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Shade Cloth
My current veggie area is in one of the worst places possible for our desert heat on the east of our house with no shade. I am planning to plant a tree in the middle eventually, but in the meantime want to get some shade netting. Does anyone have any words of wisdom on this? Is it sold at regular stores and is it pricey does anyone know? I am on a pretty strict budget. Thanks all!
Michelle.
Michelle.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Nichol on -
Seems like I spent $25 on an 6'x25' roll. You'll need some kind of support for it and that could add up. How big is your garden?
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Permalink Reply by Michelle on -
The entire space is about 20 feet by 20 but there are beds in that area of about a foot across and several feet long. I already have a kind of structure that I could attach the netting to. Where did you get yours from? Thank you!
Michelle.
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Permalink Reply by Rachel on -
I have bought it from Home Depot, they carry it outside in the garden section. If you wanted to avoid the box stores, I would think that any nursery would also have it.
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Permalink Reply by TCarmichael on -
Be careful of the density of the screen. I tried this for tomatoes and bought 80% shade screen at Home Depot and it blocked too much sun. You really need something like 50%, which I only found online (have no idea where, but just google it).
Really, what is better than shade screen is to plant a shade plant like corn, or my favorite, okra. Okra grows into TREES and creates a wonderful canopy/shade effect. Plant it on the west side of your garden so it throws shade as the sun heads west and is at it's strongest. You could also plant a row in the middle of your garden patch for more shade (to experiment, put a tall pole up in the ground and see how your shade falls).
Also, when you put a "tent" of shade screen up the monsoon will catch it like a kite. Even if you anchor it's poles in concrete and staple the heck out of the screen to the poles you'll still watch it and cringe during the winds.
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Permalink Reply by Michelle on
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Thanks everyone! Great information. I will look for some okra "tree" seeds to get planted asap, and in the meantime manage with some netting.
Michelle
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Permalink Reply by tenacity on -
HD also sells those burlap sheets - 8x8 - that landscapers use to tote yard clippngs. I've used them for shade in all sorts of ways - they were 4$ apiece and last really well. I used 20 of them to make a shade canopy for my mom's driveway and it was awesome.
I'm glad to hear about the okra - I'm going to try that, too.
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Permalink Reply by TCarmichael on
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Gardener's Supply has a shade tent set-up for small gardens for sale on their website. They don't say what % of shade cloth it is, but I'm sure a call could tell you.
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Permalink Reply by Ryan Wood on -
Baker Nursery in Phoenx has 60% shade cloth (black) on a roll that is 12' wide and sells by the length for $9.39 a yard.
Baker Nursery
www.bakernurseryaz.com
3414 N 40th St
Phoenix, AZ 85018
(602) 955-4500
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer on -
Just a side note about shade cloth v vegetaion-as-shade (and this is something I learned in the master gardener class....) - apparently the shade cloth also keeps heat trapped below it (which is contrary to what I thought but makes sense). Vegetation (unless very dense) allows heat and air to pass through. It is also transpiring and puts moisture into the air, plus it's pretty and it's edible (depending on what you plant).
I also read somewhere that our native desert trees with their filtered shade offer more cooling than denser trees, which again, hold heat under them because of a denser leaf canopy. When I find the source again, I'll put it on here.
Jen
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Permalink Reply by Ryan Wood on
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Because the shade cloth is temporary, we didn't want to use grommets so we got a pack of Butterfly Clips. We will see how they hold up to the 35-40 mph wind gusts forecasted for today and tomorrow :-)
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Permalink Reply by Paul Daniel on -
Hi.
I have located a wholesaler of shade cloth. I can get 55% shade cloth for $5 per yard (12 foot wide).
The catch is that I have to buy a minimum of 100 yards. I only need 25 Yards.
If I can find enough people willing to commit to buy the other 75 yards... We could make a bulk purchase.
Let me know... just email me at paulwindrider@cox.net ASAP. We only have a week off before the hot weather hits again.
As for hanging it, I put eye hooks ($1 each) in the eaves of my house, and ran 5 ropes to the block fence. I attached the ropes to the fence with hooks made to hold bicycles from the rafter of the garage (no drilling needed - $2 each).
Currently, I have tarps up to shade the garden on the 100+ days we've had. I use zip ties to attach the tarps to the ropes. I can move the tarps out of the way like a curtain when not in use.
I want to switch to shade cloth before the heat comes back.
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