One of the most economical ways of enjoying vegetables throughout the year from your garden is by using a growing net or hail netting. They are effective and very easy to use. It can be detrimental if you decide on not using them. A row cover is a semitransparent and lightweight fabric, which is mostly constructed from polyester or spun-bonded polypropylene. During the fall and spring, it is used for the protection of crops, which are tender from frost. Unlike the fall, during the summer, they can be used for the protection of crops from different kind of threats including birds, insects, and other animals that loves munching on new plant seedlings or seeds.
The row covers can be used for different things, they allow air, water, and light to penetrate through the plants. As a result of this, there is a high tendency for you to allow some of the flexible weight covers in the garden for a prolonged time. This is possible as much as there is adequate excessive material to permit the plant to grow.
The use of hail netting:
Row covers are economical, easy to use, and incredibly effective. For the nonstop garden, they are an essential tool. These covers can be multifunctional with a greater variety of uses all through the year. Time without time, you will discover that you are relying on them for the following activities:
To Eliminate Insect Pests:
Some fabrics are excellent in becoming a hindrance for organic insect control. Some are lightweight row covers while others are specifically marked as insect barriers. The beautiful thing is that they can be used for different kind of garden pests such as cabbage worms. Insect covers work in numerous ways. Firstly, it conceals the plants from sight, thereby keeping insects from getting their target. Secondly, it creates a form of physical demarcation for pests not to penetrate. Nevertheless, irrespective of the way you intend installing your insect barrier, one of the most important things to consider is that the control of organic insect is timing. If you don’t want the insects to become a challenge, it is also important to leave the cover for a longer period. Insects will be trapped under the fabric if the installation is too late. Normally, once the bed is seeded or planted, an insect barrier should be laid in the garden. In preventing the pests from walking under the fabric, you must ensure that the edges of the hail net are buried. Also, ensure to take occasional peek once the cover is in place to reaffirm that there is no infiltration of any pest against your defenses. An added advantage for you will be to know the life cycle of the possible garden pests.
To Protect Seeds and Seedlings:
Hail net can also be used in speeding up the germination process of seeds and protection of newly planted seedlings. During heavy rain, row covers offer protection and hinder the crusting of the soil. The crusty soil is responsible for making it difficult for smaller seeds to poke through the soil. Besides these, they also provide protection against birds.
Some situation will require you to make use of hoops in supporting your floating blanket. If your primary reason for using the row cover is for the protection of frost, then it is a better option to support it with the hoops wire. The purpose of the hoops is to help in keeping the row cover from having contact with the plant leaves and freezing them. Apart from this, you should also consider the use of hoops if you are growing a tomato, summer squash, or pepper plants. Most plants are not damaged when they get in contact with the row cover, but the pepper plants, summer squash, and tomato are affected. In windy season, the floating cover can damage the tender part of plants and break off some of their leaves.
