Polypropylene Row Covers For Market Gardeners And Home Gardeners

Polypropylene Row Covers For Market Gardeners And Home Gardeners CROPS Miscellaneous Pam Dawling Louisa Va : “Polypropylene row covers are a good buy for market gardeners and home gardeners alike They last longer and are tougher than polyester Our favorite is Dupont’s Typar Xavan T131 It has lasted 6 years or more at Twin Oaks Community’s 3 1/2-acre vegetable garden It transmits 75 percent of the light “We also like Agribon 19 spun-bonded polypropylene It weighs less than half as much as Typar and lets in 85 percent of the light “The row covers are great at extending the season For example Agribon 19 offers 4 degrees of frost protection They’re also great at protecting plants against insects and cross-pollination “ProtekNet insect mesh made by Dubois Agrinovation is an alternative to row covers in warm weather Lighter weight versions are translucent nylon and heavier ones are made from polyethylene They come in 5 different mesh configurations and sizes and let in water light and air Different pests require different versions sizes and shapes of mesh “We’ve used it to protect nursery seedbeds cucurbit sowings broccoli and cabbage transplants and more It also shields plants from the sun helping them recover from transplant shock When no longer needed it gets packed away for future use “Shade cloth is another good buy It is available in a wide variety of widths and densities It can be knitted or woven polypropylene or polyethylene but knitted is about 25 percent lighter and won’t unravel when cut We use 45 to 50 percent light transmission shade cloth over hoops for our summer lettuce We use clothespins to attach it to the hoops and once a bed has been harvested we move the hoops and shade cloth to the next bed “Very dense 80 to 90 percent shade cloth is great for covering produce on its way to the cooler “Shade cloth has been shown to increase pepper production and Farmtek Growers Supply www farmtek com offers a great set of guidelines for use of various densities of shade cloth Gemplers www gemplers com also sells a good range of shade cloth For small areas we’ve used scraps of window screen and old tent mesh windows Anything is better than nothing! Pam Dawling is the author of Sustainable Market Farming available from www sustainablemarketfarming com or from Sustainable Market Farming 138 Twin Oaks Rd Louisa Va 23093

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