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Protect Your Beans from Bugs and Bunnies

Have you ever gone out to your veggie garden with high hopes of picking the first batch of bush beans only to find bunnies nibbling, beetles chomping away, or other charming Southern Maryland creatures beating you to your crop?

Well, I have a solution for you—build a mini-hoop house.

A mini-hoop house is an inexpensive project that can be used for any low-growing crop. The secret is a wonderful product called floating row cover, commonly referred to by the trade name Reemay.

Floating row cover is sold in several grades. I use the lightweight grade to keep insects and critters out. This product lets light and water in while letting heat escape. This product is available at most garden supply centers including Johnny’s Select Seeds on line.

Here is what you will need for a 4-foot x 8-foot bed:

• Four ½-inch diameter by 10-foot long white PVC pipes, sold in plumbing aisle of hardware stores
• Eight ½-inch diameter by 18-inch long rebar rods
• Lightweight floating row cover, 7-foot wide by 15-foot long
• Either 12 medium plastic hoop clips (available at Pinetree Garden Seeds) or 12 large paper binder clips
• Two landscape fabric pins
• Tape measure
• Hammer
• Hacksaw

I garden in 4-foot x 8-foot raised beds, but it is not necessary to build a bed for this project. Just measure and mark the 4-foot x 8-foot area you want to cover. Double-check your measurements.

Here is a Tip: the two diagonal measurements from each corner will be equal if your corners are nice and square.

Next, pound a rebar rod into the ground at each corner leaving 4 to 6 inches above ground. Along both long sides of the rectangle, measure 32 inches and 64 inches from the corners to mark placement of the rebar. Pound the remaining rods into the ground, as above, at each mark.

Next, use a hacksaw to cut the PVC pipes to 7 feet in length (to match the width of the floating row cover). Place one end of the PVC over the rebar on one side, bend the PVC, and push in place over the rebar on the opposite side to form a hoop.

When the hoops are installed, cover them with the floating row cover, securing to each hoop with three plastic clips or ordinary large binder clips. (Warning, the binder clips rust.) Gather the extra row cover at the ends; twist and secure with landscape pins.

You are done.

When planting bush beans or peas, which are self-pollinating, leave the cover on from planting to picking. Some crops, such as zucchini and melons, require insects for pollination, so you will need to remove the cover when they flower.

Use heavier grade fabric for frost protection to extend your harvest in fall. You can even use it as bird netting to guard blueberries! I am sure you will think of many more ideas for this useful device.

Enjoy!

For more information, contact Marcia Wakefield

Last updated: 03/10/2009