In areas whose climatic features do not favor large yields, the use of shelters to neutralize adverse weather factors is quite common. As a rule, crops in this way protect against lower temperatures. Shelters made from mulching material can also be used to preserve the moisture level necessary for plants.
Using shelters to control temperature and humidity
To obtain an early harvest of greenery or early flowering of ornamental plants, seeds are sown in the prepared land in late autumn. To protect the crops from freezing, they are covered with material like fallen leaves.
Seeds of a number of ornamental plants needing stratification are sown in winter. To shelter such crops in winter, a layer of previously prepared melted soil and a layer of snow are used.
In spring, the surface of the beds with crops needs different types of shelter. To accelerate the thawing of the soil, the crops are covered with a dark mulching film. After complete thawing of the ground and seed germination, the mulch material lying on the surface of the soil is replaced with a transparent film cover on wire arches. Such shelter is necessary to protect the early seedlings from lowering temperatures in the spring.
Film shelter in the spring will be needed in winter crops. Covering material will protect such beds from erosion by rains and birds. The film is removed from the soil after emergence.
Shelters on the arc frame are also used for spring sowing. Transparent film, which is removed for several hours for ventilation, protects the beds from the effects of low temperatures. Often the frame of the film shelter remains on the bed even after seed germination. With the threat of cooling, which can occur in central Russia and at the end of May, a protective film is stretched on the frame.
Use of shelters to reduce daylight hours
The radish, which with a long daylight beginning and mid-summer actively forms peduncles, is covered with opaque material. The film is removed from the crops in the morning and returned to the place in the evening, providing plantings with a ten-hour daylight hours. Shelter is left in the beds after emergence, which is why the underground part of the plant grows, for the sake of which radishes are grown.
