Do WOWs work? Do you get an earlier harvest?

[Fred Hempel]

I agree about wind. I think it is a major unappeciated factor. Significant wind really slows plants down.

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

Tomatoes grow when the soil warms. Raised beds warm up faster, and black plastic mulch helps, too. I've done the saran-wrap cage thing before. The biggest benefit was a wind barrier. My early spring days tend to be very windy.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by creister

Gardener,

What do you cover those cages with? It looks like Saran Wrap.

I could not find clear one so I bought this. It is a very light green. But I prefer clear.

Gardeneer

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

Tomatoes grow when the soil warms. Raised beds warm up faster, and black plastic mulch helps, too. I've done the saran-wrap cage thing before. The biggest benefit was a wind barrier. My early spring days tend to be very windy.

I agree. Wind barrier means slowing down cooling and heat loss. The idea is the same as "Feel" temperature when it is windy.
The second benefit is creating a micro greenhouse effect that heats the soil. And if you put a few soda bottles filled w/ water in the cage, that will store some heat to be dissipated at night. This is more effective than WOW because the latter loses most of the heat from its outer exposure.

Gardeneer

[BackyardFarm]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

I agree. Wind barrier means slowing down cooling and heat loss. The idea is the same as "Feel" temperature when it is windy.
The second benefit is creating a micro greenhouse effect that heats the soil. And if you put a few soda bottles filled w/ water in the cage, that will store some heat to be dissipated at night. This is more effective than WOW because the latter loses most of the heat from its outer exposure.

Gardeneer

I was just about to post a question to Gardeneer detailing what you do with the bubble wrapped cages. So thank you! I'm going to be trying that this year. I already have my black landscape fabric, bubblewrap, and cheap cages. I will start collecting some 1 liter bottles next. What do you use to cover the top when it gets cold? Just a garbage bag?

And how much earlier do you plant from your last frost date (90%)? I'm hoping I can get away with four weeks early.

[Gardeneer]

Backyardfarmer,

1) I have not close the top . But you can use clear plastic. You might need that at night and during overcast days.
2) I don't plant way before my LFD. I do this because our weather will be cold for weeks and weeks after our LFD.
Our temperature go up by about 5 degree, in average, in 30 days. Of course , after LFD we see lots of night lows in mid 30s. So really I am not trying to protect from frost but to keep the plants warmer.

Gardeneer