tulle covering

since so many of us recommend/use tulle to cover plants for bug protection, I though I'd post a coupon I just found for 60% off fabric at Joann's. Good till Aug 30

http://www.joann.com/coupon

Kay

Thanks Kay!!!!

Excellent! Thank you, Kay! I was just there and picked up netting, but I could certainly go back and get some tulle now.

CC

netting/tulle about the same thing

Kay

That's good news, Kay. But I'm wondering if the netting holes are big enuff for the aphids to get in, or the moths to lay their eggs thru?

CC

CapeCoddess wrote:That's good news, Kay. But I'm wondering if the netting holes are big enuff for the aphids to get in, or the moths to lay their eggs thru?

CC

Maybe, but the alternative is.....

the holes are pretty small if that is the tulle you choose

My netting looks like that, Camp, but the tulle I saw at JoAnns was finer I think. I'm going to pick some up tonite so I'll post a photo of the 2 tomorrow.

CC

little known (here at least) fact about rowena: i am a former professional costumer for opera and the co-writer of the only textbook on digital patternmaking for fashion design in america. thus do i speak:

all tulle is netting but not all netting is tulle.

the kind you want for the garden is bobbinet. it is strong, lightweight, generally holds up to UV exposure, has openings small enough that aphids cannot squeeze themselves through.

at joanns, the variety you want is clearly labeled tulle. the other is labeled net. you can tell the difference by looking and touching--tulle is soft and feels like you would want to make a bridal veil from it. net is coarse, stiff, and feels like you could scrub pots with it. because you can.

joanns usually only has the typical widths which for tulle is 54". if you ask them, they can special order 108" wide. that is big enough to cover the PVC hoop house that is in the ANSFG book. ask them to send it on a company truck, to avoid shipping costs.

rowena___. wrote:little known (here at least) fact about rowena: i am a former professional costumer for opera and the co-writer of the only textbook on digital patternmaking for fashion design in america.

THAT IS TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!

Rowena, what is that in Camprn's photo? It looks like my netting, not the tulle I was looking at at JoAnns.

CC

My Joann's usually carries at least a couple of bolts of wedding veil tulle in both 54" and 108". The 108" is always the finer stuff and is what I've used because it is very fine and wide enough to cover a 4x4 hoop set up.
Take care with it, it will snag easily.
Kay

CapeCoddess wrote:Rowena, what is that in Camprn's photo? It looks like my netting, not the tulle I was looking at at JoAnns.

CC

i can't tell, but i'd guess from the way it drapes in the picture that it is tulle.

they sometimes carry a netting called illusion, which is even finer mesh than tulle, but very, very tender.

this is the book i co-wrote:
http://www.wildginger.com/products/dfp.htm

i was the costumer for the vanderbilt opera for 7 years. i retired when ella became school age so that we could homeschool. many of my costumes are online at my rostitchery blog, and probably some are still at the vanderbilt opera pages. i left in 2008 so i'm old news there.

Bookmarked for winter! Thanks Rowena___.

Thought I'd post one of my beds showing how I allowed for a trellis crop. This particular bed is dressed in 3 pieces of 54" tulle. One long length running over the top and 2 shorter pieces on the open sides. The long length is not moved and only the side pieces are unclipped to tend the garden.



Here is a picture of the same 3 piece system using 6 mil plastic for a winter hoop house. Note in this picture the furring strips that anchor the plastic to the sides of the beds. The top is unclipped and lowered to tend the bed.



Kay

Great photos! Thanks for that. It all looks so neat and orderly. I"m lucky if my covers get tossed over the tops.

OK, went to JoAnns last nite and this is what I have for covers now - tulle on the left, netting on the right, burlap at the bottom, and a window screen in the back ground:


Along with pine needles and DE for slugs, I should have absolutely NO BUGS in my garden, right?

CC

Don't we wish. But seems like they still sneak in, but not as many. Usually when I least expect it.

Kay

First of all, that is super cool that you do that for a living. La La La La La!! . Since I am still very new to Sq Foot gardening (having just realized it's existence and found this group) most of my existing raised beds are MUCH bigger than what I am seeing here. I am about to go and buy some (I hope 108 inch) tulle and then come back here and figure out how to tie it, tape it or staple it together to fit my very odd shaped bed (vertical trellis system runs length and width down the middle of a rectangle). The whole bed is something like 10 by 6 feet. I was thrilled to read about this fabric though. Wish me luck!

Garden_gals, due to the awkward nature of your bed layout, and the fact that you do not want to cover any blooms that need pollination, you may be better served tenting individual areas of your beds, eg: cabbages, broccoli, etc. Just a thought.

I used pvc pipes that I picked up at the Habitat for Humanity Retail Store, to make a frame for some tulle, which I got at Goodwill.  There were half sleeves that came with the pvc, which I used to hold the tulle on.  As my beans and corn got taller, I put some short legs on the pvc frame.  I just used staples to hold the bottom of the tulle to the beds.  This worked great, until my plants got tall enough to not need the extra protection of the tulle.  I left the pvc frame around my beans & corn bed, and it has come in handy to keep my corn from falling over.
Madge

Pic taken today, pvc frame around corn & beans in back right corner.