Tips for Choosing a Shade Cloth for Crops

Sunlight can be quite damaging to crops especially if you are farming in an area where there is high exposure. Also there are certain crops that grow better with less sunlight. In these situations, it is best to use a shade cloth. You can actually select a shade cloth depending on the percentage of shading so that you can choose the right conditions for the crop you are planting.

It is important to understand how the shade cloth works and how you can benefit from it.

These can help regulate the temperature around your crops. And they do so by decreasing the intensity of sunlight. When you use Empak shade clothes, you can prevent the crops from being exposed to heat stress especially during the scorching summer. In addition to heat stress, being exposed to direct sunlight can cause certain plants to be sun burned and you can use a shade cloth to act as a barrier in this situation. Your crops will also be protected from harmful UV radiation. Consider the shading percentage of the shade cloth when you are selecting it. You can find shade cloths with a percentage of about 30 to 90. And this will give you a good idea of how much sunlight is filtered out. You need to consider the needs of the crops you have along with the local climate when selecting the right percentage.

If your plants need partial shade, you can look for a shade cloth that offers 30-50% shade.

This is an ideal situation for spinach and lettuce. However, 60-70% can suit a large range of crops whether you are planting fruits, herbs or flowers. But some tend to have very sensitive plants that require low light conditions to grow such as orchids and in this situation, it is best to go for a shade cloth providing 80-90% shade. Another thing you need to remember is that you can actually use more than one shade cloth with different shading percentages especially if you have different types of crops in the garden. It is important to look for shade cloths that have UV stabilisation. This ensures a more lasting solution as the shade cloth will not deteriorate or lose its protective properties with time. You will have to replace it one day but you will be able to use it for more than one season especially if you select a shade cloth of high quality materials.

Two of the materials

You will come across when choosing shade cloth are polypropylene and polyethylene. Polyethylene is durable and has good UV resistance and you can use it for a long time even in harsh weather conditions. Polypropylene is lightweight and it is a breathable material that can offer good ventilation especially if you have heat sensitive crops. Consider the installation method for the shade cloth. A more permanent solution will be needed if you are using the shade cloth year round. You can construct a shade structure and then have the cloth frame attached to the frame. But for seasonal use, you can drape the shade cloth over the plant so that it is easy to remove it.