Adding Raised Bed Greenhouse Covers
Today we’re talking about something that, in my opinion, is not talked about enough: extending your growing season by covering your crops! Sometimes adding just a few weeks to the beginning and end of your growing season can make a huge difference in what you can grow.
I’ve written about this topic in the past when I shared my tips for How to Build a Low Tunnel Bed Topper and how to make your own DIY PVC Pipe Cold Frame to put over your plants. Today’s post shares the Vego frost greenhouse cover—a growing solution they very generously sent me to review. And I love it!
I’m going to walk you guys through the installation process and talk about some of the benefits of this cover. Keep in mind that it does work exclusively with the Vego raised beds, so if you haven’t invested in one of those yet, now might be the time 🙂 Let’s discuss.
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Assembling the cover’s frame
The first step is to assemble the frame that the plastic cover sits on top of. The frame is made out of the same material as the trellis Vego offers (which is also pictured behind me to the left in the two photos below).
The poles are lightweight steel and connect quickly with a simple setup. They integrate seamlessly and securely into the bed because you attach them by removing the top level of hardware around the top of the bed’s frame, adding each pole, and replacing the hardware.
The frame and cover I got are also quite tall, which is great for plants that can get taller than a few inches. You can see below that I have some chard in this bed, and it’s about a foot tall. There is still plenty of clearance between the frame and the plants.
Adding the plastic cover
Once you’ve got the frame on, it’s time to add the plastic cover. Pull it down over the frame and tighten the straps. Though, if I’m being honest, my cover was pretty snug without tightening the straps! The straps just help to prevent drafts from sneaking in and help with heat retention.
The cover is made out of a UV-protected heavy-duty high-density polyethylene that is reinforced with mesh. It lets in plenty of sunlight while also being stronger than just a layer of plastic without reinforcement. I didn’t have any fears of ripping it while battling the wind to get it over the frame by myself!
Testing the temperature
After I got the covers on, I wanted to do a quick temperature test! These temperature gauges show a real experiment from a cloudy day. The first one shows that it was 48.7F outside. I popped the temperature gauge into the inside of one of the greenhouse covers and zipped it up.
After about 5 minutes, I opened up the cover to check on things. It had already increased to 52.7 degrees! It may not sound like much, but a sustained increase of 5-10 degrees while the sun is up can be HUGE for seed germination and plant growth. Love it!
Features I love
Onto some of the features I really like—I love my low tunnel bed topper method and my PVC pipe cold frame. I will continue to use them on the other beds that I don’t have greenhouse covers for or for things I have planted in the ground.
However, they lack one major feature that is really nice…built-in ventilation! On unseasonably sunny and warm days in the upper 40s, things can get very hot under clear plastic. You’d be shocked!
The Vego greenhouse cover solves this issue with ventilation panels that you can open up on either end of the cover. This creates natural airflow to keep things from getting too hot and to provide fresh air.
I also love how each of the longer sides of my greenhouse cover have large zipper panels for easy access. This makes watering and harvest much easier than fumbling with plastic pieces—simply unzip a panel and tie it up for easy access.
Versatility with the insect cover
If there’s one thing I love in a gardening product, it’s versatility. So I definitely want to point out that Vego’s insect netting cover and the plastic greenhouse cover both use the same frame! Just install the frame and use the mesh or plastic covers depending on your needs.
If you don’t want to use either of them, you could always keep the frame on and use it for additional plant supports. After all, the frame is made of the same material that the Vego trellis is made of!
Overall, I love the functionality of the Vego greenhouse cover system. Extending your growing season is such a game changer, especially for us gardeners who are trying to maximize what we can grow in smaller spaces!
I will do an update video in the spring to cover how this system fared through the winter and early spring. Until then, if you’re interested in investing in one of these bad boys, you can use my link and referral code BYBRITTANYG10OFF for an extra $10 off your order.
