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annastasia76
- Senior Member
- Posts: 223
- Joined: Thu Jan 20, 2011 3:59 pm
- Location: Southern Ca
question about foil under plants to prevent pests
ok I have what may be a stupid question but I have seen suggestions about putting foil on the ground around the plants to prevent aphids and such but if the ground is widely covered around the plant with foil then how are you supposed to water it?? I was thinking the only was was to either lift the foil to water or with a drip line.
I think when the suggestion is made to put foil around the bottoms of the plants it is meaning to put more of like a collar around the base of the plant. Kinda like the copper ones you can buy. I'm not sure if foil would have the same effect as the copper but then again I don't know what it is about the copper that deters slugs and other bugs either so.
So basically, a collar made of a circle about 6" or 7" should give you what you're looking for. And the roots extend out quite a bit further than that so between roots extending beyond the collar and the amount of water that wicks under the collar you should be ok.
Hope that helps somewhat.
So basically, a collar made of a circle about 6" or 7" should give you what you're looking for. And the roots extend out quite a bit further than that so between roots extending beyond the collar and the amount of water that wicks under the collar you should be ok.
Hope that helps somewhat.
Silver reflective mulch is becoming a very popular method for controlling pests and adding sunlight. I sell the stuff on my website and it's been moving quite briskly. It is mentioned in this month's Mother Earth News also.
To water, you would need to use drip, or leave enough ground uncovered by the mulch for overhead sprinkling to work.
To water, you would need to use drip, or leave enough ground uncovered by the mulch for overhead sprinkling to work.