Hose pipe clips are great but after a few removals and replacements the rip the row cover. I use large Acco binder clips for easy access. They fit really well on 1/2" PVC pipe, are easy to take off and put back on, and don't tend to rip the row cover like the pipe clips do. I like to cover the ends with one piece of cover and never move it. That, I attach with 6 pipe clips. The 2 pipe clips at the top of the arch attach both the end piece, and the main row cover that gets rolled up for access. Two binder clips secure the bottom and middle of the main piece. That way, I can take off the binder clips and re-clip them just below the pipe clip at the top, under the main row cover material. Then I roll it up and rest it on the binder clips to keep it out of my way. When I'm done, I just reverse that.
Brilliant! Love the hose pipe clips - I am going to make some tomorrow. I wish more people would try to grow their crops like this rather than spraying, spraying and spraying with dangerous chemicals. I really enjoyed this video, thank you.
I agree. Even "organic" chemicals can be bad. Studies are now showing that good gastrointestinal bacteria is harmed by the use of BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis), which can cause complications and illness to a person. BT is marketed as "totally safe" by companies and 99% of organic RU-vid gardeners. Everyone wants a quick fix but nothing quick is ever worth anything in the long run. That's a rule of life that holds true across the board.
Instead of using rebar, you can use a larger PVC pipe that is hammered into the ground. Insert the smaller bent PVC ends into the larger pipe in the ground. If you remove the hoops, place caps on the larger PVC to keep bugs and dirt out.
Really well done. I'm getting ready for a strawberry freeze tomorrow night, and I learned not only what I wanted to know, but a lot more too. Thank you.
Al Justice There are no miracles with miracle-gro. It is a Salt based fertilizer. Which means it will do nothing for your soil. Quite the opposite actually. Feed the Soil and the soil will feed your plants. Organic matter www.johnnyseeds.com/v-76-green-manure.aspx?source=W_farmseed_ddcatShopByUse and some Compost "your own is best" . To start get a soil test and this will point you in the direction you need to go.
Wow! Terrific video! Gave me many good ideas ... never saw that PVC clamps before; I'll chk @ Home Depot, but yeah, that looks like the best method of attachment.
Great video I struggle every year with squash bugs that kill my zucchini plants. Would u recommend 10 foot PVC piping for Zucchini? Also what size PVC is that. Can u please tell me where u purchase the clips and how many per hoop do I use. How far apart are the hoops? Also where do u recommend to get the cover from? I appreciate your advice.
Thank you for posting. I would keep the netting edges down with bamboo canes held down with tent pegs so birds cannot push through the netting and get trapped inside. One day I came to check my cabbages and found a mother blackbird dead inside the cage who had pushed in through the net at the bottom but couldn't get out. She died in the hot sun.
Noticed u had your hoops spread out with no support on top,u don't get the material saging ,especially when u use plastic during the winter or when it rain?.Love your idea of making PVC covers out of old hoses.
I think it's great to cover crops to keep out insects that cause damage, but what about the bees and beneficial insects? How do you allow for pollination?
I tried something similar but not as high - blocks spaced like that, and OK winds will pull and pull on the fabric until it's ripped to shreds. I was hoping since this is a reputable gardening resource in OK, that there would be some advice as to how we can secure anything against our unrelenting wind (its just a mild breeze in the video)
Unfortunately if winds do get too wild, the row covers can take a beating. Here is a factsheet that gives some more ways to tweak your row covers to fit your gardening needs (pg.5). Thanks for tuning in, happy gardening! pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1099/F-6034%20web.pdf
Will that row cover help stop hail? Where can I find the row cover in that size? Amazon has some but it is only 83" not enough to secure it to the ground. Is Agribond a good brand for the floating row cover?
Ana Larson, we are glad we could help! Be sure to follow us on social media including, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, for more topics and discussion similar to this one!
Glad we could be of assistance! Thanks for watching! Be sure to check out us on social media, as well as our other channel, Oklahoma Gardening Classics, for similar content!
David, we are glad we could help! Be sure to follow us on social media including, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, for more topics and discussion similar to this one!
Row covers also keep the good insects and pollinators out, too. This means you will have to self-pollinate your crops, which is beyond time consuming. It's also not really effective for keeping pests out since you have to remove the row covers to get under the covers to pollinate or to let pollinators in. Once you do that, here come the pests. So much for row covers.
