In article ,
"Jon Danniken" wrote:

wrote in message
...
As I wrote in another thread, I am starting seed in peat pots for the
first time, out of curiosity.

I covered the trays with black plastic until the seedlings broke
through.

Now a landscape architect friend has got me thinking:

My original premise: KEEP THE SEEDS IN THE DARK was exploded when he
pointed out that under the ground they ARE in the dark.

Then I suggested that the black plastic would CONSERVE heat, esp. at
night. (Though this is a mild area (So.Calif coastal) the nights are
cooler than the day.) I used to cover seeds in the ground with black
plastic till they broke through.

He exploded that one by pointed out that clear plastic would do just
as well.

A friend of mine uses black plastic on his garden, with small circles cut
out where the plants pop up. The main goal is to keep weeds from growing,
and it works a treat.

Jon

Tried that last year and was unhappy that I couldn't spot water, and
when the plant touched the plastic, it got fried. Clear plastic
generates higher temps than does black plastic.

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~taber...pt%2000/redmul
ch.pdf

http://lubbock.tamu.edu/horticulture...sticMulchTypeo
nTomatoGrowthandYield_2004_.pdf
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is
now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of
conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html