Floating Row Covers are a great technique to be used in your organic garden to protect your plants from harmful pests, frost damage and can deter animals from eating your young seedlings or transplants. An eco-friendly and great method of organic pest control.
The are a lightweight, almost transparent, spun fabric material that you lay over or blanket individual or entire rows of plants, even great for covering raised beds.
They are ideal for creating a barrier that will protect your crops from insect damage and are made of a material that will allow sunlight and rain water to penetrate through. They are very effective at controlling pests like the squash bug without out the use of pesticides that are harmful to the organic garden.
Floating row covers can be installed a couple different ways. They are made of a lightweight material that can be draped directly over the plants, even young seedlings without harming them or you can install a hoop or frame to suspend them above the crops. Suspending them above the crops is a good method to use when you want to protect your crops against frost damage. Being lightweight, the cover will lift up when left in place as your crops grow.
In applications like the planting of root crops and leafy greens, these floating row covers can be left in place the entire growing season if you prefer, but with plants that flower and need to be pollinated you will need to remove them as needed for this process to take place.
