Frost Blanket 4'x30'

This grow cover is great for protecting new seeds and young seedlings and extending the season. The row cover keep vegetables growing in winter. In summer, row cover reflects the heat of summer better than any shade cloth. You can spray the cover with water during the heat of the day and it keeps raised beds cool. You can also start your warm season seeds about a month earlier if they are covered with grow cover. It does protect your crops from the birds, worms, slugs and snails and other hungry critters. It's great stuff and worth the investment. And you can double the row cover to have extra protection for much colder weather. Row cover can modify the environment around the plant, favorably resulting in more rapid growth, earlier maturity, and possibly increased yields. It also extends the growing season, increasing more harvest. The first vegetables of the season bring the best price. 10 to 14 days earlier production can mean several cents more per pound or dollars per box.

★High Quality: Perfect for insect barrier, recommend of freeze protection and season extension, and can be left on many crops (e.g., beets, snap beans, salad greens) from seeding to harvest.
★UV Protection: High quality spun polypropylene fabric is UV stabilized and reusable, and allows air and moisture to reach your plants.
★Easy Installation: Measured size as described, easy to cover it on the plant top personally.
★Multi-application: Protect your vegetable such as tomato, pepper, pumpkin, strawberry rows, fruit trees, citrus and shrub, flowers as well as newly-sown grass.
★Weather Protection: Protect plants from snow, hail, frost in the winter and insects,birds during the growing season.


Properties of Polypropylene Fibers

Resistant to Bacteria and Micro-organisms
Like other synthetic fibers – nylon, acrylic and polyester – polypropylene fibers are not attacked by bacteria or micro-organisms; they are also moth-proof and rot-proof and are inherently resistant to the growth of mildew and mold.

Specific Gravity
0.90 – 0.91 gm/cm3
Because of its low specific gravity, polypropylene yields the greatest volume of fiber for a given weight. This high yield means that polypropylene fiber provides good bulk and cover, while being lighter in weight. Polypropylene is the lightest of all fibers and is lighter than water. It is 34% lighter than polyester and 20% lighter than nylon. It provides more bulk and warmth for less weight


Thermal Conductivity
Lowest thermal conductivity of any natural or synthetic fiber (6.0 compared to 7.3 for wool, 11.2 for viscose and 17.5 for cotton). Polypropylene fibers retain more heat for a longer period of time, have excellent insulation properties in apparel, and combined with its hydrophobic nature keeps wearer dry and warm. Warmer than wool.

Anti-Static Behavior
The generation of static electricity on textiles is a complex and, to some extent, a subjective problem. Practical experience shows that polypropylene does not exhibit a static behavior in most normal circumstance and if a problem does occur it can easily be controlled by the use of normal textile anti-static treatments during processing. Anti-static agents can also be incorporated in the polymer to reduce static build up.

Environmental Effect
Recyclable, ecologically friendly. Incinerates to trace ash with no hazardous volatiles.

Effect of Heat
The melting point of polypropylene is about 165°C and while it does not have a true softening point temperature, the maximum processing temperature of the fiber is approximately 140°C. Prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures will cause degradation of the fiber, but anti-oxidants are incorporated in polypropylene fibers to protect them during processing and at normal service temperatures. Wool, cotton, acrylic and viscose rayon fibers do not melt although they are ‘tendered’ to varying degrees by exposure to high temperatures. Nylon and polyester are thermoplastics that have maximum processing temperatures in excess of 220°C. Thus polypropylene has the lowest softening point of all these materials. Nevertheless, this temperature is sufficiently high to enable the fiber to be processed satisfactorily in almost all normal manufacturing processes. The lower softening temperature is of little consequence in service except that, when ironing, it is necessary to control the temperature so as not to exceed 120°C.

Effect of Extreme Cold
Remains flexible at temperatures in the region of -55°C.

Flammability
Polypropylene fiber burns and presents much the same risks as most other man-made textile fibers. It is difficult to ignite, and is defined as combustible but not highly inflammable. It can, however, be rendered flame-retardant by the incorporation of additives.
 
Resistance to Water / Water Absorption
The water absorption of polypropylene fiber is about 0.3% after 24 hours immersion in water, and thus its regain – the amount of water absorbed in a humid atmosphere – is virtually nil (0.05% at 65% RH, 21 °C.)

