You can extend your growing season by protecting hardy crops with a floating row cover. Where you do not have crops planted, you can improve your soil with a cover crop.
- Cover Crops help control erosion during the winter and, when turned under in the spring, add organic material and minerals to the soil.
- Row Covers help extend the growing season by providing some protection from cool temperatures. Each layer of row cover increases the temperature around plants by 3 or 4 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Be sure to monitor your plants under row covers. If pests like whiteflies are trapped under row cover, their populations can increase quickly.
- Plant growth stops from mid-December through mid-February.
- Be aware of the Spring Frost/Freeze dates in Maryland and Fall Frost/Freeze dates in Maryland to protect young seedlings.