Hoop Tunnels to Shade Vegetables

A hoop tunnel can create instant shade to protect leafy greens and other cool-season vegetables from intense summer sun. Cover half hoops made of PVC pipe, stiff wire, or construction- or chicken-wire with shadecloth or light horticultural cloth to keep leafy crops from sun-burning.

What can I use as a cloche hoop?
How do I shade my vegetable garden?
How do you secure a cloche?
What does cloche mean?
How do you build low tunnels?
What do you cover vegetable garden with?
What plastic is used for low tunnels?
What is the best shade cloth for vegetables?
What is the best Colour shade cloth for vegetable garden?
When should I shade my vegetable garden?

What can I use as a cloche hoop?

To make tunnel cloches wire hoops can be purchased or made from thick wire or bendable plastic pipe to straddle the whole bed. 10-12 bar irrigation hose, available from agricultural merchants, can also be used for this purpose.

How do I shade my vegetable garden?

Shade cloth comes in different coverages. A percentage of 40-60% shade cloth is good for vegetables during the summer. Do not allow the shade cloth to touch the plants; 2-3 feet clearance is best to allow air to circulate around plants. Attach shade cloth to existing trellises with zip ties.

How do you secure a cloche?

Attach the clear plastic sheeting to form the cover. Cut a piece of clear poly wide enough to cover the hoops and long enough so that is extends about 18” beyond each end of the cloche. Set the sheeting over the frame and fasten it to the hoops at each end with a few staples. Put a few staples into the ridge as well.

What does cloche mean?

1 : a bell- or dome-shaped cover: a : a glass or plastic cover used to protect small outdoor plants from frost also : a similar cover used indoors to display or protect ornamental objects.

How do you build low tunnels?

How to Construct a Low Tunnel

Prepare the bed, by rototilling or, more preferably, aerating and loosening the soil with a spading fork. ...
Using a stud bar, drive a 12-inch deep hole into the ground at the corner of the bed. ...
Create another 12-inch deep hole at the opposite side of the bed.

What do you cover vegetable garden with?

Of course, the main way to protect plants from frosts is to cover them. Cover Your Plants: Generally, covering plants to create a temporary pocket of warmer air is the best way to protect them. Bed sheets, drop cloths, blankets and plastic sheets make suitable covers for vulnerable plants.

What plastic is used for low tunnels?

Low tunnels are temporary structures that are approximately 4 feet tall and 3 to 6 feet wide. Hoops constructed of wire (9-gauge) or pipe (metal or plastic) can be used to support row cover spunbond fabric or polyethylene plastic to create a mini greenhouse over the crops.

What is the best shade cloth for vegetables?

Usually a shade percentage of 30-50% is ideal for vegetables, while 80-90% is ideal for sheltering people. Most plants will do best with a maximum of 40% - 60% shade. However, when growing some shade loving plants such as orchids and some ferns, 75% or higher maybe needed to get correct light levels.

What is the best Colour shade cloth for vegetable garden?

Green knitted shade cloths with a 30% density is ideal for a vegetable garden. Letting in the ample amount of light and heat to promote vegetable growth.

When should I shade my vegetable garden?

Vegetables like tomatoes, peppers – both sweet and hot, eggplant, lettuce, spinach, along with herbs like cilantro, all benefit from a little shade, especially in the sunny, hotter afternoons of mid to late spring through late summer or even early fall.