220
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #139,584 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★★★★
Me & My Plants are Happy :)
As others have said, this is a good product. Nicely packaged (that can be re-used for storage) fabric, wire hoops and drawstring closure are all sturdy, seams well sewn etc. It would be hard to buy the fabric and the hoops for the $20 ish price. (unless maybe you bought the wire and bent it into the unique shape yourself) The only downside for me is that I wish the material were just a little bit wider so that it came down further on the sides. It does reach to the ground but in my situation, the brutal wind here easily gets under the sides and there's not much material available to be able to anchor them. (If you have softer soil you may be able to sink the hoops a little deeper than I can therefore maybe have some material to anchor.) It has stayed in place just fine; no problem there but I would like to protect my plants from the wind a little better. The "fleece" material is more substantial than it looks in the picture and is comparable to "N-Sulate" or other deluxe or supreme grade plant protection fabric - 1.5 oz - of which I have a roll of. So I'm going to try to make another cover a few inches wider and see if that helps. I was planning on making a back-up for whenever this one wears out anyway.
For those who mentioned removing and replacing their tunnel each day, I just push the material all down to one side when the weather is nice enough and/or I want my plants to get some rain. This is one of the reasons I like this construction. Since the smoothly finished hoops go through (wide) sewn tunnels in the material vs draping material over hoops etc., it makes it very easy to slide the material on the hoops w/everything intact and have your cover open or closed as needed. Another nice thing, if you only wanted to cover a few plants or need less than the full length, is that you could easily take out a hoop or two and make it shorter. Btw, this type of fabric is breathable and rain/snow will wet and probably eventually penetrate this fabric but not near as much as lighter weight plant protection fabrics. Often, moisture will mostly bead up, lay on top of this. This is actually preferable to me in many winter type instances; you don't want your plants getting wet and then having to endure freezing temperatures. Just fyi to apply to your particular usage.
If anyone is wondering about dimensions: (since I took it all apart and measured) The size of the finished fabric, laid out flat, is 46" wide x 150" long. There's approx. 23.5" between each of the 6 hoops/their seamed enclosures. Then about 16" of material after each end hoop to the drawstring. The nicely-shaped, heavy gauge wires measure about 58" in total length. Once inserted in the ground and depending on how wide or narrow you spread the the hoops, you have a tunnel covering at least 18-20" high x 18-20" wide and about 10ft long - maybe a little longer if you can utilize the drawstring end sections. I have it spread about a 2 ft wide. I think you could go to at least 30" wide but of course then your height would be lowered a little - to maybe 15"? (Just a guess; you'll have to call in a mathematician or try it yourself to know for sure.) Still high enough for many crops.
Also, wanted to pass on that I have found these "Re-Pins" http://www.amazon.com/DeWitt-Company-Re-Pins-Red-Count/dp/B004SI6FG8/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1416641051&sr=1-1&keywords=re-pins to be an excellent product for non-permanent anchoring of frost and shade fabric, plastic etc. After endlessly trying to hammer in various metal ones into my hard, rocky ground (and them often bending) for whatever reason (maybe the shape/design?) I can get usually hand push these plastic Re-pins in and they stay in! They're reusable, easy to see and remove and have held up well. You can find them in packs of 10 or 25 if you search around. Right now, it seems that only a 300 pack is available here on Amazon but I posted the link so you have the exact name and can see what they look like. Hopefully maybe they'll carry smaller quantities here in the future.
Hope that helps. Happy Gardening!
November 2014 · Patio Lawn and Garden · verified purchase