One thing that is for sure is that Mother Nature is consistently inconsistent. Spring weather can be so unpredictable with an unseasonably warm day one day and a late season snowfall the next. In order to provide come consistency in your garden, I have compiled a list of products that any gardener can use to trick your vegetable garden into thinking it is spring. Note the Gardening Guru has also tried all of these techniques and still uses them to this day.
Black plastic attracts the heat of the sun and warms the soil below and once installed, can warm the soil a few weeks ahead of what Mother Nature would do. Black plastic is very economical to buy but limited to its uses in the garden.
Garden cloches date back to the Victorian era and are bell or box shaped devices used as mini-greenhouses when placed over seedlings once transplanted into the garden. The cloche protects the seedling from frost and warms the soil during the day. Make sure your type of cloche has a vent hole at the top as even the spring sun can heat the interior to a temperature that will burn the seedling. Do not use an empty jar as a cloche as there are not any ventilation holes.
Frost protectors (“Kozy Koats”) are a series of joined plastic tubes that are filled with water to make a free standing cylinder, placed on the garden soil where the seedling is planted inside. The wall of water insulates the plant against frost and cold temperatures while also warming the soil below. The protector is removed once normal seasonal temperatures occur. The protectors are available on the market in different colours and trade names. I have used these and they are definitely worth investing in and will last for many seasons with proper care and storage.
Floating row covers are made from a light and semi-transparent, white spun-bonded material that protects plants from frost, hail and insect and wildlife damage. Plant your seeds or seedlings in rows or raised beds the width of your row cover and place over top securing the edges with soil. Make sure you allow some slack in the cover to allow growing room for the plants as you keep the row cover on until the plant flowers and insects are needed for germination. The row covers are reusable and last for many seasons if not damaged by hail. Once I started using floating row covers I no longer had deer grazing in my garden.
Row greenhouses are miniature and portable greenhouses that you place over the rows or raised beds in your garden. When looking at these kits with the tubular framing, look for ease of installation and make sure they have vents within each section, as the plastic greenhouse frames can get very hot.
Shade cloth, a polypropylene (plastic) netting, is another great tool for the gardener especially if your garden is exposed to the full sun all day. While many vegetables flourish in the hot sun but some like the heat and sun in a more gradual exposure. Shade cloth is attached to stakes and adjusted as need throughout the garden.
Look at your nursery or garden supply store for many of the products mentioned in this column.
