Man, if I had known row covers would help with mites, I would have had them at the old house! I did not see much sign of them here this summer, so maybe that's one I won't have to worry about. Glib, I think I'm using the term "row cover" more generally than you; your tulle and hoop house probably would both come under my idea of "row cover". I have never yet put any sort of barrier over my veggie plants, but it has become clear that I must. Especially if I wish to work in a larger scale, to help cut down on work (like constantly picking off looper and eggs from cabbage). I think maybe in the spring a floating row cover might be a good idea, maybe a little extra heat, but also to help keep the birds from destroying tender seedlings.

I like Johnny's Seed - Seed Starting Calculator. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/e-PDGSeedStart.aspx??source=HomeSeedCalc0111. I will probably use this calculator this year to determine the planting dates and use Martha Stewart's Seed Starting Worksheet - www.marthastewart.com/seed-worksheet - to keep tract of what I do. I agree with you - I have got to keep better records of what/when I plant and when/what to fertilize. I finally organized an excel worksheet for ordering our vegetable seeds - I think I have that documented for easy seed ordering decisions. Here are a couple of photos of our soil sifter (we have rocky soil in places) - we built it to fit our wheel barrow so it does not move once I place it on the wheel barrow. It works pretty good for sifting soil in a small area. I go down the garden row and throw in surface rocks then dump the rocks in my 4-wheel trailer and dump the wheel barrow of dirt back in the garden. Thought it might also come in handy for sifting soil for the Soil block mixture. FYI RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: karin_mt 4 (My Page) on Thu, Dec 30, 10 at 12:21 I like both of those web resources for seed starting. The Johnny's one is particularly cool. I found that the hardest thing was forecasting the frost-free date inside my greenhouse so I could predict when to start plants that are destined to stay inside. And yes, a customized Excel sheet is a great way to go! I have an Excel database that starts from the very beginning of our gardens, so I have a pretty good history of what I've planted each year, where it's from and how it did. There are a few gaps though, notably which type of raspberry variety is where. I also have a little bar graph that I use to track the planting dates, exciting weather events, bloom periods and key harvests. Each year I print out the template, then fill in the bars by hand over the relevant dates. This gives a very interesting comparison of your growing climate from year to year. Maybe someday these will be key pieces of climate data? The note-taking is also helpful for reflection - it helps you firm up your thoughts. Now, your soil screener looks like a very nice tool. I like that it fits firmly on the wheel barrow. What do you do with all the rocky stuff that is left over? Maybe you'll have enough for a stone border? Do you have alkaline soil too? Do you find that your soil gets clumpy, even when it's nice soil? That's something I've noticed lately. Even though the soil is beautifully textured (not clay), it forms hard clumps. I am wondering if this is from alkalinity and the particles being inclined to stick together. RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: 7000feet 3 (My Page) on Fri, Dec 31, 10 at 10:40 Your method for keeping notes is helpful! The Salt River runs through our property (a mild to raging stream depending on the runoff and irrigation needs - so I return the rocks to their rightful owner - the river. We have great soil because we are on an ancient river bed but the bad part is the top soil varies from 0-36" depending on the swells. We tried to locate our garden on deep top soil but still had to haul off large rocks in the beginning and now sift the soil as we plant and haul off the small rocks. I haven't tested our PH but is alkaline soil like yours. It does get clumpy but try to keep it moist during germination and use a lot of mulch to keep the walk areas dry/walkable. We add manure every fall before plowing the garden. We purchased sifted top soil for the GH and added a lot of vermiculite, peat moss & compost - not problems with GH soil. Here is a photo of what works well for us to remove rocks from our garden. I purchased this wonderful dumping trailer that hooks on my 4-wheeler. I rake the rocks in a row and use a manure fork to throw them in the trailer - then dump the rocks on the river bed with their cousins. RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: soonergrandmom Z6 Grove (My Page) on Sat, Jan 1, 11 at 16:26 I have used the mini-block maker for years. I use either Jiffy Mix or ProMix with it. With ProMix you may have to throw out a small stick or two, but it holds together fine. I didn't know about the attachment for the medium block maker that makes the hole for the little one to fit into until several years after I bought mine, and I never remember to order it. So I don't use the two blocks together. Some things grow so rapidly that they need to be started in the medium size, but I start all tomato and pepper seeds in the tiny block and pot up to small containers when they get their first real leaves or when they appear to be a good strong seedling. Some things I don't need to plant 20 of, so I write the name on a popsicle stick, lay the popsicle stick between the row of blocks and slide the blocks over in groups of five to a small piece of foil. I crimp the foil up a little to hold the stick so I don't lose the name. I don't make real plant markers until I am sure I have good transplants. I make the permanent marker at the time I put them in their first small container. I am much more likely to plant 5 seeds of 4 varieties of tomato than I am to plant 20 of the same kind, so it works well for me. RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: ngrrsn 7 (My Page) on Tue, Sep 11, 12 at 1:33 Would like to know more about the tunnel construction; why the wire mesh instead of pvc or waterline pipe? What is the mesh sizing? Is this welded wire? What size is the wire (#10,12,14)? How easy is it to form the wire? Is it fairly strong, or does it bend easy? Why the gaps between sections of wire? How is the wire secured to the ground? What is the height of the tunnel at the center line? I am very interested in this. RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: Hudson...WY 3 (My Page) on Fri, Sep 28, 12 at 9:09 The mesh is 47" 12 1/2 gauge Field Fence available at most farm supply stores - a full roll is 330' but most stores have smaller rolls as well. I cut the fence in 6' lengths with small bolt cutter or wire cutter and cut the vertical wire such that there is 6" of wire on both sides of the hopes to push into the ground to anchor the fence. The center height is approx. 