Greenhouse Shade Cloth Video
This is the latest video in our series “The Greenhouse Minute”. Today’s topic is greenhouse shade cloth.
Greenhouse Shade Cloth
It seems to me that a lot of people struggle with the decision on which shade cloth is best for their greenhouse. I think they are way over complicating the issue. A greenhouse shade cloth is pretty much like stepping under a shade tree in the summer. You have felt the cooling pretty much right away when you do this. A shade cloth does pretty much the same thing. There are several different choices of material, but the differences are pretty basic. The woven shade cloth is the least expensive. It is a black color. It must be taped on the edges, or it will ravel. It is best used on the outside of the greenhouse. The next choice is a woven shade cloth. This will be intermediate in pricing. It is really nice, as it has some stretch and will not ravel, so the taping is not a necessity with this type. Although we do tape all of our edges so we can add grommets for simple installation. I personally prefer to use this with a greenhouse with automatic roof vents. The way we have always done it is to put the shade cloth on tight on the ends. As we near the vents, we don’t fasten the shade down as tight. We will go back for the next 3 or 4 days and adjust as needed. You want to make sure that there is no strain on the vents when they are trying to open. The next choice is the reflective shade cloth. This is the most expensive, but it is a good choice to use on the inside of a greenhouse. A lot of commercial growers like this for exterior applications as well. Probably the most common question I get is – what percentage should I use? The higher the percent, the more shade you will get. I have found through the years that a lot of orchid growers will prefer a 50% shade cloth. For general purpose growing, ie vegetables, annuals, etc, a 60% to 70% shade is typically used.
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