 Welcome to Alabama Smart Yards. We're creating beautiful landscapes that protect natural environments. Today, Danny Carroll will talk about row covers. Using these inexpensive tools can offer your garden several benefits. An underused method for pest management in our home vegetable gardens involves using a pest exclusion system. This is just a temporary boundary that keeps pests away from our main crop. These systems involve using floating row covers as a physical barrier between the pest and the main crop. These pest exclusion fabrics are made from spun bonded polyester or polypropylene. They are thin enough to allow the majority of light, air and rain to pass through, but thick enough to stop the large insect species. By using row covers properly, the need for pesticides in our home vegetable crops is reduced. The covers can keep moths from laying eggs, squash bugs and flea beetles from taking over, as well as other insects that we compete with each year. Many cool season vegetables do not require pollination for harvesting, so we do not have to take the row covers on and off like we do with vegetables that need access to bees. Floating row covers are not difficult to install, but to work effectively, there are a few considerations. Install your row cover immediately after planting. If you wait too long, you may trap pest insects inside the canopy. Covers can be laid directly over the crop or affixed to a frame. Bend PVC piping over a raised bed to create a frame, or use hoops and drape the row cover over the hoops. Completely cover the crop from top to bottom and side to side. Secure all the fabric to the ground, ensuring there are no holes for pest insects to come in. Watch the temperature as row covers can trap extra heat. Row covers are a great tool in our pest management toolbox.