Shade?

[moulman]

Anyone tried these?


http://americannettings.com/packaged_products/tomato_greenhouse/tomato_greenhouse.htm

[Worth1]

No and I wouldn't, whats the deal with red anyway.

I think a person could do just as well with clear plastic and some home made holes for a lot less $.

I would have to add that I don't think it would be even close to letting air flow that well
Just my opinion.

Worth

[moulman]

Well, the color is not really an issue. These are actually green (although the pic shows red). They have small holes punched in them all over.

I Thought they might be a good alternative to WOW (they're much more expensive). These are about a buck each. Well worth the time it would take to make my own.

[feldon30]

I don't really consider it shade. And the red thing has been pretty much debunked. But the idea of having bags to protect tomato plants with when it's cold or very windy is certainly appealing. I am not sure which tomato cage types it would be most compatible with though.

Airflow is also an issue as mentioned. Perhaps that works better up North than here in Texas.

[moulman]

Feldon,

Yeah, I'm not concerned about color, or "shading" toms ( I guess that was a bad title for the post) I am looking for frost protection right now. Our spring is a month behind, and temps are still dropping to freezing at night.

I usually plant around Mother's Day, but this year it will in all likelyhood, still be too cool at night without protection.

[dice]

I do not see how you are going to get frost protection with
holes in the material. You cannot have airflow and frost
protection both unless you have holes that can be closed
at night.

You could probably do as well with clear garbage bags: drop
them over the cages or short stakes at night and clothespin
the bottoms up a foot or so once the temperature gets above
40F. (You do need to be at home until it warms up that much
to do this.)

If it is a rainy day, just leave them on there.

You may have to hunt around to find clear bags, but I had
a big roll of them a couple of years ago, so I know that they
are made and sold somewhere.

[moulman]

Dice,

You get frost protection from row covers - and they are completely porous... it is not so much the temp that causes the damage, it is contact time with the ice crystals - a cover keeps the frost from forming on the leaf surfaces.

[Suze]

I could see maybe getting protection from a very mild frost with these, but I think I'd be inclined to go with blankets or row covers instead. One concern could be how fast they might heat up inside during the day and cook the plants if inadvertently left on. Even though they are perforated, I still see the potential for something like that happening.

[dice]

Row covers establish a microclimate under them a few
degrees warmer than outside air. I would guess that their
very fine porosity contributes to that (while still allowing
rain in and humidity out). I am not sure how big the holes
can get and still maintain that microclimate in the presence
of sub-freezing ambient air on the outside.

(I would not trust a hole as big around as a pencil, for example,
at 32F.)

[Ruth_10]

Their ability to breathe aside, as a practical matter you'd have to have a cage of the correct size to fit the bag. Very likely a cage that would fit the bag wouldn't be large enough once the plant put on some size. Then you'd have to take off the smaller one and and put in a larger one, or put a larger one over the smaller one--either way, you'd have to have two cages per plant.

When I lived in Michigan I would sometimes put a large plastic bag (one that is maybe a foot or so longer than the cage is tall) over the plant and its cage and then cut the top open. I would roll the plastic down even with the top of the cage during the day or if the night temps were going to be okay and then close it up (a clothespin works well to keep it closed) if it was going to be cold at night. This system was inexpensive and relatively easy to do and served to give the plant a little extra protection and warmth during a cold spell. And I did start with a smaller cage.

I guess what I'm saying is that I wouldn't trust the bag in the link to breathe properly during the day when the sun is out and you could achieve your purpose of giving your plants a boost in a cool spring with stuff you already have on hand.