red plastic for more red tomatoes

[stonysoil]

hi everyone has any one had success using red palstic as mulch for earlier tomatoes.. i am not a big fan of plastic mulches as i prefer decomposable mulches but i live in short growing season of central ny and am looking forward to earlier tomatoes and ive red that this mulch will accomplish that.. thank you in advance for your input

[Gardenurse]

Stonysoil, you beat me to this topic, but I'm glad you posted it! I'm trying to find out some information on it since I read about it in the Gardener's Supply Company catalog. Their description of the red plastic mulch states:

"Developed jointly by the USDA and Clemson University, and proven effective in tests by a leading consumer magazine, this specially engineered red mulch is an exciting breakthrough for anyone who grows tomatoes. The red plastic actually reflects far-red light wavelengths upward into your tomato plants. This triggers the release of a natural plant protein that stimulates more rapid growth and development. Your plants will mature faster, look bushier, and give you a more flavorful, more abundant harvest than ever before."

I called the company and asked if this applied to other tomato colors (would it increase yields), and they said it only worked on red. I typed "Clemson University red plastic mulch" into a search engine to do more reading on the subject and had 2,000+ articles pop up. I have no experience with it since I just discovered it too, but found that it boosted yields 20% and suppresses damage from root-dwelling nematodes. I plan to try it on pink tomatoes and strawberries as well.

The red plastic mulch is on sale for $9.99 (4'W x 50'L) at http://www.gardeners.com/Red-Tomato-Yield-Booster/default/30-005.prd
I compared that to Peaceful Valley (4'W x 30'L $12.95)

[stonysoil]

ty gardennurse for your information i ordered a roll from the source you mentioned and plan on setting my tomatoes with this mulch.. i always have a difficult tiome ripening my brandwines and im optimistic this will help .. i was thinking of putting organic matter under the red mulch to improve the soil as well thank you and happy gardening

[unklbill]

I wonder if any red plastic would work?
Is there something special about the bought kind?
bill

[GeorgeSims]

Stony,

I guess you tried this red mulch this year. How about a report? How'd it work?

[CRAZY1]

I used that red plastic mulch on 3 tomato plants this past year. As far as it doing anything, nope. Same yeilds and same ripening time. The other tomatoes and the rest of the garden is muched in straw, which holds the moisture in and composts itself over the winter.

[Joan]

It can't decompose, does it just get down into the soil after a time? I like to know I am using natural, return to the earth type things.

[CRAZY1]

If you mean the red plastic, nope you gotta remove it in the fall.

[windsng225]

Well the red plastic mulch just went from $9.99 to 12.99. They must have had a lot of requests for this.
joyce

[stonysoil]

hi wndsng .,.. thaT MIGHT BE A GOOD PRICE... I ORDERED MIne from pinetree seeds and paid 21.99 for a 4 ft by 100 ft roll..

[winter_unfazed]

Are you sure that the "red plastic for red tomatoes" hypothesis isn't a superstition?

[stonysoil]

i heard it ws good for strawberries too .. something to do with the ultra violet light reflection

[windsng225]

Stony, yours is a better price, you got 100 feet, and when you figure in the shipping.... your price still comes out better. Hope it works better for you, I might try some myself, but don't need that much, at least not 100 feet. LOL, of course if I had it now, I could wrap myself in it for the holiday!
joyce

[bluelacedredhead]

Lee Valley Tools has it up here for $9.50 for the 4'x30' (or $8.50 when purchasing 3 or more rolls). They say that it is good for Strawberries. To punch small holes in the plastic to allow rain to penetrate and that it is MOST effective in Cooler regions.
Maybe I'll try it this year as well.

[Sandbar]

To punch small holes in the plastic to allow rain to penetrate ...Now, THAT's a good idea.

I read somewhere (Googled "red plastic mulch" a few days ago) that the red mulch only really provides a boost at the beginning of the growing season. After that, it seems to provide no other advantages than regular plastic mulch.

[Mischka]

I'm going to chime in on this one and tell you my experience with SRM red plastic mulch.

I have trialed it for the last 4 consecutive tomato growing seasons and planted the same varieties side by side; one on an 80' row of red and the other on an 80' row of the black plastic that I normally use.

No difference in yield or plant growth. It has corn starch mixed in it and is supposedly biodegradable but other than a few brittle areas, it holds up very well over the entire growing season.

I'm fortunate enough to be able to get it for free, as my brother-in-law works for Danafilms, the company that manufactures it otherwise I wouldn't spend one red cent on it.

Note that my experience is only with tomatoes. ;)

[stonysoil]

that is good to know miscka.. i like the fact though thaat it is biodegradeable and id be happier to use a biodegradeable product. your comparison versus back plastic.. which also suppplies heat...are you convinced that the yield is increased by using black plastic opposed to unmulched space?.. also where can i obtain biodegradeable plastics?

[Mischka]

I use black plastic mulch purely for weed control and to conserve moisture. My growing areas are very large and hand-weeding is out of the question.

I've used wood chips, pine needles and shredded oak leaves in years past and I honestly don't think that plastic, whether black or any other color, increases yield over these other mulches, other than to keep the tomatoes and other veggies from coming in contact with the soil and rotting.

It also does help warm the soil in the early spring; I usually till the soil and staple down the plastic in early April.

Common corn starch or lampblack (coal soot) is often mixed into plastic when manufacturers want to be able to claim that their product is biodegradable. (most garbage bags nowadays) Keep in mind that the time frame for complete degradation is a lot longer (10+ years) than for other more environmentally friendly mulches, like planter's paper, hemp fabric or burlap.

Be sure if you choose to use plastic mulch that you purchase the type that has micro-perforations in it, so that the soil's transpiration of oxygen and water isn't compromised. This has to be applied "shiny side up", as the micro-perfs are funnel shaped and have larger openings on the shiny side.

Avoid what's often referred to as "landscape fabric" as this is designed to suffocate weeds and stop plant growth altogether. Also, if you read the package and see that there's a 15 or 20 year guarantee not to break down, it most likely isn't too environmentally friendly for biodegradation purposes. ;)

I'm curious to know what Jere uses for mulch for his Baker Creek growouts.