CULT: plant bed covers

I got a couple of offlist questions about the bed covers, so posted a
photo to the photos list.

These are standard non-woven fabric nursery plant bed covers that come
in various weights to provide different levels of protection from
freeze.  The ones I use are locally available at the Farmer's CoOp  in 6
by 100 ft rolls.  At the CoOp, they are primarily sold to tobacco
farmers who grow their own seedlings.  I've seen similar products
advertised online and in nursery catalogs.

A single thickness of this particular weight is not heavy enough to
provide protection for really tender plants in severe cold, but is
plenty to give the few degrees of protection irises need here during
late winter/early spring hard freezes.

This thickness is pretty flimsy.  If you look closely at the photo, you
can see plants through it.  They hold up for many years unless critters
play on them or I leave them out in the weather all year.  But they snag
on briers and weeds and as they age, become more easily torn.

I have sometimes used them on wire hoops for very light shade and for
protection of taller, stalking iris & opening flowers from light frost,
but they really work best flat on the ground where they trap the heat
already in the soil.  This particular weight isn't heavy enough to
provide much protection for the large volume of air needed to accomodate
stalks.  I usually use several layers for that if I want to protect just
a few plants or clumps.

A real nuisance to put down in windy conditions, plus a lot of bending
and stooping to anchor the edges.  I usually use rocks for anchors
(since there are already plenty of them out there), plus boards, and
discovered garden hoses left out from watering seedlings last fall work
great to keep the middles from flopping in the breeze and pulling the
edges loose.

--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
East Tennessee Iris Society <http://www.korrnet.org/etis>
American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
talk archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
photos archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>
online R&I <http://www.irisregister.com>

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