El vellón hortícola es un material muy ligero, que atraparía el calor en el interior, sin embargo, dejaría pasar el agua y la luz. Protege las frágiles plantas pequeñas de diversos grados de heladas. Puede colocarse sobre las plantas y retirarse muy convenientemente y, si se almacena correctamente, puede sobrevivir de tres a cuatro años. Generalmente, puede mejorar la temporada de crecimiento hasta dos o tres meses al principio y al final de la temporada.
Categorías de vellón hortícola
La diferencia clave entre los diferentes tipos de vellones hortícolases el peso de la tela. En Inglaterra, los dos pesos más comunes disponibles para las protecciones contra heladas vienen en 17 gramos por metro cuadrado y 30 gramos por metro cuadrado, lo que refleja el alto peso ligero. Cuanto más pesada es la tela, más protección contra las heladas proporciona. En términos generales, una variante que viene en 17 g protegerá las plantas hasta -2 ° C y una variante de 30 g brinda protección hasta -5 ° C. Sin embargo, estos números no se pueden garantizar, ya que existen otros factores, incluida la velocidad del viento, que pueden afectarlo. Se pueden doblar fácilmente dos de 17 g de vellón, que esencialmente proporcionarán un peso neto de 34 g, proporcionando así la protección contra las heladas de un vellón de 34 g. Aparte del peso que aumenta, la desventaja de tener un vellón más pesado es que cuanto más pesado es el vellón, menores son las luces que lo atraviesan.
This fleece is not only used for frost protection, even when there is no danger of frost, a light increase in the temperature around the plant enhances their growth. Another utility of the fleece is that it protects the plants as an insect barrier as well as small pest attacks at several growth stages. For only pest control, even the lighter weight fleeces are available. Mesh size for a horticultural fleece is 2mm and which is small enough to block most insects from getting to your plants. Though the fleece is not that strong but these light weight fleece sufficiently safeguards plants from being attacked by birds. If you’re interested in any of these horticultural fleeces, you can find it in HORTOMALLAS.
How to Use Horticultural Fleece
One of the advantages of using these fleeces is that it can be directly placed on top of the plants and they can still grow out from underneath the fleece. This is the case for the fleece, which is up to 20g to 30g and which is used for over a week. However, where it is required to cover the plants for a longer period of time it is advised to provide support to the fleece.
The example of the support structure for fleece in the above picture looks like a perfectionist has made it. It looks great and seems like it will last for some good number of years. Practically any type and a number of fixtures can be used to support the fleece depending on how long it is required to be used. A very common way of supporting the fleece is using a plastic tube structure, used for plumbing, which is very cheap, lasts longer, and delivers excellent results.
Because of such lightweight, fleece needs to be carefully secured down since it can be blown away with the lightest of the winds. A very cheap way of securing the fleece is by digging a small ditch around the plant and by placing the fleece in the ditch and by covering it back with the soil. However, the issue with this arrangement is that it makes it difficult for the removal of the fleece.
Why the use of row Covers and Fleece
These materials give some sort of small amount of protection from windy or cold weather and effective in driving away pests. They are originally transparent, light, then polyethylene sheets, which were previously used, however, because of issues with lack of insulation and overheating at night, they have been replaced by a non-woven polypropylene. This technically is called spun bonded. Fleeces are extremely soft, light, and white in color. One of the primary reasons behind its usage is because of the porosity it has. It is less prone to wet conditions and over-heating when compared to polyethene covers. The disadvantages of using them is that they encourage diseases and pests, encourage weeds, sustainability, and pollination problems.
