Durring the hotest parts of summer there are many crops that do not fare very well. The overwhelming heat can cause reduced prodcution, make plants more suceptable to dieses and can simply kill man crops. There is a solution that will help keep the temeratures down and help extend the life of many crops durring the summer, and that is Shade Cloth.
What is Shade Cloth?
Shade cloth is a relatively inexpensive material that blocks varying amounts of the suns light to help keep temperatures beneath the cloth lower than if the cloth was not there. The cloth is made out of various materials and can have a density that ranges from 10% sun blockage up to 100%..
Typically shade cloth can be found in brown, green and black colors. It is most frequently made of polyethylene that does not rot, mildew or become brittle from the elements, but can be found in more natural materials as well.
All shade cloth is woven in a permiable pattern to allow rain water or any irragation to reach the plants bellow.
How to Use Shade Cloth.
Shade cloths are simple to use. Many of them have brass grommets along the edges that help mount them to any type of pole or structure. The best placement for a shade cloth is one that will block the sun from around 11am-4pm (the hottest part of the day with the most direct sunlight).
The cloth can be mounted on top of a green house structure, a tee-pee, or a simple frame (as pictured above) made out of wood or PVC pipe. The shade cloth should be mounted about 12-24 inches above the plants that it is protecting. If the cloth gets close enough for the plants to touch it, it could burn the plant (the cloth will be absorbing a large amount of heat from the suns rays).
Why Use Shade Cloth?
Many crops can surrvive well into summer or even through out the entire year when shade cloth is added durring the hottest parts of the year. Durring the summer, the sun will be so intense that the reduction of light will not significantly reduce the growth and production of the crops being shadded by the cloth.
Another great advantage of shade cloth is that it is removable. A garden that is in a shady spot will almost always be in a shady spot, no matter what season it is. The shade cloth can be removed in cooler months to allow the growing season to be extended.
