Promoting Summer Lettuce/Mesclun Growth and Preventing Deer Damage with Shadecloth

Project Overview

FNE99-275
Project Type: Farmer
Funds awarded in 1999: $511.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2003
Matching Non-Federal Funds: $1,111.00
Region: Northeast
State: Pennsylvania
Project Leader:

Annual Reports

Commodities

  • Vegetables: greens (lettuces)

Practices

  • Natural Resources/Environment: wildlife
  • Pest Management: physical control, prevention
  • Production Systems: general crop production

    Proposal summary:

    Lettuce seed germinates poorly in summer heat and what grows is browsed off by deer. Shade cloth suspended on the sunny side of each wise row would promote germination and growth, which the flapping noise of cloth would send deer elsewhere to eat.

    The shade-cloth will make lettuce grow able in the summer months in the Northeast. Keeping deer out of the rows will make all the plantings possible to raise to maturity, spring, summer and fall.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.