Shade cloth percentage

From: "Cooper, Susan L." SLCooper at scj.com> on 2002.05.20 at 15:12:08(8830) Hi, I'm wondering what percentage shade cloth people are using. I suppose there is a difference depending on where you live and what you grow, but I'd like to get some ideas..... This is for a shade house in USDA zone 5, growing mostly Amorphophallus. It will either cover 3mil PP or stand alone. Thanks!! Susan

From: "Clarence Hammer" chammer at cfl.rr.com> on 2002.05.20 at 18:19:57(8832) 73% is the most common here I think, and was also in central Texas. Sometimes that alone isn't enough, depending on what you're growing. Also, I have long ago gotten away from the 'commercial' black color, as it transmits too much heat, altho you can counter this by raising the cloth slightly above the greenhouse cover. 3 mil PP -- this doesn't sound near thick and strong enough. 6 mil is as thin as I go, and if not UV treated even it will only last a few months here in full sun. UV will last 3 to 5 years. Russ. +More >I'm wondering what percentage shade cloth people are using...... cover with 3mil PP or stand alone. >Susan

From: "Cooper, Susan L." SLCooper at scj.com> on 2002.05.20 at 19:26:18(8834) Thanks Russ. What color are you using? I see there are now green and white shade cloths too. I should have mentioned that this is only for summer growing and not for a year-around greenhouse. I'm doing this for 2 reasons: to extend my growing period (still can't plant things out here in WI) and to provide shade, as my yard has zero trees! :) I guess I'll have to take your advice about the PP next year :( Susan +More -----Original Message----- Sent: Monday, May 20, 2002 1:20 PM To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L Subject: Re: Shade cloth percentage 73% is the most common here I think, and was also in central Texas. Sometimes that alone isn't enough, depending on what you're growing. Also, I have long ago gotten away from the 'commercial' black color, as it transmits too much heat, altho you can counter this by raising the cloth slightly above the greenhouse cover. 3 mil PP -- this doesn't sound near thick and strong enough. 6 mil is as thin as I go, and if not UV treated even it will only last a few months here in full sun. UV will last 3 to 5 years. Russ. >I'm wondering what percentage shade cloth people are using...... cover with 3mil PP or stand alone. >Susan

From: "brian williams" pugturd50 at hotmail.com> on 2002.05.20 at 23:29:48(8835) Here in Louisville, KY zone 6. We can get temperatures from -20f all the way up to 103f. The temperature makes it very hard to grow many aroids. I uses a 50% shade cloth on top of the greenhouses during the summer but in the winter it comes off, as the days are shorter and I need to capture as much heat as I can threw the winter days. +More _________________________________________________________________ Join the world?s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com

From: Angel Morales angel151 at earthlink.net> on 2002.05.21 at 04:33:33(8836) Hey Susan, excuse my ignorance on the subject of shade clothes, but, I was wondering what you meant by mil & pp? -- Angel151@earthlink.net

From: "Cooper, Susan L." SLCooper at scj.com> on 2002.05.21 at 15:37:42(8837) mil has to do with the thickness of the plastic. I think a mil is one thousandth of an inch. So as mil number gets higher, plastic (or paper, or whatever) gets thicker. PP is Polypropylene film. LOL- if you type mil into the MSN search engine- the first hit is a Department of Defense Network Information Center. BTW (by the way) Angel, I don't know anything about shade cloths either, that's why I was asking. Susan +More Hey Susan, excuse my ignorance on the subject of shade clothes, but, I was wondering what you meant by mil & pp? -- Angel151@earthlink.net

From: "Michael Pascall" mickpascall at hotmail.com> on 2002.05.22 at 03:52:25(8844) A 'mil' would be a millimeter , one thousandth of a meter . A 'thou' is a thousandth of an inch , a big difference . Michael Pascall, WHYANBEEL ARBORETUM,F.N.Q,AUSTRALIA +More _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com

From: "Cooper, Susan L." SLCooper at scj.com> on 2002.05.22 at 15:35:11(8849) That is what I thought intuitively. I got my definition from the web (just goes to show you everything you read isn't correct). But if mil is millimeter, wouldn't 7 or 8 mil be really thick plastic??? (Just looking at my ruler) Susan +More A 'mil' would be a millimeter , one thousandth of a meter . A 'thou' is a thousandth of an inch , a big difference . Michael Pascall, WHYANBEEL ARBORETUM,F.N.Q,AUSTRALIA

From: Ron McHatton rmchatton at photocircuits.com> on 2002.05.22 at 16:07:30(8850) Susan: The measurement of plastic films in mils in the US refers to thousandths of an inch. A 7 mil film is .007 inch thick. The same thing is true in the US with other measurements in mils. The spec on the distributor points in your car (if it has a distributor) or the spark plug gap is measured in thousandths and expressed as mils. Its confusing, since in other parts of the world, Michael is right mil would refer to millimeters. Ron McHatton +More -----Original Message----- From: Cooper, Susan L. [SMTP:SLCooper@scj.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2002 11:35 AM To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L Subject: RE: Shade cloth percentage That is what I thought intuitively. I got my definition from the web (just goes to show you everything you read isn't correct). But if mil is millimeter, wouldn't 7 or 8 mil be really thick plastic??? (Just looking at my ruler) Susan A 'mil' would be a millimeter , one thousandth of a meter . A 'thou' is a thousandth of an inch , a big difference . Michael Pascall, WHYANBEEL ARBORETUM,F.N.Q,AUSTRALIA

From: IntarsiaCo at aol.com on 2002.05.22 at 20:42:29(8852) In a message dated 5/20/2002 11:13:29 AM Eastern Daylight Time, SLCooper@scj.com writes: 3mil PP I didn't know that polypropylene (PP) was used for greenhouse coverings. The most common material used is polyethylene (PE), less so polyurethane (PU). Mark Mazer Intarsia Ltd. +More www.therapyshapes.com Gaylordsville, Connecticut, U.S.A. Araceae, Paris, Cape Bulbs USDA Zone 5 Giant Schnauzer Rescue

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