Effects on Strength
Water has no effect on the strength of polypropylene fibers, whereas cotton increases in strength when wet and the strength of viscose rayon falls quite markedly when wet.

Dimensional Stability
Because polypropylene fibers absorb hardly any moisture their dimensions do not alter with changing humidity or when they become wet. In this respect they are superior to all other fibers, although polyester is another fiber little affected by moisture.

Resistant to Staining
Because of their extremely low water absorption, polypropylene fibers resist water-borne stains better than any other fibers. And since the fiber does not accumulate static though friction during use, it does not attract as much dirt or dust as other man-made fibers.

Quick Drying
Polypropylene is hydrophobic and will not absorb water in the fiber. Water “wicks” away from the skin and through the fabric to the face for quick evaporation.

Color Properties
Fade-resistant. Polypropylene is dope-dyed (melt-dyed), which is the most “colorfast” of any coloring methods, and produces fibers and yarns that are colorfast, washfast, lightfast and fade-resistant. The color is incorporated within the fiber itself.

Resistance to Sunlight
Strength, color fastness and degradation can be effectively protected by means of stabilizers.

Effect on Strength
Ultraviolet (UV) absorbers and stabilizers are incorporated in polypropylene fibers to give them the required degree of UV resistance and stability. All fibers are degraded by sunlight, the effect varying with their physical form. Polypropylene fibers that are not stabilized against UV light will lose strength on exposure to sunlight, but the stabilizing systems commonly used in polypropylene fibers impart a degree of UV resistance suitable for most applications.

Color Fastness
The normal method of coloring other fibers is by dyeing. The minimum color fastness rating required for fibers in many applications is 4 – 5 (BS 1006) and ratings in the range of 4 – 6 are normal. However, polypropylene fiber is colored during production by pigmentation – often called ‘dope dyeing’ or ‘melt dyeing’. The pigments used for polypropylene fibers give very good light fastness ratings of 7 and higher.

Dyeability
Since polypropylene molecular chains have no polar functional groups (active sites for chemical bonds, or dyesites) and relatively high crystallinity (50-65%), dye molecules cannot be chemically attracted to the fibers. Adsorbed dye molecules which interact with the fiber surface by weak van der Waal’s force are easily washed away because of polypropylene’s hydrophobic properties. However, polypropylene fiber is dope-dyed (spun-dyed) by the manufacturer in virtually unlimited color choices.

Chemical and dry-cleaning resistance
Polypropylene has the best resistance of any common fiber to the action of most types of chemicals and is attacked only by the most aggressive acids and oxidizing agents. Although this excellent chemical resistance may be needed only infrequently it is of value in certain industrial applications. However, some chemicals, although not attacking the polypropylene itself, may destroy the color. The fiber is unaffected by most acids, alkalis, and salts.

Effect of Acids
Excellent resistance to most acids except chlorosulphonic and concentrated sulfuric acid.

Effect of Alkalis
Excellent resistance with the exception of some oxidizing agents.

Effect of Bleaches and Solvents
Excellent resistance. However, chlorinated hydrocarbons cause swelling at room temperature and dissolve polypropylene at 71 °C. and higher. Certain solvents, particularly halogenated solvents, are absorbed by polypropylene and swell it. Thus the properties are changed in the presence of the solvent but are regained when the solvent evaporates. While the fiber is softened by the solvent, shrinkage can occur if the fiber has not been annealed. This can happen during dry cleaning and hence it is important that polypropylene fibers, yarns or fabrics, intended for use in applications where dry cleaning will be used, are heat-annealed to prevent complaints in service. Chlorine bleach can be used as a cleaning agent without fading the color nor degrading the fabric.

Abrasion resistance
The abrasion resistance of fibers, unlike some other properties such as tenacity or modulus, is not a fundamental property and hence comparisons between the abrasion resistance of fibers are only useful if they truly represent performance in the application in question and are carried out on fabrics of identical construction. The abrasion resistance of polypropylene approaches that of nylon and is superior to that of other fibers, and is good even when wet.
The good abrasion resistance of polypropylene is well established both by independent tests and by service trials.

Flex
Excellent – recovers well from bending. Excellent low temperature flexibility.

Identification
Fiber is identified by fusing, shrinking, and curling away from a flame leaving a hard, round, dark-colored bead. Fiber floats on water and is soluble in hot toluene or xylene.