Thoughts on Shade Cloth
 

What % is the norm? How much does it depend on your location?

I found some on the cheap, has anybody used this company before?

[url]http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/30-percent-black-bulk-shade-cloth/shade-material[/url]

Rajun, I think the location has a lot to do with what kind you want to use.

I have bought from Farmtek before and for a super deal, check out their remnants section. Cheap! Since they custom make units for big big greenhouses, they end up with lots of pieces like 10x60 and such. They list the availability on the website.

most in my region, which is similar to yours, growers use 40 or 50%

I've used 70% for the past 3 years, but my tomato patch is around 6,000 ft above sea level and my temps get over 100° very often with very very low humidity. My elevation causes higher solar radiation and the low humidity really kills the flowers, so the 70% shade cloth lowers temps up to 10° which enhances my chances for flowering a little bit. I install the shade cloth in June and take it off in early September. It saved me from some nasty hail this last season, although I was hit by a late hail storm in October.

Yes, I agree with the location part. Our local Walmart found out there's too many thunderstorms and high winds here. They took it down and didn't replace it.

The greenhouse mega store is fine.
If you look hard you will also find good starter pots too just make shure you get the higher priced extruded plastic not the vacuum formed.

Greenhouse megastore is reliable and has a great many useful items to garden growers. Just be sure to check out shipping cost when ordering. Not saying it is high, just something that must be considered.

I used a ground cover for 2 years.I found that water does not soak though fast enough so your plants re not going to get the water they need unless it rains for hours.I have now gone to straw at least 6 to 12 inches deep.You have few weeds and the straw breaks down and goes into the soil.Great thing is water penetration and plenty of worms.

If I could keep Bermuda from taking over I'd use straw/mulch, but since it was obviously created by Satan just to torture me I have to use plastic and this year I'm adding 6oz weed fabric to my paths and all around my garden.

I used commercial landscape fabric between my rows this year and it eliminated about 95% of my weeding. I'm sold on it.

Do bees move about freely under the shade cloth?

I've bought the hail netting from megastore for next years garden and will be covering an area 12x24 and the netting will be 8ft off the ground.

The bees will come but it seems to me when they leave that they always fly up and usually get to the top and just buzz around till they die, some do make it out. It would be better to have just a cover and not any plastic or shade cloth below the roof line.

Tried it and abandoned
 

Used 40% at 6,000 feet in the Northern Rockies and decided that I did not need it so I have a 20' by ? shade cloth.

Whoose, interesting. Can you say why you were using it and why it didn't work?

It just Didn't
 

Nothing seemed to grow properly, long Lankly little blossoms and little fruit, esp tomato plants. Changed out the top fiberglass with new clear and lost the shade cloth, great results. I originally used the cloth to lower the temp but it really did not do a good job. More vent fans did that trick.

Not sure why but what I grow now really is nice.