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Value of shade growing veges in summer

Grub80
Making a Splash

Value of shade growing veges in summer

Hi all, thought I would share of my learnings of the value of shade this summer and the photos. Im picking about 4kgs of tomatoes every 3-4 days off 8 plants. I tend to leave the old leaves on for protection. I’ve  tried to not use any sprays or dust this year. But the odd Tom gets eaten, but well worth the sacrifice. Got one today though 👍

 

the 1st photo shows the plants in full sun, I’ve left these to see how they go. They are a different variety, Roma’s, but I’m picking fruit today and will have some to go.

 

for all of you that have grown Veges this summer and have had results, Well Done. I think anyone deserves a medal in this extreme summer heat.Full sun, no shadeFull sun, no shadeGot one!Got one!Still flowering and fruitingStill flowering and fruiting 

Isobel
Amassing an Audience

Re: Value of shade growing veges in summer

What's in the tomato @Grub80? Is it a grub?

 

Great job with the canopy, it looks fantastic. 

Re: Value of shade growing veges in summer

Thanks Isobel, the hoop house has been the best thing that I have made for my vege garden. As to the ‘grub’ is not a selfie 😂🤣 but a green pesky caterpillar 🐛 

Re: Value of shade growing veges in summer

@Grub80 I know this is an old post but came across it while looking for something else. I made something similar but with frost sheeting for my garden to protect from the winter.
Did you glue this to keep it permanent? I had a few issues with mine with the horrible winds we get here. I need to make mine so I can pull it back down each year as it's in my front garden.

Cheers
This old gal

Re: Value of shade growing veges in summer

Hi @Old-gal24 @the hoop house is a semi permanent structure. Please search the garden section for home made hoop house. There are a lot more photos, and a great description of how we built the structure. Hope this helps, because my vegetables have never looked better. Regards, Leanne

Re: Value of shade growing veges in summer

Re: Value of shade growing veges in summer

Thank you for your reply @Grub80  much appreciated.

 

Old Gal

Adam_W
Workshop Legend

Re: Value of shade growing veges in summer

Great work @Grub80 you've actually brought up an interesting point that isn't often discussed - the value of shade for summer veggie gardens.
There are so many articles & blogs & posts out there that give the impression that you can just whack veggies in the ground, walk away & come back a month later to harvest baskets of produce...
Fact is that a good veggie garden needs attention & for many of us that means shade in summer. This reduces water loss but also physical sun damage to both plants & fruit.
Worth noting too that there are different % grades of shade cloth including one specifically designed for plant cover. It has a 50% light transmission rate so this is enough to cut UV intensity while still allowing quality growth without stretching. These 50% cloths are generally only in white or green with white the best for seedlings and veggies etc. while green is suitable for all plants.
There has been some research done & apparently the different colours change the type of light waves that makes it through & this can impact on flowering, fruiting and growth.
Note too that for a shade-house or fern-house you generally wouldn't use 50%. You'd look at heavier grades. I think I've about 80% on mine as I grow a lot of shade-lovers in there.

bluemoonskye
Building a Reputation

Re: Value of shade growing veges in summer

Do you slide it open at any time throughout the growing season?

thx

bluemoonskye
Building a Reputation

Re: Value of shade growing veges in summer

Hi

is it possible that someone has a set of photos & description of items used, to build this shade structure?

 

im more interested in a “how to” than a picture of the finished product 😊

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