Greenhouse Shade

 

To give your plants and seedlings the best chance, you think you need to  set your greenhouse up somewhere that gets lots of sunshine, plenty of natural daylight and that is protected from harsh winds and frost pockets.

While the purpose of greenhouses is to keep plants warm, overheating can bring about an array of problems. Increased susceptibility to insects, higher risk of disease, reduced yields and lower crop quality are just a few of the issues extreme temperatures can cause.

Ventilation and cooling the greenhouse which really ramps up those summer temperatures becomes a necessity very quickly as we go from late spring into summer, so our options are:

Opening roof vents either manually or mechanically, On my greenhouse when the wind took an opening vent for a fly during a named storm, I replaced it with a Loft Conversion and solar powered fans to provide ventilation.

Leave the door open, but I put in a mesh panel to keep the cats and squirrels etc. out of the greenhouse.  

Use shading compounds are materials that are brushed, rolled or sprayed onto the glazing. Shade paints are a quick and cost-effective way of filtering out some of the sunlight's strength.

Employ external shading or internal shading such as Debris Netting. Black nylon shade cloth hung on the exterior of the greenhouse is another shade cloth option

External Blinds give shade and also provide the maximum cooling effect by preventing the sun's rays from passing through the glass. In periods of dull weather they can be easily drawn up again to allow maximum light on to plants.

I’ve also seen bamboo beach mats used externally to provide shading.

Paving slabs on the floor of the greenhouse, retain heat during cold weather which is beneficial, however in warmer weather it’s a good idea to cool these heat retaining elements down with cold water and reduce their capacity to absorb and retain heat.