8.2	about £15.47	View offer
Alternative	Tierra Garden Haxnicks pop-up tomato cloche	110 cm	Pop-up tomato cloche	Cover comes off to water	7.8	about £20.99	View offer

Best overall

VOUNOT VOUNOT tomato grow house, white

9.0/10about £23.49

View offer

Best value

DIVCHI DIVCHI tomato growhouse

8.2/10about £15.47

View offer

Alternative

Tierra Garden Haxnicks pop-up tomato cloche

7.8/10about £20.99

View offer

On this page

1.How tall should a tomato plant cover be?
2.Film or mesh
3.Can you water without taking the cover off?
4.Anchors and review counts

How tall should a tomato plant cover be?

Measure the plant you will grow, then the cane and the fruit trusses, not the seedling in the pot today. A cordon trained to about 1.5–2 m needs headroom a 45 cm, 50 cm or 110 cm cover does not have. Those shorter covers are for seedlings, a short plant, or the early weeks. In this set the grow-bag shape is 100 × 50 × 150 cm, one bag rather than a bed. It is still not spare headroom for an unstopped 2 m cordon, so you stop the plant before it presses the roof. The 150 cm houses are the DIVCHI at about £15.47 (4.1 from 223 reviews) and the VOUNOT colours, white at about £23.49 (4.4 from 145) and green at about £24.99 (4.4 from 146). Both VOUNOT listings state 135 g/m² polyethylene, and the written reviews are one sample. The DIVCHI weight of 200 g is not usable beside a metal frame. Use 150 cm from the amazon.co.uk extract, not a 140 cm line printed elsewhere.

Film or mesh

Film sheds rain. Mesh lets rain through and adds little warmth. The RHS describes a ventilated cloche as a way to reduce blight by reducing rain on the leaves, and it warns that a closed humid cover encourages grey mould. The limit of that claim is on the tomato plant cover and blight page. Heavier horticultural fleece is credited by the RHS with about 2°C. None of these film listings prove a temperature lift you can quote. The 150 cm houses are film, the Haxnicks cover is polypropylene, and the GardenSkill cube is PVC. Choose mesh when birds are the problem and rain on the foliage is acceptable. Four 100 × 80 cm bags at about £8.99, or two larger bags at about £7.89, are that job. Do not call them a cheap greenhouse. The FAKOFIS cages are a 5.0 from two ratings with no review text, and the title and the spec disagree on size.

Testsieger

VOUNOT VOUNOT tomato grow house, white

9.0/10about £23.49

View offer

Can you water without taking the cover off?

Rain on the path does not water the roots once a film cover is over the bag. The 150 cm houses have a roll-up door, so you can water at the base without lifting the frame. A door that sticks, or ties that fail, shows up in individual DIVCHI reviews, so a listed zip is not a promise that every zip lasts. Several Haxnicks buyers say there is no watering opening, so the cover comes off every time. That is workable for one young plant and a poor fit for three plants in a bag. The listing does state adjustable vents, which several film houses leave blank. A shut film cover holds humidity.

Anchors and review counts

Wind is the complaint buyers repeat on the DIVCHI house, the VOUNOT houses, the Haxnicks cloche and the low tunnel. The VOUNOT bullets name ropes, stakes and ties, and reviews still call them light. The DIVCHI box list does not name pegs. The Haxnicks list includes pegs, and at least one buyer found them missing. On an exposed patio, add stakes, and do not fix a frame to a balcony you do not own. A 4.1 from 223 reviews is different evidence from a 5.0 from two ratings with no written text. The two VOUNOT colours are one written sample, even though the counts are 145 and 146. A grow bag points to a 150 cm film house with a door. Named picks are on the best tomato plant cover page.

Common questions

Is a 50 cm or 110 cm cloche enough for a cordon tomato?

Not for the whole season. The GardenSkill cube is 50 cm, and a review called it too small for a tomato. The Haxnicks cloche is about 110 cm, and buyers outgrow it. Use either early, then move the plant into a 150 cm house.

Should I buy film or mesh?

Buy film if you want rain off the leaves. Buy mesh if birds are the problem and rain on the foliage is acceptable. The RHS figure of about 2°C belongs to heavier fleece, not to these bags. About £7.89 does not make mesh a greenhouse.

Do I need a door or zip to water?

You need a way to the roots, because the film keeps the rain off. A roll-up door on a 150 cm house does that without lifting the frame. On the Haxnicks cloche, buyers say the cover has to come off. A zip on a mesh bag is for picking.

Will the pegs in the box hold it on a windy patio?

Often they will not. Reviews on the tall houses, the Haxnicks cloche and the low tunnel mention blowing over or extra stakes. VOUNOT lists ropes and stakes, and buyers still add more. DIVCHI does not name pegs. Treat the box fixing as a start, not a gale kit.

Why does a 5.0 from two ratings not settle the choice?

Two ratings can both be five stars and still say nothing about wind, zips or size. The FAKOFIS cages are that case, and the title and the spec disagree. Use 223, 145 and 122 when you compare houses and cloches.

Tomato greenhouse or cloche