Row Covers

It is the rare gardener or farmer who finds the growing season long enough, but floating row covers can keep crops producing through fall and into the winter, acting as miniature greenhouses.  The lightest-weight row covers, also called floating row covers, allow air, water, and up to 85 percent of ambient light to pass through. They provide only a few degrees of frost protection, but they are an excellent barrier against damage by a wide range of pests.

You can cover newly seeded beds for pest-free transplants with floating row covers, leaving plenty of slack in the material to allow for growth. We highly recommend using our row cover supports to hold up your covers over your crops.

You can leave row covers over some crops, such as carrots or onions, all season. Uncover other crops, such as beans or cabbage, once the plants are well grown or the generation of pests is past. Plants such as squash or eggplant that require pollination by insects should be uncovered when they start to flower. In a hot climate you may have to remove covers to prevent excessive heat buildup.