I know a lot of the country is having hot weather, even unseasonably hot. Since we here in the NW have been having the opposite (lows were 37-40, highs 50-55 over the weekend…ugh) and I’ve been staring at my pepper seedlings that need to be planted outside, I’m sorta wishing for a little unseasonably hot weather.
The cool season vegetables have been doing well, though. I thought I’d share with you my broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage bed and show you the benefits of growing these under floating a row cover.
I have a few short portable metal hoops in the bed that I attached the cover to with clothespins when I transplanted the seedlings. Right after I took this picture I loosened the clips (and rocks in the corners) to allow for the taller growth. As you can tell, we’re super high-tech here.
I’ve mentioned that using this cover allows me to grow these crops with fewer aphid and cabbage looper damage. The first time I grew broccoli I had to throw it all away because all the heads were infested with aphids and no amount of water (or vinegar) or boiling would remove them all. I’ve used row cover ever since.
But I’ve also discovered that these crops, even though they are “cool weather crops,” like the slightly warmer and protected environment under the cover.
The cover has warmed the transplants 5 to 10 degrees, protected them from wind (which our garden gets lots of every afternoon), and the excessive rain and hail we’ve had over the past couple of months. These cabbages are enjoying the protection they’ve had since being planted out as small seedlings (if you’re wondering, the ferny plants in between are self-seeded dill. Oh, and a weed).
This picture illustrates the difference the row cover makes pretty dramatically:
These three little cabbages were planted at the same time as the others, but they were extras that wouldn’t fit in the main bed so I just found a place they could live out of the way and fend for themselves.
Isn’t that amazing? Even though it doesn’t look like it these little guys have grown a bit and they do look healthy but their brothers are about three to four times bigger!
Now, I don’t care because it means I’m going to be able to harvest these cabbages later than the others, so I’ll have a bigger harvest window. But I thought I’d show you the incredible difference in case you wanted to go find yourself some row cover for future plantings.
The broccoli really likes it, too. They’re about two feet tall and I’m starting to see some little green heads.
That’s it from my garden, now it’s time to link up and share what’s going on in your gardens!
I believe a cottage can be anywhere or anything (condo, ranch, farmhouse) as long as you have a "cottage mentality" which puts people above things, celebrates imperfections, embraces simplicity, and finds joy in everyday life. Thanks for joining me!
So glad I got to be your first garden on todays linky party. I was actually glad for some heat finally, I think it will make my green beans really pop. Happy Gardening!
I like your row covers. I bet if I use those I can start my spinach and lettuces in early March and keep my garden going through the first of December here in the Middle South. That’s a pretty long growing season! Did you buy a special cloth for the cover?
Wow – so pretty! Looks like gardening in the south and gardening in the NW are pretty different. Down here, our tomato plants are loving the 90 degree temps.
Love your garden party, thank you for hosting! With such a cold, wet spring we don’t have much going on yet, tho everything is very GREEN. Frost last week means maybe tender veggies will be planted this week. We’re at 2000′ so we wait a bit longer than most.
Your garden looks so great! We have blooms on plants but no fruit yet.
Crazy cold weather–Jack Frost is still terrorizing my tender babies. Summer has to arrive sometime, doesn’t it?
Glad I found you (via H&G Boutique) and your party!
Thanks for hosting the garden party.
What a great dramatic example of effects of row covers. With the added benefit of a continuous harvest for a while.
Jenny- There are a couple of different weights of row covers, some are more frost protection, some just for bugs, some for shade. Anyway, I just get the basic weight one- it used to be called “Remay” but now is something different, I think, but they are made from some type of spun poly material. So, yes, it’s a special fabric that lets a certain amount of light in and water, but can rest on the plants without crushing them.
I’ve had people tell me it’s hard to find in nurseries. I always buy mine from Pinetree Garden Seeds. They sell it in a pkg., but the better deal is to buy it by the foot. I buy some each year, and it usually lasts 2 to 3 seasons.
Wow! Amazing what a big difference the row covers made for your crop. Everything looks yummy!
Looks great! Thanks for hosting… excited to see what people are up to in the garden:) I braved the elements to join the party today… wet, wet, wet!
Your garden is looking so good. I have never used the row covers. We have a long growing season here in the south, but I really want to try gardening with row covers to be able to have some items year round. We rarely have temps below 32degrees.
You asked how I water my raised beds. At the moment I have just sprayed with a hose. We have four rain barrels that my husband needs to hook up that I will use to water with. I have just never invested in soaker hoses, but I am sure that is the way to go. We have received a lot of rain the last couple of years so I only end up watering 1-2 times a week. I have a lot of containers on the deck and I use “caught” water from the kitchen to try to water as much as I can from those. Stuff like the water used to boil potatoes, eggs, and noodles; leftover water in a glass. Thanks for the link up party!
Southerner- I would love to get rain barrels, but haven’t done that yet. The months of August and September (sometimes July) can be pretty dry here, so watering becomes a hassle. We are on a well, though, so it only costs us electricity to run- not a lot of motivation for the rain barrel, thus is remains at the bottom of the “to do” list.