Row cover supports.

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Metal Row Cover Supports
For years, every fall and winter, I've placed lightweight floating row covers directly on top of the vegetable and herb plants in my raised beds. The covers offered protection from light frost, birds, and some of the local wildlife that visits the garden. As spring weather approached the aphids and loopers found their way under the covers and often by the time I pulled the covers off I'd have an infestation that was impossible to control. Shortly after that, the lettuce found its way to the compost bin and I'd start to prepare the raised beds for spring.

If we had a wet winter I'd find row covers directly on top of the plants had a tendency to prevent the moisture from drying out as quickly as possible. In some instances lettuce leaves would become mushy and rot. Although a good pest deterrent the row covers wasn't always the ideal solution.

The 2-inch wide by 10-foot lengths of wire are strong and flexible to make a supporting arch over my raised beds.
Inexpensive clothespins are used to hold the row covers in place for those windy days in the garden.
Strips of 1by 2s and other lumber were placed around the perimeter of the raised bed to hold the row covers in place and keep insects and wildlife out.

I'd considered purchasing some white PVC pipe and cutting it to the appropriate length and then sliding it over rebar to hold it in place. I'd then lay the row covers over the PVC and hold the ends in place as I always had, with pieces of lumber. Fortunately I never did get around to purchasing the PVC.

By chance I spotted rusted metal thing-a-ma-jigs sitting on top of a wall in a garden undergoing renovation. The 10 foot long by 2 inch wide metal wires were used in brick wall construction and placed in the mortar to help lock everything together once the mortar dries. I was given the six rusty mortar ties and I took them back to my garden where I cut about a foot or so off the end of each with a bolt cutter. I then created four arches on each 10-foot raised bed firmly sticking the ends of the metal in the soil that fills the brick cavities of my raised beds.

I then placed the floating row covers over the metal supports and used clothespins to hold them in place. I used pieces of lumber around the base to hold the row covers down and discourage birds and wildlife from getting underneath.

By looking down the end I can check on plant growth and look for insect activity without removing the row covers.
An added bonus was the use of the ends I cut off the mortar ties. They hold my drip system in place.

What was nice about the system was I didn't have to take the entire row cover off to harvest the lettuce, Swiss chard, herbs, and radishes that grew underneath. I could lift up one side to harvest. It was also easier to check on the crops because I could lift up the end and look down the tent like structure to check out plant growth and look for insect activity.

I eventually purchased enough of the Dur-O-Wal Single Wythe, Ladur type prefabricated reinforcements at $1.34 each from one of the big box stores to cover all of my raised beds. An added bonus: the short strips I cut off each length of wire made nice long metal pins that hold the drip system in place.

It has been a dry, warm winter so I don't know if the added height would help let the plants dry out more quickly after a rain. There is better air circulation with the raised covers and I must admit I've had more lettuce than I could possibly eat. For fall and winter crop protection I won't go back to laying the floating row covers on the plants. (2006)