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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Nylon netting

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  • From: Pat Meadows <pat AT meadows.pair.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Nylon netting
  • Date: Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:28:03 -0400

On Mon, 4 Aug 2008 14:08:34 -0400, you wrote:

> Last week, Pat said
>< I planted it {senposai} again somewhat later but covered it with
>nylon net, which I
>routinely use for *all* brassicas (or floating row cover).>
>
>Pat, where do you get your nylon netting? I've been looking for
>something like this for a few years. i brought a short length of
>Insectonet back from the UK, but couldn't find anything in the US. The
>flea beetles have been bad here this year (and the Harlequins are bad
>every year!)
>

I don't think it will help with flea beetles; I believe they will get
through the holes. For flea beetles, I think you'll need floating row
cover.

The nylon net that I have *does* stop the cabbage butterflies and moths,
which is why I use it. They're large enough that they cannot possibly get
through the holes. It's funny to see them flutter all around the plants
protected by nylon net, then finally give up and go away. Hahahaha - take
that, you Evil Butterfly!

Being a gardener (not a market farmer), I can grow my brassicas in
containers on our deck (which is HUGE, it has more square footage than our
entire house) and so I can avoid the flea beetles altogether.

Photo which shows how I use the nylon net (those were only very young
plants, obviously):

http://www.meadows.pair.com/images/seannylonnet.jpg

and

http://www.meadows.pair.com/images/swcnylonnet.jpg

(The collie - an obvious believer in reincarnation - is *practicing to be a
human* so that when he wakes up as a human someday, he will know exactly
what to do and how to do it. He studies everything humans do with great
care and attention. He's a funny dog! Very lovable too.)

BTW, those are home-made Self-Watering Containers (SWCs). In case anyone
is interested, details are available here:

www.meadows.pair.com/swcreport.html

I know one market grower who uses homemade SWCs for seed-saving purposes;
he can grow a few plants *away from the bulk of his crop* that way, and he
can enclose them in row cover if necessary to keep pollinating insects off
them, and he keeps heirloom seed pure in that manner.

We get nylon net (I blush to say) from Wal-Mart, in the fabric department.
(There is only ONE discount store within 60 miles of our home, and guess
which one it is since it killed the competition and local merchants.)

Any fabric store should have it. Let's see:

Nylon net:

http://tinyurl.com/6qzsgs (Jo-Ann Fabric)

But I think you'd probably be better off with row cover - certainly if you
want to keep flea beetles off, you would need to use row cover. And you
can get larger amounts, probably more economically than the nylon net.

Floating row cover:

http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=2001 - this one is 'super light
insect barrier'

and (for larger volumes):

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/search.aspx?scommand=search&search=row%2bcover

Johnny's has several weights, including a light insect barrier and heavier
season-extenders. They also have pins to hold it down (I use metal ground
staples bought locally when growing in the ground rather than in
containers), and wire hoops to support it. Some people use very thin
lengths of PVC pipe instead of wire hoops.

Also Pleasant Valley Farm Supply - www.groworganic.com - just enter 'row
cover' in the search box. They have many weights and the supporting hoops,
etc. They're in California however, so you'd probably incur more shipping
charges than you would from Johnny's.

Many other online suppliers also have it.

Cheers,
Pat

--
Northern Pennsylvania

CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
http://www.thehungersite.com/




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