that small of an area you could rigg up some shade cloth over them.

40% Aluminet is very good for shading. It diffuses the light very well and cuts down the energy input ~15%. Hard to find locally but abundant online. Very lightweight and strong.

Watering poted tomatoes 3 times a day with some type of timer based drip system is also recommended in the SoCal valleys. Any amount of breeze will wick all the moisture out.

Is Aluminet like metal shadecloth? Is it expensive?

We just ordered some white 40% shadecloth to put over our tomatoes and peppers. Is that a good type to use? I don't want to cut out the sun altogether, but want to make sure the plants get some sun. I'm not sure how we should go about rigging the shadecloth.

Thanks,

Vivian

I was advised to use some kaolin clay (Surround WP) to lower heat stress on tomatoes. I haven't be able to locate small amount of that brand(1-5 lb) to try it yet.

Aluminet is metalized HDPE. It is similar to ultra thin Mylar. Strands are knit into a loose fabric and the knit pattern determines the shading %.

Nothing wrong with regular shade cloth. It gets the job done just fine.

The real big advantage Aluminet has is the weight and lower density of knitting compared to regular shade cloth. I'm able to just drape it over the the cages when needed.

It does cost about 50% more than shade cloth.