The 2022 gardening season starts in some regions and will soon arrive in wintry areas. Now is the perfect time to begin inventorying what gardening supplies you’re missing. It’s also time to purchase seeds and start your seedlings.
One of the many considerations regarding gardening supplies and equipment is the type of tarp you use. Tarps make your job easier in many ways. Not every tarp is suitable for use in the garden. Chicago Canvas & Supply’s experts are happy to help you choose the best tarps to use when gardening.
Use Clear PVC Curtains to Form DIY Greenhouses
When the nights can still be cool, you need to protect delicate seedlings from frost. Companies that provide seedlings and other gardening supplies keep growing plants in greenhouses.
Greenhouses allow light in through the transparent sides, but they also insulate the area from outside air, so it traps heat and moisture. Plants thrive with the greenhouse’s heat and humidity, creating the perfect growing environment.
You may not have the space or money to invest in a full-size greenhouse, but you can make a DIY greenhouse for your plants without needing to spend a lot. Do this by purchasing a clear PVC tarp and using it to form a curtain surrounding a wire rack that you keep on a deck or patio.
Clear PVC tarp has grommets you can use with zip ties, rope, or cable to secure the tarp to the top shelf of the rack. The rest of the PVC tarp will drape to the ground. The two ends of the tarp overlap and allow easy access into the shelves where the plants are stored.
Insulate Plants Within the Garden
Have you thought about turning your entire garden bed into a greenhouse area? It’s a great idea when you live in a region where the growing season is shortened by frosts that still occur well into the spring.
Create a makeshift greenhouse around your garden area using a clear PVC tarp that’s sized to fit the entire area. Purchase some cedar posts at a farm supply store. Place them to create the outline of a fence around your garden. Add a few cedar posts in the center for support. Once they’re in the ground, they’ll last for years and never need to be replaced.
Purchase a PVC tarp that’s long enough to cover the entire garden. You want extra to drape down the sides of the posts along the outer edge. Use the grommets and some tent stakes to secure it to the ground. The tarp allows sun in while also keeping cooler air out. You’re able to start some of your seeds before the last frost, stretching the growing season.
When it does warm up enough, remove the PVC tarp. You can use the posts to protect your growing crops from insects and animals by applying chicken wire fencing or a vinyl mesh tarp.
Keep Pests Away With Vinyl Mesh Tarps
Cabbage moths can destroy crops like broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and kale. Don’t lose crops to these challenging pests. Purchase vinyl mesh tarps to protect your growing vegetables.
The mesh tarps allow some sun to reach the plants, which can help prevent damage from excessive sunlight. It also allows rain to get through to the plants. But, moths will not reach the plants to lay eggs.
Mesh tarps can keep other pests away by protecting your growing crops from animals. Are you tired of losing some of your ripening berries to birds? Use a mesh tarp to keep them from getting to the berries on your shrubs and bushes. Rabbits and deer can’t munch your growing greens. You end up with more of your crops at harvest time.
Create Weed-Free Walking Paths
Do you get tired of having to weed your garden path over and over? If you don’t take care of them, the weeds spread to the nearby vegetable and fruit plants. It’s a tiring task, but you can put an end to this problem.
Block weeds from growing where you walk with waterproof vinyl tarps. Lay the tarp down to create your walking paths and leave soil rows for the plants. Weeds won’t grow through the heavy vinyl, and water runs off to the plants that need it. If you end up with any pools of water, it’s easily pushed to the plants.
Cleaning Up Your Garden and Yard Is Easy With Poly Tarps
When you weed your garden, you don’t want to inadvertently miss a weed that you’ve tossed out onto the lawn. Spread a blue poly tarp next to the garden before you start weeding. As you pull weeds, toss them onto the tarp. You can drag the tarp to your compost pile when the job is done.
Poly tarps make it easy to keep compost in a contained area while you’re adding it to your garden soil. Once all of the compost is removed, rinse the tarp clean, let it dry, and store it until it’s needed again.
Use the poly tarp for garden clean-up at the end of the growing season. Pull out the dying plants and put them on the tarp. When you’ve cleared everything, drag the tarp to your compost pile. You can also use the poly tarp for yard clean-up that benefits your garden beds.
Rake leaves onto the tarp and move them to the garden. Cover the soil with the leaves. They’ll break down and add nutrients to the ground during the warmer fall days and as spring arrives. Using a heavy-duty poly tarp to cover the garden for the winter helps keep the soil warmer, which aids in the decomposition of the leaves.
Create Additional Garden Space With a Tarp’s Help
Have you heard of lasagna gardening? It’s an easier way to create a garden bed, and a tarp is an essential part of this method.
Start by laying down cardboard sheets where you want the garden. Soak it down and cover it with layers of leaves, pine needles, manure, and compost. You want to keep building up this area until it’s around ten inches high. Cover the entire area with a heavy-duty poly tarp and let the sun heat everything. The tarp traps that heat and speeds up the decomposition of the organic matter.
When it’s time to plant, your growing seeds will help further break down the materials. When the garden is not in use for the winter, add more layers and cover it with a tarp again. In time, you end up with a weed-free garden bed that’s easily maintained.
Use Cotton Muslin to Start Seeds
In addition to tarps, consider making affordable, reusable seed starters. Take squares of cotton muslin and place them into silicone muffin tins. Fill each with a mix of compost and potting soil and plant a seed.
When the seedlings are big enough to transplant outside, save the muslin squares to wash, dry, and reuse. It saves money as you won’t need to purchase peat seed starter cups or pellets each season.
Where Do You Find the Tarps You Need?
Home improvement stores and gardening supply centers may not have the different types of tarps you need. Shop online with a tarp expert to ensure you get the right size and tarp for your needs.
Chicago Canvas & Supply offers the expertise and range of tarps needed to ensure you get the best tarps for gardening. We provide free quotes and are happy to help you with custom sizes. Reach us online.