Measuring Bed Temperatures Under Clear and Opaque Plastics

As most people in the berry industry, I believe quite strongly that there is a lot of variation in strawberry bed temperatures.  Sides that face the sun longer tend to be warmer and those that don't are cooler.  This consequently has an effect on plant growth, and what's more there is good reason to believe that this can also have a bearing on disease severity in an infested field.

Problem is that this hasn't really been thoroughly tested.  Thanks to a local grower and a research company loaning me their equipment, I have an opportunity to thoroughly test the above.  We have green plastic compared to transparent, and then I am placing Hobo dataloggers at 2" and 6" deep 5" away from the bed shoulders. The loggers will stay put for the duration of the season.

Check back in December!

Getting ready to bury the datalogger 6 inches deep. Ruler is to make certain the depth is correct.

Data logger placed in the hole. Soil is filled back in and tamped down.

Plastic is sealed back up; using clear Gorilla tape to interfere as little as possible with the plastic.

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