Planting my starter green beans through clear plastic mulch
yesterday when I realized that it was very hot. Then I realized
that a third of the beans that I had planted had their leaves on
the plastic and that they were totally fried. I quickly placed
mulch around the rest and they survived. This is a cautionary
tale.
--

Billy
Bush and Pelosi Behind Bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo...eature=related

On Jun 10, 1:02*am, Billy wrote:
Planting my starter green beans through clear plastic mulch
yesterday when I realized that it was very hot. Then I realized
that a third of the beans that I had planted had their leaves on
the plastic and that they were totally fried. I quickly placed
mulch around the rest and they survived. This is a cautionary
tale.
--

Billy
Bush and Pelosi Behind Barshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTfcAyYGg&ref=patrick.nethttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo59c7zU&feature=related

clear plastic mulch gets very hot; much hotter than black mulch. in
fact, it's used to sterilize the soil and get rid of weed seeds,
verticilium, etc. I've tried it, but i can't find any clear plastic
that survives a summer of solar exposure. anyway, be careful with your
poor beans or they'll be precooked.

In article ,
"kzin" wrote:

On 10-Jun-2008, Persephone wrote:

If so, I don't understand. Black absorbs the sun's rays rather than
reflecting them*. By that logic, more heat would be transmitted
to the poor leaves by black than by clear.

Look up how a greenhouse works. It has to do with trapping infrared light
between the earth and the plastic which rapidly heats the air by radiative
heating.
Clear plastic allows light through which can be reflected as infrared.
Black plastic does not.

ml

Strangely, I have pepper mint growing under the clear plastic.
Everything else is dead.

In response to Perse

kzin's response is as good as any. I don't understand the thermodynamics
of the system but I can understand the empirical results.

Old saying, "logic is only as good as its' premise".
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~taber...pt%2000/redmul
ch.pdf

Look at tables II and III.
--

Billy
Bush and Pelosi Behind Bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo...eature=related