Mastodawn

Don Ray May 20

@chgowiz

I've done something similar with black landscape fabric and melons. I'm pretty sure the black color is helpful to keep the soil temp nice and warm. I always wonder about how the non-breathability of the plastic affects the soil beneath.

I do plant my sweet potatoes on a wide, tall ridge (but no plastic or fabric).

@donray What zone are you?

I wanted to try the black plastic to help with the warming, since we've had such a chilly May.

Don Ray May 20

@chgowiz

I’m in 5b. We have the same problem with chilly May weather (we were at 45° F this morning), which is bad for trying to get heat-loving plants growing early enough to take advantage of the heat of July and August for ripening.

That’s why I’ve used the black landscape fabric. But a lot of growers use plastic. There’s an Amish farm that I see from the highway, and they grow a lot of melons and pumpkins. I can see a lot of black plastic on the ground.

@donray Yep, I pulled in my buckets of cucumbers and tomatoes last night, and will do for the next 2 nights as well with < 50F temps at night.

I've got all my tomato seedlings that really need to go into the ground - that's happening this weekend as the ten day has > 50F lows. Cross fingers this is late enough!

Don Ray May 20

@chgowiz

In my experience, tomatoes tolerate cool weather OK. They just don’t grow much. I’ve held off on transplanting peppers because I’ve had bad experiences with plants getting stunted/sick, and they struggle all year.

@donray I had read an article from I think it was an extension site that said that < 50F would affect their growth + output. So figured I'd wait. I'm also holding off on peppers till 1st weekend in June. I always start mine a bit later than the tomatoes.

@chgowiz It should help reducing evaporation and keeping the soil moist. (But could also interfere with getting it wet.)

The layer right under the plastic could get very hot, but I don't think the heat would penetrate very deeply down before dissipating deeper into the ground.

If sweet potatoes grow like potatoes, I would be surprised if they somehow overheat from this. But I've not seen it tried either.

@yora Well, it will be an experiment for sure! I might pull it in late July, we'll see.

@chgowiz Do half and half. One's the control.

@yora that actually was what I was going to do! :P

Gigi 🍄‍🟫May 20

@yora @chgowiz

I wonder if a bunch of pinpricks would help with the ability to get water through it without interfering with its ability to heat the ground.

@Gigi @yora When I water my potato plants, I go directly to the plant, as opposed to just a hose/sprayer. So I'll just do the same, but make sure the water is getting under the plastic through the hole/slit.

@chgowiz @Gigi I would try making a small hollow where the plants are coming through the plastic, so you have a shallow funnel that will direct the water to the hole.

Gigi 🍄‍🟫May 20

@yora @chgowiz

Oh that's a good idea

Also, I was considering using some of the fabric as a means of keeping the microbes in the soil from splashing onto the plant. I typically use mulch for that purpose as well as for keeping the water in the soil longer. (I container garden.)

I imagine that the plastic is far more effective even. And maybe it'll keep some of the moisture OUT when we get heavy rains at the end of the season and the tomatoes start to swell and burst from over-watering.

@yora I wonder if that's why the instructions told me to put a 2" trench in my dirt ridge? @Gigi

@chgowiz @Gigi I would guess that's it. Performs exactly the function I was thinking of, to deal with the issue I was seeing.

@yora If that doesn't work, I can always lift the plastic, water, replace plastic?
@Gigi

@chgowiz @Gigi In your own garden, I don't see why not.
On a farm, that wouldn't be economical.

@yora Yea, I'm only doing two rows of about 7 to 8 plants each. I only have about 75 square meters (812 sq ft) of space in my community garden plot. @Gigi

Eugene Parnell May 22

@chgowiz in the maritime northwest where I live (zone 8/9 but not very hot) the black plastic method is required to raise the soil temperatures above around 70F which sweet potatoes need to really grow well. We don't reach soil temps that warm till June or later and by then the growing season is too short. I'm guessing it's the same for colder zones. And I would guess that keeping the plastic is optional once your soil is warm enough.