Beds From the field

Number of Beds beds

Bed Length m

Bed Width cm

Growth Slack across the Bed %

Extra width so the crop can lift a floating cover; zero for a cover on hoops measured separately.

Edge Buried or Weighted, Each Side cm

End Buried or Gathered, Each End cm

Fleece & Fixing From the roll label

Fleece Weight g/m²

The mass per square metre on the label. Heavier fleece is chosen for harder frost; the grower or supplier decides how heavy.

Roll Width cm

Roll Length m

Peg Spacing along Each Edge m

Enter the spacing of pegs, pins or bags along each side.

Rolls to Buy

— rolls

Beds divided by the whole cuts one roll gives, rounded up

Take-Off

Cut Width of Cover: — cm
Roll Width Left Over (Negative = Too Narrow): — cm
Cut Length per Bed: — m
Whole Cuts from One Roll: — cuts
Fleece on the Beds: — m²
Mass of Fleece on the Beds: — kg
Fleece Bought in Whole Rolls: — m²
Bought Fleece Not on a Bed: — %
Pegs for Both Edges: — pegs

Every dimension is the grower's or the label's; the tool has no figure of its own for slack, tucks or the fleece weight a crop or a frost needs. Each bed takes one cut of the cut length from a roll at least as wide as the cut width; a negative spare says the roll is too narrow and two widths would have to be joined. Rolls are counted by whole cuts, so the end of each roll that is too short for a bed is counted in the fleece bought but not on a bed. If one cut is longer than a whole roll, the count falls back to total length over roll length. Pegs run along both long edges at the spacing given, with one at each end of each edge. **This is a quantity take-off; it does not say how much frost a given fleece will hold off.**

Frost Fleece & Floating Row Cover: Cut Width, Area, Rolls, Mass & Pegs for Beds — free, with the formula and a worked example, at Textile School.