Re: Forcing Lettuce in the Winter

Dear Dr. John,

Floating row covers consist of sheets or rolls of spun-woven fabric which
you can put right over your planting beds like sheets, without any supports,
just "laying there" on top of your plants as they grow.  As your plants get
bigger, the row covers just "float" on top (hence the name), though you've
got them anchored securely at the bottom, at dirt level, all around.

There are all different thicknesses and densities of row covers, depending
on whether you are using them to raise the temperature underneath
(greenhouse effect) or to shade your plants in midsummer (actually achieving
lower temps) but what all floating row covers have in common is:

(1) they are permeable by light and water

(2) they are NOT permeable by flying or crawling insects (assuming you have
them well-anchord at the edges)

(3) therefore they do a great job of protecting your plants from bugs and
the many bacteral, viral, and fungal diseases which are spread by insects.

(4) BTW, if you have plants that need to be insect-pollinated, you have to
pull back the row covers at blossoming time ---at which point your plants
also become vulnerable to invasion by pests, but hopefully bu taht time they
are big and mature enough that the bad bugs will do minimla damage.

All in all, a good way to protect from insects and disease, with no
chemicals whatsoever.

And a good way to raise the temp and thus extend your growing season in
early Spring and late Fall; OR partially shade your garden in midsummer,
protecting from sunscald--- depending on what kind of row cover you get.

Cordially,

Julianne
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