Row cover, window mesh, tulle, what do you use?

I'm about to plant out some cabbages, cauliflower and lettuce, all under plastic.
Once it gets warm, I will want to switch to some form of netting.
I have some  nylon windows screen, but I've never seen that used.
I see some people here  use tulle, but I'm not sure if that's because of cost, availability, durability, or some other reason.
What, if anything do you use?

Hi William, Quick question... what is the purpose of putting something over your brassicas? I planted out all my cabbages, broccoli, cauliflowers etc. about a month ago . It had been still going down to the upper 30s and low 40s every night. They love the cold. It doesn't go below 30* here very often but we do get a few snowstorms in the winter. And they love the snow too. So what are you trying to achieve by covering them?

I have a bunch of 10' tunnels that I made out of 5' wide wire fencing. I have covered it with screen material some summers for a little shade and/or to keep out flea beetles. I've covered them in bird netting many summers because the birds loved my brassicas. But about a dozen species of birds flew away in the fall of 2020. They were the ones that adored my broccoli so I don't need to protect them any more. A few summers when they were in a particularly hot area I covered them with shade cloth. It worked well for my purpose.

So, what are you trying to achieve? Please let us know.

Debbie Ann, I just tried to overwinter some brassica, but they died back.
Other years I've overwintered cold hardy greens under translucent plastic, and they grew the entire time.
Because of this, I thought covering up young plants would be a good idea.

I originally built wire mesh/bicycle rim frames to hold the plastic, but they  made accessing the plants too difficult.
We do get birds, rodents, and possums.
I'm more concerned with insect damage from white butterfly larva.

My current design is just a frame that plastic or netting can be drapped over and secured with bungee cord.
Most of these beds are roughly 24" in diameter, but I will want to do others that are  40 to 48" on a side.

Growing cold crops here in Arizona is a hit or miss thing. Spring and fall only last for about 2-4 weeks. In the fall it's best to start seeds in August and plant the seedlings out at the end of September. Then I can be eating cauliflower etc by November before it gets too cold.  But it's seriously hard to get seeds to germinate when it's still 110*! Some years it works, some not so much. Sometimes they decide to germinate in October. Then I plant them out anyway and they will happily grow SLOWLY all winter long. They love the snow. Come spring I have a 50/50 chance that they will just bolt. Some years the cabbages bolt and other years it's the broccoli! Luckily, I've always gotten something. These pictures are from a few years ago when I got lots of broccoli.

I started my brassicas on January 1st in my greenhouse this year so I am right on schedule. Hopefully I'll get a good crop before it gets too hot now that the birds are gone.

I like the tunnels that I made because I can just lift them up out of the way or roll them to one side. I have found that the screen material works quite well. It gives a little shade, keeps most of the bugs out, I attach it with clothespins and it holds up for several years. But I did just hear about tulle last year and I might just give that a try if I need to.
Happy gardening

Hi William, it's me again. For about 6 weeks now all of my brassicas have been enjoying our weather here. Days have been in the 50s and 60s and nights in the 30s and low 40s.

But a few days ago it went down to 29*! And I had a few cauliflower and a handful of Romanesque broccoli seedlings that  didn't make it. That has never happened to me before. Usually it's the bugs that take them down!

So I hope you didn't take my bad advice and you covered yours. I hope they are all still happy and thriving.