Over the years, many gardeners have switched to using the various kinds of garden bed covers like row covers and mini hoop tunnels. These garden covers are of great use since they create an ideal condition even amidst an unfavourable climatic condition. In turn, the production time and quantity of the produce increases largely. Likewise, these covers categorically, saves the vegetable gardens from the frost, hence the produce continues unhindered in the fall and spring.

Garden bed covers like insect netting helps to keep the insects afar. With insects, the barrier fabrics also keep away rodents, rabbits and stray animals. The most amazing aspect of these garden covers like metal buckets on plants like cherry tomatoes, helps to stay steady even in the freezing winters. Having said these characteristics of incorporating garden covers, one must also remember that these things come really handy. Yes, you have heard it right. Installing these covers is very easy and economical. Moreover, growing vegetables throughout the year, will also cut short your market list. Hence, another indirect saving.

Here in, we have brought to you the various ways to use garden bed covers to protect your fresh veggies.

How to use garden bed covers to protect your vegetable garden

1) Plastic sheeting

While purchasing the plastic sheeting for the vegetable gardens, do not buy the thin variety. Always buy the thicker variety – the polyethylene sheeting and the greenhouse sheeting. These protect the vegetable garden form intense heat and thereby lowers the transpiration rates.

2) Barrier frames

These cold or barrier frames supports the veggies (like tomatoes, peppers, carrots and etc.) from the increasingly bad cold weather. You can use them permanently if you live in a cold climatic zone. However, or else you can purchase the portable frames to use them only in the cold season and not throughout the year. These are made of wood as the base and are then properly covered with polycarbonate sheets. For cutting down the prices, you can use old glass windows to cover the vegetable garden.

3) Insect netting

To shoo away the insects like mosquitoes, cabbage worms, beetles and squash bugs, and animals like cats, deer and dogs. These insect netting comes in various names like insect meshes and insect barrier fabrics. The insect nettings tend to quite transparent but not faulty. Even the tiniest of the insect cannot pass through these tough tunnels to harm your fresh kale, gourds and peas. These does not hinder the light, air or water to the plants.

4) Mini hoop tunnels

These garden covers are easily available or can also bee made at home. Mini hoop tunnels keeps the vegetable garden protected by simply bending as a U shaped guard made up of PVC or metal wires. According to the season, choose the material for the mini hoop tunnels.

5) Cloches

For the tender and the freshly planted seeds or seedlings, use these cloches to cover them. The plants like pumpkin, eggplants and onions at their tender age run the risk of getting plucked by the rodents. All the more, cloches also help to protect the vegetable gardens from the detrimental weather – snow and freezing temperature. To cut down these mishaps, you can use these inverted bell-like jars. These when bought are made up of glass. However, to reduce the cost, you can use the old milk jars to use them cloches.

6) Row covers

The row covers should be light weight so as to allow maximum light to percolate even in the dullest wintry days. These help to protect the vegetable garden from frost.

7) Shade material

This garden cover is the cheapest one yet one of the most effective ones. Take an old bedsheet and spread it over the tender plants like the herbs (chives, mint) or the salad garden (growing asparagus and lettuce). This helps to prevent any early bolting and also protects the vegetable garden from the outer hot climate. This basically acts as a cooling garden cover.

Conclusion

People who tend to culture a large vegetable garden, can resort to garden bed covers like greenhouses and bio shelters. Under these expansive garden covers, you can easily grow veggies like variety of hot peppers, pumpkins, broccoli and spinach. The most important to keep in mind while using these covers is to thoroughly wash and moist the vegetable garden.

Whenever you see the temperature in the covers are way higher than necessary for the veggies, then try to remove those covers. If the covers are not removed instantly, then the plants might get rotten easily. Hence, hopefully, with these 7 great ways of guarding your vegetable garden with the garden bed covers will soon make your garden more productive as well.