Re: CULT: Solarization

Rick Tasco wrote:

:  You can't get a lot more intense summer heat than we get--nary a cloud
:  ever in the sky to block the sun's rays and daily temps in the upper
:  90s.  In climates like ours, you MUST use clear plastic.  The KEY is to
:  use clear plastic that has UV inhibitors in the plastic--they're a
:  little more expensive, but they can last up to a year (and we only need
:  6 weeks for complete and total solarization)--EVEN in our long, intense
:  summers.

Rick is right about the need to use clear plastic in MOST places.  But even
top-grade clear plastic with UV inhibitors doesn't stand up to our 100+
temperatures and intense sun.  Daily temps in the upper 90s qualify as a "cool
spell", and at 4,000 feet MSL a lot of the UV-rays get through.    I'm talking
about garden conditions under which  few TBs can survive, much less bloom,
without shadecloth. 

So I agree -- ALWAYS try clear plastic first.  But if even the most expensive
grade develops pinhole leaks & splits, don't give up on solarization.  Try black
plastic.

:  Black plastic reflects the sun's rays--clear plastic lets IN the sun's
:  rays to HEAT the soil (at least in this climate). 

Correct.  But under some conditions, it can get so hot that the clear plastic
can't take it, while black plastic manages to retain both heat and moisture.
When we remove the black plastic from a bed, the soil underneath is MUCH too hot
to comfortably touch with a bare hand.

RIck -- one more question.  Do you measure soil temperature and, if so, how hot
should it get for effective solarization?

Sharon McAllister (73372.1745@compuserve.com)
Southern New Mexico
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