anyone used red plastic under in garden

[Norma Briggs]

I have read about using red plastic under tomato plants, I was thinking of trying it just to see what happens.

Who has used it? Pros or Cons?

Thanks in advance!

Norma

[Angela Dougherty]

Hi Norma,

We've used red plastic the past two years and will use it again this year. Two years ago we grew tom's in containers and last year in a large planter box/raised bed. I don't know if it made a difference, but we had great yields and very healthy plants here in Seattle. We have long summer days but not as much heat as other areas. The plastic helped with moisture loss so we didn't have to water as much, which gave us good, firm fruits. I think it also helped with heat reflection & retention. As far as the claims of the red reflecting the best light spectrum, I'm no agricultural scientist, but I was very happy with the plants' vigorous growth and high yields.

Angela

[Norma Briggs]

[Brigitte]

Hi Angela, Is this a special kind of red plastic? Where can I purchase some?

I'm planning on doing some container gardening this year and will need help with the water retention. Do you place this red plastic under the container?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks, Brigitte

[Angela Dougherty]

Hello Brigitte, I bought the plastic at a garden store. It comes in sheet form folded up into a small package. It is fairly thin plastic, really only good for one season, but the sheet was so large it should last another year or two. We just cut it to size and lay it on the surface of the soil. Obviously you will need to cut holes for the plants to poke through and to deliver water. You will also need to anchor it. You can use rocks, nails, whatever. In a larger bed we used some rebar. You might also try putting some of the plastic under the container as well.

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[Antipodean Bucket Farmer]

I cannot say for sure, but the better heat reflection sounds at least possible. Regular heat (that we can feel but can't see) is in the infrared part of the spectrum, just below visible red. A red-looking object reflects mostly the red part of the spectrum, so perhaps the idea is that it will also tend to reflect lots of infrared (heat.) Dunno if it really does, though.

If I had really excessive heat, I would be more likely to consider some sort of shading over the whole plants.

[Antipodean Bucket Farmer]

Plastic sheeting would go on top of the soil, to prevent the moisture in the soil from evaporating.

Similar idea is just a layer of regular mulch of leaves, etc.