Row covers?

Never used 'em, but I'm starting to think I should give them a try, especially for my eggplants (last year their leaves looked like someone used them for BB-gun target practice. Between the beetles and the excess rains, they never did recover enough to produce...)

And my zukes. Now granted, you always have too many zucchini (you know it's too many when you KNOW the neighbors are home, but they won't answer the door when they see you coming with the telltale paper sack!) But it seems every year, my harvest time is a little shorter and a little less-plentiful thanks to the borers.

I understand that 'maters and peppers will also benefit from row covers for the first few weeks, especially if the weather is a little cool. And then there's melons, beans, strawberries - the list of possibilities seems endless :)

So.

Who uses row covers? (And for what/how long do you use them?)

Who USED to use them, and gave up on them (and why?)

Thanks in advance!

when I was in vegetable production, we used them for tomatos and peppers late in the season.

kept them good enough to get one last crop.
3 guys, covered and uncovered 5acres daily.

I've never used them, but found some at Big Lots last weekend for a dollar. I figured at that price, it wouldn't hurt to try a couple to see if I liked them! They also had the little 2 & 3 shelf greenhouses in stock, so if you have one near you, it's worth checking to see what they have.

I've used 'em. Often. Not only good to guard against late frost (or early frosts) but also, as you suggested Terry, good for keeping bugs at bay.

I bought a good amount at Johnny's a couple years back, they had the best price going at the time (perhaps they still do).

Remember to buy a width that will give you plenty of fabric to go to the sides of your rows/beds. When the plants are young or low-growing you'll want to be able to cover the edges with dirt to keep out the bugs. And, of course, once flowers form you'll need to remove it so that pollinators can get to the flowers (for squash, cukes, pumpkins, etc).

I'm going to use some red plastic ones under my tomato plants this year. Supposed to help them get more sun (which they need a little more where they are).

Hmmm. Now I bought the red (infra-red?) plastic mulch for my tomato plants already. But I was thinking that row covers are spun fabric "stuff" (Remay is one brandname) that you place over your plants and either support with hoops, or allow it to drape gently over them, and anchor it good so the wind won't blow it away and to keep out the bugs until the plants have a chance to get up and growing good. Am I mixing up my terminology? (Entirely possible....)

lol - I may be! I was looking in the Vesey's seed catalog and saw the red plastic used as a mulch. What it says:

>SRM-Red Mulch

SRM-Red is a durable plastic which lays well over flat or raised beds. Studies have shown that red enhances growth and yield of crops such as tomatoes and strawberries. Red mulch reflects intensified red light to developing plants which increases their photosynthetic capacity. SRM Red mulch has season-long-integrity and also warms the soil and controls weeds.<

I am going to get some, and cut it in squares to use under each plant, as I intermix around my tomatoes, marigolds and basil (helps deter aphids).

Above that item, in the same catalog is a "textile mulching canvas".

You should be able to see this on their website at:

http://www.veseys.com

I would "price" shop before ordering.

You're correct, Terry. The SRM Karrie is referring to is a ground mulch, not the same as a row cover and they are used for entirely two different reasons.

Well, Gurney's sent me a $20 coupon, no minimum purchase. And they have rowcover fabric 5' x 25' (and 50') lengths...looks like I might be able to try some out this year, and not do any additional damage to my bank account, lolol.

I got their coupon too! I haven't ordered from them in years (cus their plants are usually so puny, or so it seems) but I took advantage of their coupon. (I thought it said I had to order $20 worth tho, then could get 20 bucks additional stuff...waaahhh, I musta gone sour in the haid!)

I'd try em out. You can't go wrong! Especially if it is Reemay. (You can use scraps of it for isolation bags...cut them up into pieces, iron the edges and they glue together. Perfect for putting over certain flowers to keep pollinators off them.)

Since I grow all my veggies in raised beds, I use a little different method. I drilled holes every 12 inches in the wooden sides of one of the beds. I insert galvanized steel hoops into each hole and then put clear 8 mil plastic over the hoops. I have to anchor the plastic real good to prevent the wind from blowing the plastic away. What I end up with is a 4' x 16' cloche. The hoops are at least 18" tall so I can leave them in place a long time if I have to.

