Crop Protection Using Floating Row Cover
Simple to install, cheap, and incredibly useful, floating row covers are an essential addition to the year-round garden. They also perform a wide assortment of jobs during the year.
To keep Insect Pests Away From Your Plants
A floating row cover used as an insect cover functions in numerous ways. First of all, it forms a barrier that insects cannot breach. Secondly, the floating row cover conceals the plants from view, stopping many insects from visually locating their target plant. Typically, insect barriers are placed directly on the plants, but with row covers that use hoops to support the fabric, the insect pests cannot get to the plants that would be touching the material. The most vital factor for using floating row covers is timing. The row covers need to be installed long ahead of the time that insects are a problem. If you install floating row covers after you start seeing the pests, you will probably be trapping the insects inside the row covers. One vital thing to remember is that many plants need pollination to produce a crop. Consequently, it is critical that you remove the floating row cover when your flowers begin to bloom.
To Protect Your Seeds and Newly Planted Seedlings
You can utilize floating row covers to speed up germination of seeds and protect newly planted seedlings from a multitude of problems. When you plant seeds, you need to make sure that the soil remains moist until the seeds sprout. When covers used over a freshly planted and irrigated garden bed, the row cover will trap some of the moisture, as well as hold the heat, helping the seeds germinate faster. Row covers will also provide rain and hail protection, which can cause a crust to form on the top of the soil. Crusty soil makes it tough for small seeds to push through, leading to sporadic germination of some crops — such as carrots or parsnips. Using row covers also protect your plants from birds and other pests such as rabbits.
Extend the Season and Protect Against Frost
Increasing the usability of the garden by several weeks in the spring and autumn is simple with a floating row cover. In spring, cool-weather crops can be started immediately in the plot a few weeks earlier than usual if you use a row cover. The shelter will trap the heat of the day, warming the dirt and ensure the vegetables gain protection from frost in the evenings. The soil in your garden holds a more significant amount of heat during fall than in springtime, and you can extend the growing and harvesting season by covering up your tender veggies when the colder weather threatens at the end of summer. A row cover will trap some of the sun’s heat, speeding up the ripening of any remaining fruits. Floating row covers can be used in autumn to give late-season shelter to cool and cold-weather plants. These crops will welcome the extra protection of a medium-weight row cover on frosty nights.
For Protection in Winter
For the all year gardener, continuing protection is the best use of floating row covers. You can enjoy the benefits of homegrown vegetables all winter long with just a few minutes of effort and some heavyweight row cover. A heavy-weight row cover can provide enough protection for resilient crops, waiting for a winter harvest.
Types of Row Covers
Several grades (known as weights) and sizes of floating row covers manufactured, and each has its use in an annual vegetable garden.
Insect barriers
At the lightest end of the range are the insect barriers. These almost weightless and virtually transparent fabrics allow up to 95 percent of light to pass through. They do not offer any protection from a frost, but they can be installed in place over plants for weeks at a time to stop insect infestations.
Lightweight covers
The next step up the ladder from insect barriers, lightweight covers are ideal for protecting newly seeded beds from birds and squirrels if you do not want the expense of installing aviary netting over your entire garden, or plants from insects, birds, rabbits, and deer.
Medium-weight covers
The medium-weight fabrics typically retain a little more heat than the lighter covers, but it will decrease the ability of light to penetrate by up to 70 percent. Hence, the medium-weight cover should not be for an insect barrier during the plants growing stage; there is not enough light to provide ideal plant growth during spring and the summer months.
Heavyweight row covers
The most substantial covers are often sold or labeled as frost blankets and are mainly used to protect plants from heavy frost. These grade of floating row covers only allow 30 to 50 percent light penetration, they are best used as a shelter for winter vegetables or temporarily as frost blankets
Floating Row Covers and Hoop Supported Covers
Frequently, row covers are placed directly on the soil or draped over growing crops. The lightness of the material used for these covers makes it possible to “float” on top of the growing plants and hence the name floating row covers. However, there are situations when the row cover should be suspended above the plants and supported on hoops: for example, when heavy frost or winter cold protection is required, particularly for any length of time. If the row cover rests directly on top of the plants, the foliage will suffer cold damage.