We are big fans of floating row covers for protecting crops from harmful bugs. Although somewhat ghostlike in the garden, this wafting white polyester fabric keeps flying insects separated from the vegetables. The cloth is a good investment for organic gardeners and home gardeners. We purchased a bolt of this polyspun fabric, (also called reemay) about 10 years ago from a seed supplier. It has lasted well and is reusable for many seasons, if handled with care. If the fabric gets too muddy over the growing season, wash it on gentle in the machine.
You do have to anchor the fabric down or it will blow off. If the fabric is left blowing harshly and freely on tender young plants, the seedlings will suffer. So anchor it down well, but not tightly over the plants. They need room to grow.
The fabric comes in different thicknesses. We have fabric that is light weight. It doesn't offer much protection from low temperatures, but provides full protection from destructive flying insects. It blocks out some sun, not much, but that moderates temperatures somewhat, avoiding extremes. Our best lettuce and spinach grow under floating row covers.
In Edmonton, Alberta, flying bugs like flea beetles and cabbage moths can decimate growing crops.Flea beetles are not noticable, other years they are voracious. They punch harmful little holes in the leaves of many vegetable plants. The white cabbage moth is around early on, in mid June, to lay eggs on cabbage crops, swiss chard, beet leaves, etc. for future destruction. Flea beetles and cabbage moths have taken quite a bite out of our kale, beet leaves and swiss chard in previous years. To protect kale and other greens, keep them covered all season, because once the spring flea beetles are gone, the white cabbage moths are laying eggs. The cloth doesn't keep cutworms out, which are already in the soil, so be on guard for these chomping insects*.
Early pea crops can be decimated by flea beetles, too. So we cover pea sprouts as they emerge from the ground, until they are about 4 inches tall. The covers need to come off to enable insects to pollinate the pea flowers. So remember that, the fabric must be removed for flowering plants that require pollination from insects.
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| Cover kale with ease to keep out cabbage moths |
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| Old garden hose holds fabric to the wand. |
Make a Garden Wand
Although you can hold the fabric down around the edges of the bed with rocks, bricks, or even dirt, for crops you want to access frequently, like lettuces, kale, swiss chard, spinach, beet leaves, an easy solution is to make a simple device to lift the cover off the crop. Wrap one end of the fabric around a long dowel or broomstick, to act as a wand to lift the fabric up with ease. Hold the cloth on the dowel with pieces of old hose.
To make the wand, use three pieces of old garden hose - about 8 inches long or so, and an old broomstick or long dowel. Cut a slit down once side of each piece of garden hose. Place the dowel at one end of the garden bed covered with the fabric. Wrap the fabric along and around the dowel. Open up each piece of hose to wrap around the fabric and dowel. Place one piece of hose at each end, and one in the middle of the broomstick. This holds the fabric on the wand. Use bricks or rocks to anchor the fabric at the the other end of the bed (or make another wand). To access the crop, just lift up the dowel, like a wand, and move it over to the other end. Harvest what you want, and return the fabric over the crop by waving the wand back.
Your lettuces, kales, spinaches and swiss chard will amaze you with their perfection.
*Cutworms. If your seedlings are chopped off overnight, and the leaves of plants have been chomped, you may have cutworms in the soil. Fear not. Skim the dirt around the plant with a hand tool, a small hand shovel or cultivator. Cutworms hang out just below the surface. The cutworm will be obvious when you find it. Plump, short, curled. Remove it.
Attach reemay fabric to broomstick with old hose pieces. Lift up and over to harvest.
Protect kale from bugs.