Topic: Enviromesh vs Fleece

[Jesse]

I've been looking at protection for my future crops. Enviromesh is quite expensive. Can I protect my crops (brassicas, carrots and celery) from pests (carrot fly, butterflies) by using lightweight fleece instead of enviromesh. I know enviromesh is more durable etc but at the moment cost is a priority. Does fleece allow as much light through and is this important with carrots, brassicas and celery.

[Yarwooda]

Jesseveve , I have mentioned this before. Some of our allotment holders have begged the netting that scafolders use to to stop debris falling on to by passers. This can be obtained free if you ask nicely. The plastic sheeting is also worth getting hold of as it has been used to make poly tunnels etc.
Another  allotment holder visited a fabric warehouse  store and bought rolls of cheep window netting as seconds.

Just an Idea.

Cheers

Alan

[Jesse]

Thanks Alan. I don't mind buying the fleece as it comes in 4m widths which is ideal and it is cheap. I need to know before I buy however that it will allow enough light through so that my crops don't suffer lack of light. Enviromesh says that it allows high levels of light to the crops, will fleece do the same thing?

[sandersj89]

I use fleece to cover my carrots, I buy it in large rolls from kays Horticultural Supplies and a good price compared to the garden centres.

There is no problem with light penetration and the carrots do very well. Fleece is lighter than environmesh so does not last as long, 2 or 3 seasons. It also can tear fairly easy. But if you are careful this is not a problem.

Being lighted you hardly need to support it over the leaves but I do use metal wire hoops to support it and to secure it to to stop it blowing away.

There is also another product you might try, Papronet. This is similar to envirnomesh but cheaper. I used it last year over carrots again and was very please. Heavier than fleece and very similar to environmesh, I brought it direct from Papronet, email Roy Harrison:  email@papronet.co.uk for a quite. (No connection to the company other than a happy user.)

He also sells a fair bit on ebay.

All in all I am happy with fleece over carrots, bit more money for papronet but very good also.


For my brasicas I covered them with netting, see here for a picture: (The green material in the top picture is Papronet pulled to one side to do a spot of weeding along some carrots)





Put a small fence post at the end of each row, make it into a T shape with a cross piece and run string/wire eand to end to support the netting, pin the netting down at intervals.

HTH

Jerry

[Jesse]

Jerry, did the netting stop the butterflies? This is the reason I'm considering fleece, last year I lost all my cabbages (but only had a few anyway so not a huge loss) to catepillars, I did not use any covering at all. I considered netting but wondered if the butterflies would still lay their eggs through the net holes? The papronet sounds interesting, I will email Roy to get a price but sure it will be more than 90p per meter for a 4m width. If I can get away with fleece it will be a lot cheaper.

[sandersj89]

Jerry, did the netting stop the butterflies? This is the reason I'm considering fleece, last year I lost all my cabbages (but only had a few anyway so not a huge loss) to catepillars, I did not use any covering at all. I considered netting but wondered if the butterflies would still lay their eggs through the net holes? The papronet sounds interesting, I will email Roy to get a price but sure it will be more than 90p per meter for a 4m width. If I can get away with fleece it will be a lot cheaper.

Yes, the netting was fine, you still get the odd one that manages to lay eggs but the numbers are vastly reduced and the resulting caterpillars are easy to deal with. I will be doing the same this year. The netting also works well against pigeons.

Fleece/Papronet over cabbages and the like should be OK and will also stop white fly.

Kays prices are
.5M x 12M      3.95
1.6M x 50M 11.50
1.6M x 250M 39.95 
3M x 6M     3.95
2M x 50M  13.50
2M x 250M 45.95 
1.2M x 50M 8.50
1.2M x 250M 26.49
3.2M x 50M  19.95
2M x 100M   23.95
4M x 250M   95.95
6.6M x 250M  144.50 
8M x 250M 159.50   

I think I paid £1.25 per metre for papronet.

Jerry

[Jesse]

Thanks Jerry. Just tried to email about the papronet but my email has decided not to work, typical! Will try again later. I think I'll go with your way and put netting over the bassicas, perhaps if I make sure the netting doesn't actually touch the plants then the butterflies will have less chance? I already have some fleece so shouldn't need to buy any and can use that on the celery and carrots this year, perhaps get some papronet for next, that is a much better price than what i have found on enviromesh. Thanks for all the advice.  :)

[sandersj89]

Thanks Jerry. Just tried to email about the papronet but my email has decided not to work, typical! Will try again later. I think I'll go with your way and put netting over the bassicas, perhaps if I make sure the netting doesn't actually touch the plants then the butterflies will have less chance? I already have some fleece so shouldn't need to buy any and can use that on the celery and carrots this year, perhaps get some papronet for next, that is a much better price than what i have found on enviromesh. Thanks for all the advice.  :)

No worries, hope it will help. (I had planned to make sure my netting stayed free of the leaves but my sprouts decided to grow rather large!! I will be making the cross piece of the T supports wider this year.)

Jerry

[tim]

Just a reminder - of an opinion!

The black pegs tear hell out of fleece etc - the white, more expensive, are OK.

[Sarah-b]

Just 2 observations:
The environment under fleece can sometimes get a bit stagnated - I wouldn't leave it on brassicas for their whole life - but might pop it on while they got established.
Mesh is meant to stop flea beetle (which we are plagued with) and netting lets it through (although having said that you might have some in the soil anyway and then nothing would stop it).

sb

[tim]

You may well be right on that - but mesh we leave on cradle to grave!

[ina]

Thanks all. I read this thread with much interest.

Btw, I just twist the end of the tunnel material, lay it on the ground with a paving stone on top, no pegs.

[tim]

Fine, but when you're covering an area 3mx15m, it's more of a problem!

[ina]

Ah yes. Maybe you can borrow Mount Uluru (Ayers Rock) from Australia for that.