Boost your garden’s harvest while reducing pest problems

By Melinda Myers

Plant protection tents protect plants from cold and wind, animals, and insect pests.

Boost this year’s harvest and reduce pest problems with less effort, while being kind to the environment. Employ row cov­ers, chicken wire cloches and crop cages to prevent damage without the aid of chemicals.

Floating row covers of spun-bonded or woven materials let air, light, and water through to the covered plantings. The warm air that is captured pro­tects the plantings from frosty temperatures. The coverings al­so prevent birds from dining on newly planted seeds and elimi­nate damage by certain insects like flea beetles, onion maggots, seed corn maggots, and leaf­hoppers that may infect lettuce, celery, and carrots with aster yellows disease.

Cover susceptible seeds and transplants at planting to pre­vent the insects from reaching the plants. Insects like flea beetles and onion and seed corn maggots overwinter as adults in the soil near the previous sea­son’s planting. Move suscep­tible plants to a different part of the garden to avoid trapping the insects under the row cover with their favorite food source.

Double the benefit with less effort by planting short season radishes with long season cole crops such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. Harvest the radishes as the larger vegetable plants need the space. This will provide two harvests from one row. The row cover eliminates problems with root maggots on radishes, cabbage worms on cole crops, and rabbits from dining on them all.

Basil and beans are favorites of Japanese beetles. Cover these at planting and since they do not need pollination to enjoy the harvest, leave the fabric in place throughout the season. Just lift to harvest and replace.

Cover squash at planting to prevent birds from dining on newly planted seeds and to re­duce the risk of squash vine bor­er and squash bugs. The fabric prevents these insects from ac­cessing the plants. Remove the covers when flowering begins to allow pollinators access to the blossoms. Don’t use row covers when planting squash in the same location as the previous year. Since squash vine borer insects will overwinter in the soil near the squash plants, the row cover will trap the insects and provide easy access to the plants. Continue to monitor for these pests throughout the re­mainder of the season.

Loosely drape the row cover fabric over the planting and secure the edges with boards, pipes, stones, or landscape pins. Commercial setups like the 3-Season Plant Protection Tent include a framework and fabric covers, making it easy for gar­deners to cover and access the plantings. Systems like this in­clude two covers; one to protect plants from cold and a second lighter weight fabric for pre­venting insect damage during the warmer growing season. Re­use the fabrics as long as they remain intact.

Self-supporting mesh enclo­sures like Pest Control Pop-Ups (gardeners.com) are another option for protecting plantings from insects, birds, and ani­mals. Look for products like this that are simple to install and fold flat for easy storage when not in use. Finer mesh prod­ucts keep out insect pests while larger mesh wire covers protect plantings from birds and ani­mals, including hungry squir­rels dining on greens and ripe tomatoes. Various sizes and designs provide coverage for in­dividual plants, raised beds and berry bushes.

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