Who Uses Floating Row Covers?

13 years ago

Purchased a 25x5 floating row cover today.

Says with one layer, it protects down to about 28 degrees. It says if you double or triple it, it should protect down to 24 degrees or 20 respectively.

What kinds of results/experiences have folks had with using a floating row cover?

I opted to give it a try this year - and just planted out 12 Ventura celery and 14 Copra Onions into the garden because they were root-bound in their containers - and my germination station was completely filled!

Supposed to get to 29 degrees tonight & 27 degrees tomorrow. I left the plants uncovered until about 6:30 pm tonight - and doubled the cover up.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden Blog

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Comments (8)

DrHorticulture_
13 years ago
I like them but I prefer supporting them with hoops. As celery and onions can tolerate light frost, you probably don't need the covers for 27 degrees, but they can't hurt of course.
The colder it is, the bigger the difference in temperature. On the coldest night of this winter, it was -35 F outside and +8 F underneath.
I took some temp. measurements last fall; see below. These row covers are in my unheated greenhouse which retains no nighttime heat on its own.

Month ambient high ambient low; RC high RC low
Oct 56 32 ; 72 40
Nov 28 14; 48 26

Today 10 -9; 44 19
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stuffradio
13 years ago
I haven't tried one yet, but on my drive home 3 days a week, I see a bunch of houses that have row covers on their lawn so they can get early crops! I also see different houses with greenhouses, some with 5-10 of them on their properties!

I think I might try one this year, not sure yet though.
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Dave, I think you are pushing the limit a little on the 10 degree figure. You may be right as I have never had to push it to that limit. It's just what the manufacturer claims for it. I have had to count on it for some 26-27 degree nites and had no problems. As to the control of dirt/ground insect access with it, weed barrier and careful tucking of the Reemay around the base of the plants eliminates most of that for me. But even without that block you have eliminated all the air access and so cut the potential problems by 2/3. ;) I can't even get that with double plastic layer on a greenhouse. Air chamber double-wrap still doesn't give you 10 degrees? That's good to know. I realize you're way north of me and your greenhouses are quite a bit larger than my small 10x20' one so the cost might be prohibitive for you, but have you considered the bubble-wrap blankets? We bought ours from Farm Tek Supply at a good price and it's on its 5th year with only a few tears. With no or little wind I can get 20 degrees difference inside to outside temps with it. Just a thought. ;) Dave
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For my part, I couldn't grow most squash & gourds without row covers; SVB, squash bugs, and cucumber beetles are very bad here. I cover the seedlings before they are attacked, and remove the covers only when the plants outgrow the cover, or when they start to bloom. My losses of C. pepo and C. maxima squash were very high when unprotected... with row covers applied early, survival is nearly 100%. I just lay the cover over the plants, leaving plenty of slack. Bamboo skewers hold the edges in place until I can bury them. With buried edges, nothing gets in, not even slugs... and wind resistance is much higher than it would be on a hoop or frame. As the plants grow, they push up the cover. Row covers are very effective for keeping cabbage loopers out of cole crops, without the use of sprays. This year, I am even growing Swiss chard under cover, since goldfinches have taken a liking to it, and would destroy it completely without protection. If you are a seed saver, row covers are an economical way to save pure pepper seed. I use it to cover my pepper cages, and the peppers thrive in the warmer, more humid environment beneath the cover. Not only pure seed, but no losses due to bug bites or sunscald. I highly recommend caging for areas where peppers are difficult to ripen... just check often for aphids, which are able to penetrate the cover due to their small size. Small squares of row cover are also good for blossom bagging, since the material is breathable & traps little heat. I would NOT recommend the use of row covers to cover whole bean & tomato plants, since the increased humidity under the cover promotes disease. Screen or tule cloth is better for this purpose. Caavonldy's method of applying the cover loosely to discourage deer is effective, as long as insects are not a problem also.
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Thanks for the reply. I actually was going to apply it to my blackberries. The japanese beattles decimate the crop. Last year I got zero berries. They destroyed them. So I was wanting to go into this year with a real plan. I was looking on gardeners supply. They have some row cover thats 80 percent transparent. I could rap the bushes with these and at least save most of the crop. I would think anyways.
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My garden wouldn't SURVIVE without my floating row covers!!! They not only keep off insect pests, but also keep deer & groundhogs off my crops (& I have a groundhog hole right smack in the middle of the garden - lol). Since VA is hot & humid in the summer, I bought the lightweight row covers intended for insect prevention, as opposed to the heavier weights meant for frost protection. I cover all my crops except for my caged tomatoes, & fasten them around each raised bed with pins specifically meant for that purpose, as well as with bricks, rocks, etc. The important thing is to allow a LOT of slack so that the plant(s) can grow & push the fabric up without resistance. Plants that require pollination, like peppers, eggplant, squash, etc., get uncovered during the day once flower buds form, but are recovered at night. Plants that don't need pollination, like root crops & greens, are covered all the time except when harvesting. Works more than perfectly for me.
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zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
13 years ago
I use them for insect control, and they are very effective. Row covers keep SVB & squash bugs from attacking my squash seedlings, and prevent early attacks by cucumber beetle - and the resultant wilt - on my cukes. I cover my peppers with them for saving pure seed. Never tried them for Spring planting, the cover I use has almost no heat retention.
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bsntech
Original Author
13 years ago
Appreciate the replies.

Was supposed to be 45 degrees here today - but it still is only 30 degrees! I did read that celery & onions tolerate light frost - but I would think a "light frost" would be anything between 30 - 32 degrees. A "hard frost" or freeze.. I'd think that would be anything below 30 degrees.

Weatherman says it is to warm up all this week.. we'll see. Just would hate to lost these onion & celery plants. I do have plenty still under the grow lights downstairs, but they are not nearly as far along as the ones just planted.
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glib
13 years ago
Onion seedlings tolerate a lot more frost than celery, IMHO. But I am puzzled at what zeedman says, that he protects squash seedlings with the covers. I am in MI, and by the time the SVB descend on my plants, it is late June and the plants are two feet tall (and they are really difficult to cover and seal, with RC or with tulle). What am I missing?
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sunnibel7 Md 7
13 years ago
Well, I'm trying one for the first time. Put out my broccoli transplants yesterday, since I've run out of room inside. At first I was worried that they were going to be beat to death by the wind rippling the fabric, and was starting to regret putting it over them. But today it is relatively still and the plants are fine... and I saw the first cabbage moth of the season and thought "HA! You're not going to lay your eggs on MY broccoli!!!" I'm hoping the minor bit of frost protection the RCs provide will get them through any borderline cold nights we may have from now on...
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obrionusa
13 years ago
I would love too, but can only get to my garden 3 days a week. Im afraid they will cook if not there daily to open and close to prevent overheating.
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biscgolf
13 years ago
i use them to keep the flea beetles off of the eggplant and the squash bugs (one of the banes of my existence) off the squashes... not so much for temperature control... they definitely help with the bugs.
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Who Uses Floating Row Covers?

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DrHorticulture_

stuffradio

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zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin

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Who Uses Floating Row Covers?

Comments (8)

DrHorticulture_

stuffradio

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zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin

bsntechOriginal Author

glib

sunnibel7 Md 7

obrionusa

biscgolf

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