You're right, but there are many crops you can plant that require no pollination from insects. Peas, beans, beets, carrots, potatoes, most herbs, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, all leafy greens, and there are self-pollinating tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchinis that can be grown without need for pollinators.
There is no sure-fire way. You would have to uncover them in the morning to have the pollinators move in then cover them back up in the afternoon. During that time in the morning, you may still get bad insects moving in. Nothing is easy in organic gardening. Your only other solution is to hand pollinate all your covered crops, which is not worth it as it takes up so much time.
I could not watch the end of the video for some reason. It cut off about 2/3rds the way through it? I may be my internet connection but I thought I'd let you know. Chuck
If your garden is fairly organized in nice, neat rows as people would normally do I don't think you would have to worry about "rusty spikes all over the place"?
What size is that you're using? Burpee *Floating Row Cover 72" x 50' Gardener's Supply Company *Summer Weight Garden Fabric 85% light transmission two sizes at 6' x 20' and 6' x 50' *All-purpose Garden Fabric 70% light transmission three different sizes at 6' x 20', 6' x 50' and 12' x 20' Johnny's Selected Seeds *Agribon+ AG-15 Insect Barrier 90% light transmission 118" x 50' *Agribon+ AG-19 Floating Row Cover 85% light transmission too many different sizes to list all 83" x 50', 10' x 50' Gurney's *Floating Row Cover 61" x 25' and 61" x 55'
As you know this is my 2nd yr with the row cover. Agribon 15 and 19 was too flimsy and tore. I have now gotten Xavan by Dupont from Johnny's. The smallest size is 15' X 50' My rows are 79" wide so I should be able to cover (3) rows. Now is still have Agribon 19 covering. I am amending my soil daily. My Ego mower, bag, and hi blade collect a bag full of leaves. I sprinkled them on the garden and dug squares of soil and buried others. I also got a Jang seeder so I should have nice rows in 2018. I found seeding to be too arduous of a task for the amount of seeding that I want to do. Thank you for you help in (2016/2017). I was overwhelmed:-) I did not like using the (6) mil plastic bc things dried out to a crisp. I have come to accept that Nov, Dec, Jan, and Feb are non planting months in Pittsburgh, PA for me.
I was going to make my own just like this, until I found one on Amazon that fits my needs. I'm a mom with two small kids, so going to the home improvement store, finding the supplies, and constructing it myself isn't the easiest thing with two little ones. Amazon: Tierra Garden 50-5030 Haxnicks Easy Micromesh Tunnel Garden Cloche, Giant (they have several different weights...mesh/fleece, etc. and several different lengths, and it comes with hoops that stick straight into the ground and folds up like an accordian when not in use. Maybe one day I'll still build my own, but for now, this is easy for me!
Do row covers work on slugs and snails? Any humane ways to keep them off my plants? I don't want to kill them. They have a natural job in our ecosystem.
some people ask the dumbest questions. Some things in life you can not protect yourself or the things you have . A tornado shows up then it shows up. What if a earthquake hits? How are you gonna prepare? You can't. You just deal with the aftermath if it happens. Name a tornado proof green house? Anything earthquake proof yet? What is a stampede invades my garden? So many worries ...just enjoy your life and quit worrying
Real Razzy Thank you so much. I just sit and worry about stuff like that all day! Last night I turned to cocaine cuz I was so stressed! I actually drove downtown, found a dealer and bought an 8 ball. Now, because of you, I know I don't need to get high to stop worrying. Thank you God! Thank you for Real Razzy! Now my only problem is "What do I do with all this blow?"
There's nothing you can do about it. The use of row covers is overrated anyhow because they keep the pollinators and other beneficial insect out, that means you have to hand pollinate and that takes up so much time that it's not worth it. It takes up more time than manually removing bad bugs.
@@lesliehollands2689 Hand pollination takes too much time. It's really not an option for anyone who has hundreds or thousands of square feet of garden space.
Unfortunately if winds do get too wild, the row covers can take a beating. Here is a factsheet that gives some more ways to tweak your row covers to fit your gardening needs (pg.5). Thanks for tuning in, happy gardening! pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1099/F-6034%20web.pdf
Nothing is easy in gardening. It takes hard work no matter what methods you use. Anyone who tells you differently is lying and using other methods off camera to make their videos look like it's all hassle free.
