Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Row covers.
Row covers are sheets of fabric or plastic draped over the entire row of plants. They
provide an insulating layer for the crops, and if the row covers are clear plastic sheets, they even
allow sunlight to come through. Row covers make it easy to cover an entire row at one time, but
generally need more than one person to apply to the garden. Plastic sheeting can build up heat
inside if the sun comes back up the next day, so they'll have to be removed from the plants. Plastic
sheets can also become heavy in rainy weather if water collects on top of them, causing stems of the
plants to break.
Lightweight row covers can provide a minimum of 3 degrees of protection, but a University of
Florida study showed that frost protection can be even higher. Heavier row covers can provide
protection of 6 degrees or more. The best protection is provided to sections of the plants that aren't
touching the cover, another benefit of using hooped row covers (discussed next) to elevate the cover.
Row covers that are laid directly on the ground can be secured with dirt, chunks of wood, or rocks.
(Photo courtesy of Broadfork Farm)
Hooped row covers.
These are the same fabric or plastic sheets that can be draped directly over
plants, except they are stretched over PVC hoops that hold the cover off the plants. These are more
expensive, and a bit trickier to set up for the average small farmer. However, they don't have to be
removed during the day, because the ends of the tunnels can be opened for ventilation. They also
keep plants healthier because they don't bruise or break the plants by lying directly on top of them.
The insulating sheeting can be replaced by shade cloth in the heat of summer as well, allowing the
hoops to serve double-duty for backyard farmers.
Cloches.
If you just have a few tender plants to cover, you can actually cover each plant individu-
ally. This is more labor intensive, but in a small garden that usually isn't a problem. Milk jugs with
the bottoms removed can make excellent temporary cloches on the cheap (bury the edges into the
dirt to keep them from flying away). I love the gorgeous, old-fashioned cloches made of glass that
you can find sometimes. I've also used large glass pickle jars or mason jars with no labels on them.
Just be sure to remove the cloche covers when the sun comes up so your seedlings don't overheat!
