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.

I use row covers on my eggplants -- which are a magnet for flea beetles. But remember to take them off before they flower to enable pollination. I shall also use them this year for radishes and brassicas, which also suffer from flea beetles in this corner of Michigan. When you have been organic for some years you will find that insect problems fall away (they don't disappear) because you're not killing beneficials with insecticides. I never have had insect problems with lettuce and peas, but the Mexican bean beetle visits from time to time, and nothing seems to deter the Colorado potato beetle. Over time healthy soil with lots of biological activity will give you stronger plants, which will handle pests better. I also use row covers in the fall to keep lettuce and spinach warm; this way we eat well until mid-December and somtimes later. Good luck! and regards, Peter.

I don't even bother with supports for the row covers. I just make sure to cut the pieces large enough to expand enough to loosely cover the expected mature size of the plants. I weight down the edges with metal pins, bricks, rocks - whatever's handy. With the hot summer temps here, I buy the lightest weight possible - I think they called it "insect weight", as it doesn't really afford much frost protection. Except for crops that require pollination, I leave everything else covered 24/7 until harvest time, except for minor weeding. Plenty of water, air, & sunlight pass right thru, & the plants don't cook in our 90+ degree summer temps. I bought my row cover material from the "Gardens Alive" website (I love their stuff). Even though they claim that the really lightweight covers only last a season or 2, mine is already on Season #3, & one piece that accidentally got left out in the garden over the winter is STILL usable.

not really a trench Al, just the depression from the handle...hardly more than a quarter inch deep.....No, I covered the small seeds with the loose dirt from what was loosened with the rod (or just sprinkling seed starting mixture over the covered depression). But, having a real smooth surface to drop the seeds onto made it a lot easier to space them along the foot long depression. "When these seeds sprout, I'll do the same in another row in that 2'X4' bed.... Flora: I'm working with some small beds much shorter than the rake handle!...Also doing square foot gardening like areas and small raised beds....I got a city lot and not much room for regular garening...thus...vertical gardening and small scale raised beds amongst some tomato and pepper plants and rock garden.....keeps me out of trouble...I don't plan on selling out of the back of my pickup truck....just growing enough for the two of us