Re: Forcing Lettuce in the Winter

I certainly can't add anything to the detailed descriptions of floating row
covers, but some questions about their use have come up while reading your
posts.

I am new to row covers, and I have used my floating row covers only at
night in the cold weather to raise the temperature a bit and keep away the
frost. This has worked very well. I have only "anchored" them on windy
nights. 
It hasn't occured to me to leave them on during the day, especially in the
summer. 

-Can they be left over plants on hot summer days to filter the sun? Will
they not have the effect of raising the temperature even more?
-How do you manage to anchor them so securely on all sides to keep crawling
insects out?

I'd like to hear more about how to use my row covers.

For the first time I have also invested in a few Wall O'Waters and will be
trying them out for the first time this spring.

Thanks also to Patrick for the advice about Coleman's book and cold frames.
We were so excited about having fresh, sweet lettuce from the garden for
Christmas Eve dinner. I'm sure we will want to get a cold frame going for
next winter.

Pat
Zone 7, Delmarva


At 02:59 PM 1/26/2000 -0600, you wrote:
>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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