Experiences with shade cloth?

6 years ago

Crazy Colorado and its temperature swings! It's going to get into the upper 80s this week, which has got me wondering about getting a proper shade cloth for my garden greens this summer. I always mean to do this, and then forget and end up using old bedsheets for those scorching days.

So here's some questions:

1) Do you use shade cloth?

2) If so, what type and what percentage shade does it create? (30 or 50% or....?)

3) How long does it take to get shredded by wind or hail?

4) And finally, does it even make much of a difference for when your plants bolt?

Thanks! :)

Featured Answer

tomatoz1

6 years ago

I use Easy Gardener sunscreen fabric that says it's 75% shade (?) on each tomato cage. The fabric comes in rolls of 6'x20' so I cut it into 3'x3' squares and clothespinned each square on the CRW tomato cage to keep the hail away. I also use it for my pepper plants. When the tomato plant grows, I just move the fabric higher on the cage. The sunscreen usually gets removed around August - though last year we had hail in August.

I first purchased the fabric at Lowe's when you had to buy it by the foot from their long roll. It now comes pre-cut. It seems quite expensive - unless you've been hit by hail numerous times and lost your whole slew of pepper plants. I'm guessing the fabric has lasted at least 5-6 years, though some of the old stuff is starting to shed.

Using sunscreen fabric is an essential part of my gardening plans. This year I'm hoping to make some sort of wire circle around my rhubarb that seems to get hailed on too many times in the summer, and then cover it with the fabric.

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Comments (6)

popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I am no vegetable growing expert. But I do use shade cloth on my tomato bed, believe it or not. I feel that the sun is just too intense and was frying the foliage. And yes, I will take it off and put it back on under certain circumstances. So I may leave it off all morning then cover in the intense afternoon sun. I got it from Greenhouse Megastore and it looks like it's "50-70%" Not sure why there is such a range, but that's what it is. I also cover my entire deck with shade cloth (it's the coolaroo things from Costco) and most annuals seem to love it.

I have never had any problems with hail on the deck other than a big hail storm will weigh down the cloth and it will hang very low until it melts.
Jerry (Broomfield CO 5)
6 years ago
I have not tried it but have been told that pepper plants may benefit.

When I was researching, it seemed that 30% shading was best.
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Jerry (Broomfield CO 5)
6 years ago
Laura,

I went and looked up the cloth I added to my list at Amazon when I was looking at shade cloth. It is at the higher end of its price range right now at $47. It was down to $33 March 12-16. I would wait for below $40 at least. I use the keepa add-on to chrome to track amazon item prices. You can set it up to email you when the price falls to the target you set.

This stuff is 40% which is close to ideal according to the field test research I had found at the time.

just search for
1. Agfabric 40% Sunblock Shade Cloth with Grommets for Garden Patio, Black (10x20ft)
Laura (Z5a Fort Collins, Colorado)
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for your thoughts, all!

I wish I'd waited a little longer to see your post on cost, Jerry. Ah, well!

I ended up getting the 50% shade cloth, as it's going over the leafy greens and not sun loving tomatoes. (Though now I'm curious if shaded toms do better? Maybe I'll have to experiment.)

So to clarify -- shade cloth can survive hailstorms and can even be used to PROTECT plants? I was assuming I'd have to roll it up when dark clouds threatened....
ZachS. z5 Platteville, Colorado
6 years ago
I've used weed fabric to prevent sunscald on my peppers before. Some varieties just don't grow big enough leaves to protect the fruit (chilacas and poblanos are some of my worst offenders). I've never had a problem with tomatoes before, though.

I don't know about shade cloth, but I do know that weed fabric (which I have also used as hail protection, frost protection, helping to harden off plants, pretty much everything besides it's intended use) will generally stand up to hail. The problem is the wind. The stuff will take off hither and yon even at slightest breeze, so the big winds we get with the storms send them flying.