What are folks' thoughts on using shade cloth inside a greenhouse, vs. outside? I have just moved the orchids from a very small, double-glazed glass greenhouse into a much larger, triple-wall polycarbonate greenhouse. Both greenhouses were/are even span, had/have a ridge vent and used/use evaporative cooling, hot water heating. The new greenhouse has a shutter and a Kool-Cel evaporative pad setup in one gable end, which can be used as a source of fresh air in addition to, or instead of, the ridge vent.
For the smaller greenhouse, I suspended Aluminet reflective shade cloth above the greenhouse. Because of its small size, this was not only easy to do but necessary; there was no extra headroom to devote to it! The new greenhouse is quite high, and it would be simpler to suspend the Aluminet inside the greenhouse, a couple of feet below the peak, and a couple of feet above the plants; this would also protect it from high winds, which can be expected in coastal New England. I now live in coastal Rhode Island. I will depend upon the shade cloth to reduce both the light level and the temperature. Most of the new greenhouses I've visited recently seem to favor internal shade cloth. What are your experiences? How is this decision shaped by the transmission properties of polycarbonate? --Lisa Thoerle, pleurothallidiot from Little Compton, RI -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
