In article ,
enigma wrote:

Billy wrote in

ct.net.au:

If you
are going to lay down plastic to heat the soil, you may
want to look into drip irrigation which would be under the
plastic, thus insuring the plants get their water. This is
the method I'm using this year and I do plan to lay down
some black plastic around my tomatoes and peppers. Why
black instead of clear? I dunno. It just seems more
reasonable to me. I guess it's heat absorption vs.
greenhouse effect.

try red plastic with the peppers & tomatoes. the reflected
color improves the yield & it warms the soil as well as black
plastic.
lee

I tried red and black with no perceived difference in yield. But I
was dealing with a hot dry years so I geared up for it the next.
Ended up with just mulch that I could move away or move closer. This
for weeding and water conservation as it changed.

However it was very wet years series next. Mother nature keeping me
from being complacent and thinking I can tweak it with less labor.

Bottom line seems anything fresh from the garden is a miracle but for
some reason I'll still try to tweak it for more.

Bill new food garden this spring. Yea I know I can eat things like
day lilies . The voles told me so.)

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA
ICAO = KMIV Millville Weather
Lat 39.5982 Long -75.0358

Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets. To plant
a pine, one need only own a shovel.
-- Aldo Leopold