24". I plant in wide rows of 30". The mesh size is 6" squares (for easy reach-in, weeding etc.) although the bottom couple of rows are a bit smaller. I gap the fence in the rows approx. 18" to reduce the cost and because the row cover does not sag with the gap. I like the fence because it will last many years and I live in a climate where we have had snow every month of the year and periods of hail or strong wind. The fence does an excellent job holding up the weight of the snow and withstanding the wind/hail etc. It pulls out easy at season end and stores by stacking one inside the other. I have never tried PVC pipe so I am not in a position to compare. I am sure this fence method is more expensive but I like the way it performs. RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: Hudson...WY none3 (My Page) on Fri, Sep 28, 12 at 10:44 This Years Broccoli using the tunnel method - keeps out the insects too. I usually plant veggies in the garden with the row cover the 1st week of may or earlier if I can work the soil. Without the row cover, there is a threat of frost until the middle of June and after the end of August. Well worth the effort! RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: ngrrsn 7 (My Page) on Fri, Sep 28, 12 at 17:18 Thanks! That helped a lot! I Appreciate the follow up. 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The reason agricultural textiles sold as row cover, floating row cover, frost bankets. summerweight row covers or seed germination fabrics are useful is because they are air, light and water permeable to some degree, allowing them to achieve the purpose for which a gardener is using them while not interfering too much in normal plant growth. They also are extremely lightweight. Also, they are tested so we know what degree of light transmission occurs at different weights of fabric and what sot of frost/freeze protection should occur with each specific weight. Most textiles sold as row covers are classified by their weight, expressed in ounces per square yard. There are several different brands including Reemay, Agribon, DeWitt and Typar Xavan, but I've mostly used only Agribon and DeWitt so my experience is with them, and I'm sure of the numbers given below being accurate in our climate. The most lightweight row covers are only 0.45 oz./ sq. yd. and are used only as seed germination blankets,or to provide light shading or protection from insects (by the fact that if they are tacked down tightly against the ground, insects cannot reach the plants under the row covers). Agribon+AG-15 Insect Barrier is an example of this weight row cover, and it allows 90% light transmission but does not provide frost protection. It is considered an extra-light row cover. This weight is so lightweight that it can be tacked down with earth staples or another method of your choice and allowed to rest/float directly on top of the plants. To achieve total insect exclusion, the fabric at every point must be down tight enough against the ground that insects cannot crawl underneath them. A gardener still can have issues though, with overwintering insects that emerge from the soil beneath the row cover after it is put down, since those insects are trapped beneath the cover with the plants. The next heaviest weight group (though generally still considered a lightweight row cover) is the 0.5 oz./sq. yd. and 0.55 oz.sq. /yd. fabrics. They generally provide 4 degrees of frost protecion and allow 85% (Agribon+AG-19) to 87% (DeWitt Deluxe) light transmission. Sometimes I have used a double layer of AG-19 to get maybe 6-7 degrees, but not necessarily 8 degrees, of cold protection on a cold spring night. You can let these float loosly over sturdy plants, but it is safer to suspend them over hoops (wire, EMT, PVC, etc.) because even their light weight in combination with a steady wind can hurt young seedlings by repeatedly rubbing against them. Moving up a step you have the 0.9 oz./sq. yd. (Agribon+ AG-30) to 1.0 oz./sq. yd. (DeWitt Deluxe Plus) group that is considered a medium weight row cover product and give 4-6 degrees of frost protection, depending on the manufacturer and allow 65% to 70% (varies with manufacturer) light transmission. Some people let this weight float, but I always use hoops. At 1.5 oz./sq. yd. you have the heavy weight group, which includes DeWitt Supreme (6-8 degrees of frost protection and 50% light transmission) and Agribon+AG-50 (8 degrees of frost protection and 50% light transmission). Due to their weight, these should be used only with hoops to avoid plant damage caused by their weight. Finally, there's the extra-heavy weight group, which includes Agribon+AG70 and DeWitt Ultimate, which give 8 degrees (Agribon) to 10 degrees (DeWitt) of frost protection. Both allow only 30% light transmission. DeWitt Deluxe now is 2.5 oz./sq. yd. (I think it was 3.0/sq. yd. when I first started using it, then it was changed to 2.5) and Agribon is 2.0 oz./sq/ yd. Hoops must be used with these extra heavy weight textiles. I don't know if you know how many oz. per square yard are found in your pond underlayment material, so if you use it, you'll just be guessing about how much cold