p.m. Use shade netting that is 1 to 3 feet wider and 3
feet longer than your growing bed, so the netting can
drape down around the edges to provide shade on the
sides as well as the top. We generally insert 3-foot-long
pieces of 1 by 1-inch wood on a 45-degree angle into the
soil at the 4 corners of the bed and every 5 feet along
and perpendicular to the sides. Headless nails are
hammered partway into the top end of the sticks so the
shade netting can be held in place. At 5 p.m. we unhook
the netting from the long eastern side of the bed and
hook its edges over the nails on the other side several
times to secure the netting and keep it out of the paths
and the bed. We reverse this process at 10 a.m. the next
day. Make sure the nails do not jut into the path where
they can be a hazard to you.
We also use shade netting to protect newly
transplanted grains from birds in the fall and winter. In
this case, we leave the shadenetting on for 10 days and
use long pieces of^5 ⁄ 8 -inch rebar to hold down the edges
of the netting so birds cannot enter the growing area. We
adjust the 1 by 1-inch sticks so the netting edges lie on
the ground with the rebar along the edges. After 10 days,
the shadenetting is removed because at this point the
plants are less tasty and, therefore, are not attractive to
the birds.
Tip: To conserve water, raise your seedlings in flats until transplanting size (usually
for the first 2 to 4 weeks). For many crops, 1 flat, which needs only about one-half
gallon of water each day, will plant a 100-square-foot growing area. When planted,