Kitchen Gardeners International: A Security Blanket for Plants
By Barbara Damrosch
Meet the Kleenex of the horticultural world. It's called Reemay. Developed by DuPont in the 1960s, Reemay is a white spunbonded polyester fabric that is spread over plants as protection against cold and pests. Intentionally nonabsorbent (it's also used as the top, or "acquisition," layer in disposable diapers), it is porous and extremely lightweight. As with Kleenex -- or Saran Wrap or Band-Aids -- Reemay succeeded so well as a pioneer product that its name became generic. There are now other brands, such as Agronet and Agribon, but most gardeners call all of them Reemay.
A name was needed for use by rival manufacturers -- and garden writers trying to avoid bias -- so the term "floating row cover" was born. It's a good one, because that's exactly what this fabric is. It floats weightlessly above the crops, letting in water, light, air and liquid fertilizer. It rarely needs to be removed. A length of it (usually five to six feet wide) is unrolled over a garden row like a long, white tablecloth, then anchored at the ends and sides.
This month, as the nights get colder and many fall crops are still in the ground, I've covered rows of baby turnips, which are crisp, sweet and tender now and topped with excellent greens. At night the covers hold in some of the soil's heat, keeping the plants as much as seven degrees warmer than they would otherwise be and thus extending the season. Earlier this fall I used covers to drape over basil and other tender crops on nights when frost was forecast.
When winter settles in for good, I'll remove the covers, brush off the dead maple leaves and carefully roll them up for storage. (Sharp objects and brisk tugs can tear the covers, but, handled gently, they can be reused.) We are laying some over beds inside our unheated greenhouse to add another layer of protection for fresh winter carrots, turnips and radishes, as well as numerous leafy crops. Come spring, I'll use them to cover early outdoor plantings. They'll lend two or three degrees of warmth -- less than in fall because the cold spring earth radiates back little heat.
To read the full article at washingtonpost.com, go here
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Photo courtesy of Remis Velisque
Posted by KGI on November 16, 2006 3:48 PM to Kitchen Gardeners International
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