Organic Gardening Essentials

Use Row Covers to Protect Plants

Row covers help to keep pest insects away from your plants. Many gardeners cover their plants in spring, as soon as they set out the transplants. Suzanne says you can leave lightweight row covers on all season, except on plants that require insect pollinators, such as squash and pumpkins. In that case, remove the row covers when plants begin flowering, so pollinators can do their job of transferring pollen.