Shading for the plants

Learning when and how to shade my plants was for me the most difficult phase of greenhouse operation. You can purchase various shading compounds (one called Garlands is preferred by many growers). Cement, liquefied with a mixture of water and linseed oil and diluted until it is just thick enough to adhere to glass, seems to work best for me. I brush it on the glass with an old broom extended by a stick fastened to the handle. This shading holds for the summer, even through hard rains, and a small amount adheres during the winter. By spring, when I give the greenhouse the annual housecleaning, the shading has about disappeared and the glass is ready for another coat.

Another effective method is to use slatted shading which rolls up and down like porch shades. Layers of tobacco cloth fastened inside the house also are helpful. Avoid linseed oil in any shading mixture intended for use on plastic houses. It is difficult to remove, as there is a chemical reaction between the plastic and the oil so that the shading “sinks in,” becoming part of the plastic. Houses of polyethylene plastic can be shaded with layers of tobacco cloth or cheesecloth fastened on the inside as well as by plastic screens inside or slat shading on the outside.

One orchid grower places strips of lath about 6 inches above the glass for both shading and cooling. Tinted shading may blend with the paint on your home but white shading is best, since it reflects more heat while allowing more light to pass through. If you use cloth, it can be placed outside as well as inside for cooling and shading. In fact any type of shading used outside, but with an air space between the shading and the glass, will help you operate your greenhouse more economically.

Tags: home greenhouse

Kindly consider linking to this article by just copying and pasting the code below on your website/blog ( press Ctrl+C to copy the entire code). The text link will look on your website like this: Shading for the plants

<a href="http://www.home-greenhouse-profits.com/shading-for-the-plants.html">Shading for the plants</a>