The magic of row cover


I am often amazed by what can be accomplished with a thin sheet of woven fabric. With frosty temperatures in the forecast last week, we took a few moments to cover some cold-sensitive veggies with row cover, including our very last planting of string beans.

The beans in the foreground were fully exposed, while the background beans were snugly tucked into their row cover bed. The covered beans sustained some minor damage, but are healthy enough to churn out another week (or two?) of bean production. 

In a nearby bed, a long-abandoned basil planting turned black from the cold, and forgotten lettuce heads withered. As annoying as row cover can be to install and weigh down, it’s also one of the most powerful tools in the organic toolbox.