protection it provides. There's not necessarily anything wrong with that. Before I started using row covers, I used everything under the sun (whatever I could scrounge up around the house) from old sheets, blankets, curtains and tablecloths to sheet plastic and even landscape fabric). It always was hit and miss with regard to how well they worked under a specific temperature range or weather condition. You could experiment with your underlayment by putting a Min-Max thermometer underneath the pond underlayment fabric when you use it. By comparing the minimum temperature recorded beneath it with your minimum overnight temperature reading outdoors in the open air, you'll see how well it works. The fabrics provide the frost protection by holding in the warmth of the earth which keeps the air covered by the agricultural textiles generally in the range given above. On a very windy night, they may provide slightly less protection than their rating indicates. If I am expecting a much colder night than the fabric is rated for or if it is going to stay very windy overnight, I sometimes use a double layer which doesn't necessarily offer twice the protection of a single layer but offers a bit more warmth than a single layer does. The agricultural fabrics sold as row covers generally are made from spunbond polyester or spunbond polypropylene, allowing them to capture warmth while allowing various amounts of light transmission. All allow some degree of water to permeate, and they all provide some degree of protection from wind, and also from hail, sleet or snow. Well, I don't know if any of them would tolerate baseball-sized hail, but think that maybe DeWitt Ultimate would, as it tolerates cats using it as a hammock as long as it is suspended on hoops (not wire hoops, but sturdier EMT or PVC hoops). I'm all for using what you have handy, but remember that there's a higher risk in using something that hasn't been tested and proven to provide a certain amount of cold protection. If in doubt, use a double layer. As long as you remove the underlayment before the sun gets too high in the sky, there shouldn't be a heat buildup issue. I have to use breathable fabrics because we sometimes, at this time of the year during fire season, get paged out to fires in the overnight or early morning hours, and I might not be able to get home to remove the row covers until the sun has been up for ages. This isn't an issue with air-permeable row covers, but it was back when I used clear plastic in our early years here. Even when you use air-permeable row covers, I prefer to always have them suspended over hoops that allow an air space between the bottom of the fabric and the top of the plant. Because our weather here can be eratic in late winter and early spring, it is not all that unusual for us to hit 76-78-80-82 degrees during the day and then drop down into the mid-20s to low-30s at night. I'd rather have a white, air-permeable fabric over the plants if I leave at night or in the early morning while we're still below freezing, and then the temperatures rise rapidly once the sun rises. Having open air space as described above provides a bit of a cushion that helps prevent overheating if there is some reason I cannot uncover the plants promptly in the morning. I have had plants get roasted and damaged if I leave the extra heavy weight over them without much air space once the sun is pretty high in the sky (say, 10 or 11 a.m.). It only happened once, because after that I was careful to leave a larger open air space. This is probably more than you want to know about the various weights of row cover, but it took me a while to figure out all the differences between the different weights so in the beginning I didn't know what to buy, and I think the first one I bought was a Reemay product that gave 4 degrees of protection. I probably should have bought a more heavyweight product in the beginning, but I was so new to using them that I didn't even know that. Nowadays I mostly only use the heavy weight and super heavyweight for frost protection and the extra lightweight for insect exclusion. I have learned that in my cold microclimate (a low-lying creek hollow in the already low-lying Red River Valley), where we routinely go 4-10 degrees lower than forecast at this time of the year (not every night but often enough to keep me on my toes), I need to use the heavier weights when cold is an issue because we often go colder than forecast and only rarely stay warmer than forecast. Nothing teaches like experience, and my experiences here with floating row covers have been painful learning experiences at times, but now that I know how much to trust/not trust our forecast low depending on various conditions, I know more about exactly when a heavy or super heavy weight row cover should be used jn my garden.

Thanks, everyone. I do not have plastic over the hoop. I use it in the summer for pink eye, purple hull peas which can get several feet long. This year I didn't plant anything under it for the winter, so never covered it with plastic. I like to use the space under it for spring greens because they will pretty much be over before the peas and up and providing shade. We had a 5 day forecast of moderate night time temps when I planted them, but an unexpected cold front moved through a day or so later, so the heavy cover. As I tried to remove it, they would wilt, almost to the point of looking near death. I just went out and gave them a good watering. The sun won't hit them for another hour. I took the cover off and will keep an eye on them. If they wilt just a little, I will let them be, but if they wilt too much I may cover them but just for a couple of hours until the sun gets lower. I know they need to get hardened off more, was hoping for something between the two extremes I have subjected them to. I may throw a multi-layer cover of row cover directly over them if they wilt too much and just leave it on for a few days. Our nighttime temps are varying from low 30's to mid 50's, daytime temps from 40's to high 70's. Cwazy weather!