Putting a roof over their heads.

[mtbigfish]

And rain as watering can cause spores to fly from the ground up - hence not watering from above spashing - removing lower branches, mulching good to keep spores under mulch and all Ami says - the covers would help prevent spashing and any little bit helps

Ami
By the way what organics do you use/have available in Deutchland?? for what foilar diseases do you use what - wonder what you have there that we don't?
Thanks
Dennis

[amideutch]

Dennis, I use primarily for disease control Azoxystrobin products which are pretty common over here. Also another fungicide I use contains Brown Algae and Phosphor. I use BioBizz BioGrow and Azet Tomaten Dunger for ferts along with mycorrhizae. A couple products I get from the States for disease control are Actinovate and Agri-Fos.
Actinovate works well with soilborne and airborne diseases. Agri-Fos is a systemic fungicide that is an all purpose that is very good for early and late blights.
Azoxystrobin is sold in the US under the names of Amistar and Quadris.
For me Agri-fos and Azoxystrobin which come from mushrooms is probably the best organic products for the blight diseases and teamed with Actinovate it don't get much better. Ami

[Tania]

My apologies for taking so long to take pictures of my garden setup - I finally managed to photograph my plastic 'covers' on the weekend:

Tania

[amideutch]

That's what I'm talking about! Don't get much better than that. Once the seedlings are planted and hardened off you can raise the ends to get airflow and keep the humidity down and when the weather stabilizes and warms up you can raise the sides as well, thus assuring good airflow among the plants. And all along they have a roof over their heads. Ami

[mtbigfish]

Ami
Hey Ted checked on Azoxystrobin is sold in the US under the names of Amistar and Quadris
The quadris brand is $375 for one gallon - man that is steep - is that what it sells for there?
Dennis

[ddsack]

Tania, those are really clever!

I will have to copy some of your ideas. They look like they might be modular and movable? Do you have them anchored to stakes in the ground?

[Tania]

Originally Posted by ddsack

Tania, those are really clever!

I will have to copy some of your ideas. They look like they might be modular and movable? Do you have them anchored to stakes in the ground?

Dee,

They are modular and movable . They 'sit' on rocks or various recycled reno materials (i.e. glass blocks, etc), and screwed to few 2x2" stakes that are driven into the ground. This holds it pretty well, and the bottom frame does not rot in the wet soil over winter.

My father-in-law built these, and my husband designed them.

Tania

[Wi-sunflower]

I have seen something similar to Tania's but made out of PVC. They had a stub fitting on the ends and middle where they could put a cross piece in when they wanted to move it. With the cross-piece at around 5 ft high all they had to do was get under it and lift it a bit and walk it to the next site.

I'm pretty sure I bookmarked it but I have so many bookmarks it will take me a while to find the site again, if it still exists.

Carol

[mtbigfish]

Tania
Does the plastic because of it being opaque block out a lot of sun? what is the mil thickness and how long does it last before UV breakdown - does it tear in high winds? how much warmer does it stay versus outside temps?
Thanks
Dennis

[Tania]

Originally Posted by mtbigfish

Tania
Does the plastic because of it being opaque block out a lot of sun? what is the mil thickness and how long does it last before UV breakdown - does it tear in high winds? how much warmer does it stay versus outside temps?
Thanks
Dennis

Hi Dennis,

The plastic is not opaque - it sure looks like it as it is a special GH plastic that diffuses the light in a special way that actually helps the plants, plus it has 'anti-fog' protection that adds to the opaqueness.

It is a pretty thick plastic (I think 4 or 6 mil, do not remember now - have to check the receipts). It came with 4 year warranty, and it already lasted 4 years in my garden, without significant repair needed (other then when I accidentally poke a hole in it while working in the garden )

Tania

[hasshoes]

Those are amazing Tania--- I am totally jealous!!!! Wow! I mean WOW!!!