Shading

Hi - I used 'Coolglass' - it's a powder that you mix with water and put it on with a brush on the outside of the greenhouse. It's working great and supposed to be taken off very easily.

 

Was thinking the same idea. Got in from work today and the little Mowgley must of shut the GH door when mum wasn't looking.
When I got in at 4pm from work it's was 43'c in there
Quickly got the hose out and cooled everything off.

 

I don't use anything ... can usually control the temperature with the vents, and door open when necessary ...

 

Ah, sorry, my comments weren't very constructive. My greenhouse is addictive ... slightly different to heroin though

The heat is already inside by then? Wind is an issue though ...

More vents ? Louvre low down in the back-wall, for example?

 

My back garden faces South and is quite a sun trap on the rare ocassions the sun arrives over Yorkshire, like this last couple of weeks where the thermometer has been crying Enough!
I've got the door open 24/7 currently, the wall vents open, both roof vents on auto open whatsits. Plus damp the floor from time to time.

Greenhouse is in said back garden and I'm not a fan of Coolglass I must admit, mainly because it makes the area look scruffy. So I drape a layer of horticultural fleece over my plants, especially if I have to water them early as the fleece keeps the direct sun off the plants and stops any water causing leaf burns.

I've got a straining wire across the back "walls" of the greenhouse about 12-15" above the benching which allows me to hang the fleece above the plants and drape it lightly over the plants to the front of the benching.

 

I have used a 45% poly shade cloth for several years. Fortunately, my greenhouse has a deck behind it and the cloth is easy to apply and remove. On warm sunny days I put it on about noon and remove it at four. On overcast days, and in early spring and fall the cloth is not necessary. In the summer, we get temperatures in the mid 90s at times, so the greenhouse would be an oven without the cloth. Link shows and example.

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/category/shade-cloth

 

I ought to get my light meter out on a sunny day and see what it reads above / under some scaffolders debris netting.

 

I have taken readings with the cloth in place and the meter pegs at 5000 plus footcandles.

 

Any idea how that compares with a reading in sunlight (within the greenhouse, thus allowing for the glass / plastic etc.) ? Just curious to know, if you happen to have a reading

 

Sorry, my meter only goes to 5,000 foot candles; tomatoes will fruit and flower with as little as 2,000.