Plant Protection

Make sure that your growing season and sales last as long as possible. One frost can end your production, but one or two freezing nights are followed by several weeks of warmer weather, in which profitable harvests can still be collected. In addition, there is still time to sow plantings of cool-loving crops like lettuce and greens to harvest long into the fall and early winter. By protecting your crops with floating row covers and frost blankets, you help your crops survive those first freezing nights for a long harvest and sales season.

Harris Seeds' Point Bonded Row Covers and Blankets are called floating row covers because they are light enough to lie on top of plants without damaging them. They allow light and water to reach the plants while providing protection from frost, insects, and wind. While floating row covers do not need the support of a hoop or wire, they do need to be secured to the soil.

To cover a bed of plants, spread the row cover over the bed. To secure the cover, simply cover the edges of the row cover with soil. This prevents the fabric from tearing and is a great option for beds that you don't need to access very often or that are in windy places. You may supplement the soil anchors with plastic stakes for extra security.

In sites with calm winds, some growers secure row covers with stakes, bricks, rocks, or metal pipes laid lengthwise along the row cover's edge. Since the point-bonded fabric is strong, this method works well in some cases. However, objects like bricks can have rough edges, so they are more likely to tear the fabric if confronted with gusty winds.

If you'd like to keep row covers from resting on your crops, we suggest our Wire Hoops and Loop Hoops. These hoops create a small tunnel of protection, along with added air flow, allowing the row covers to stay in place during the day with minimal heat accumulation and plant contact.

Point Bonded Row Covers are available in three different weights ranging from 0.5 oz./sq. yd. to 1.25 oz./sq yd., to fit the level of frost protection and light transmission you need. For example, a medium-heavy weight (1.25 oz./sq. yd.) row cover provides about 7° frost protection but allows only 65% of the available light to the plants. For general use, we suggest a weight cover of a 0.5 oz. /sq. yd., which provides 4° frost protection and allows 85% light transmission. Consider our Winter Blankets that come in 2 oz. and 4 oz. weights for serious over wintering protection.