Bob, I thought about doing that with my row covers - I use 4x4 beds (along the lines of the square-foot gardening method, but not quite as intensively planted), and I thought about taking 1" PVC (length to be determined) and bending it into hoops, 2 or 3 per bed. If I did that, there would be roughly 18-24" clearance height in the center of each bed. (I was even thinking about stitching a "sleeve" to run the PVC pipes through to hold the row covers in place...

Hmmm. Well, now I'm getting pretty excited at the prospect, since it looks like I can pick up the row cover fabric on the cheap :)

'shoe, your coupon may have said "buy $20/get next $20 free - I think some coupons were different. I've not ordered from Gurney's in eons, for the very reason you cited. But fabric ain't plants or seeds, lolol...

Terry, the PVC sounds great, but I think 1" is overkill. I spect it will be hard to bend too. Tell you what, I have some 1/2" PVC conduit out in my garage, and I'll do a little test to see how well it bends. I'll have to warm it up first though - it's sure to crack in this cold!!

I hear ya Terry...them coupons go along way towards some of their non-plant items (best way to use them!).

Bob, and Terry, 3/4 inch, or even 1/2 inch pvc will bend pretty good. You can even use a heat torch to weaken it a bit so you can bend it. (I've even stuck the ends up the tailpipe of a car/truck before and let it heat up in there.)

Did I say 1"? Bob, you're right - 1/2" is probably fine (good grief, my greenhouse is built from either 1 or 1.5" PVC!)

'shoe, that's a mighty interesting way to heat up PVC, lolol. I hope by the time I need to get moving on this project, our weather will be a wee bit warmer!!!!)

Well, I went ahead and ordered the row cover fabric from Gurney's (it was free, so nothin' to lose, right?)

Thanks for the ideas and support - that's what I love about DG :)

I am wondering in my zone 5 if I can use the hoop idea with row covers to put out plants earlier than normal. Will it protect them from light frost?
I have been studying this for the last 2 months and still haven't quite decided if I have digested it all properly or not.
I too had gotten confused about mulch, row covering, and hoops and covers.
Thanks for the assist
Great post Terry
You guys are the best!!!!
Alice

Yes, Alice, the row covers will protect your early plants from frost. (They still should be a bit hardened off tho.) HOwever, should you have a good FREEZE the row covers won't help much there.

Maybe if you're gonna put up hoops you could put clear plastic over them during the coldest part of the weather (will have to open the ends each sunny day, or roll up one side to prevent over-heating). Once the weather begins to stay above freezing then replace the plastic with the row covers; that would keep the nite frosts off the plants but yet let them be a bit more ventilated during the days.

It should, aknapp, especially if you use clear plastic instead of row cover fabric. I have started with plastic to get an early start and replaced it with fabric to give insect protection. Good luck!

Ronna, I skipped over yours - sorry! Yes, we do have a Big Lots here in the 'boro, so I'll slip over there and see what they've got (those greenhouse stands are pretty cool, from what I hear :)

Terry
Those greenhouses are great I have of the small ones and one of the larger ones that is 3 years old now. The zipper on the larger one has developed a tear in it, but for the 20 dollars I paid for it, I think it has held up really well. I found a replacement cover for it in one of the catalogues for a reasonable price, but am going to try to repair it myself and see if I can get by with that for awhile.
Thanks guys for all of the great info. I have started a lot of seedlings way to early and I know that they are going to have to go outside earlier than they should, so now I have some ideas on how to keep them alive.

If your interested in using row covers or mulch visit the web site of robertmarvel.com . They sell the stuff and have some information on their products. The row covers that I purchased from them is supposed to protect my plants down to 30 deg.

Thanks for the tip david I will check it out!!
Alice

Here's the link: http://www.robertmarvel.com/

I must say his drip emitters look interesting.

This message was edited Jan 22, 2004 10:25 PM