shade 60% Shade Cloth...Good Choice?

[Roguejim]

Our Summers here in southern Oregon are hot and dry, staying in the 90s a good part of the time. My plants will get direct sun from 9AM-3PM. Locally, I can buy 60% shade cloth, but I'm willing to buy online if there is a more optimum %. Any opinions?

 

[mrgrowguy]

I think mine is a 50%. The suns hits from 8am to 7pm or so. But they only get direct sunlight after 5pm which the angle of the rays is very gentle for direct light. so they like it a lot...
 
pic inc.
 

 

[Roguejim]

Thanks. I see you live in Orange County. Your Summer's are probably like ours here.

I found an older post I started on this topic. Some say that anything over 50% is too much for veggies, but you obviously have had success. Any flower drop?

 

[mrgrowguy]

It could be 60%, sorry, I forgot and I went to check, but I threw the wrapper away already. (I think it's 50% though)

Yes, very similar.
 
No, well there are a few flowers that don't set, but it's only a few. When I had the plants under the light indoors, given they were young, they dropped every flower. All but 3 actually, 1 CR and 2 Jalapenos.
 
Since I moved them outside, I would say over a hundred pods are set and growing, most very small still, but a lot. The DWC Carolina Reaper I have in that picture hasn't flowered since being put outside, but it alone has over a hundred flowers about to open now.  I have a thread that I am comparing soil to dwc - just for the hell of it. And I keep updating that if you want to see what ends up happening. I'd say they should be blooming almost all at once in the next week or two, I'll take pictures once they do. My comparison thread

 

[Roguejim]

I'm thinking I might want to suspend the cloth, flat, up over the plants from some sort of fencing stakes driven in the ground at the 4 corners of the raised bed.  I'd need to figure a way to lash the 4 corners of the cloth to the stakes so I can raise and lower it easily. 

 

[randyp]

      This setup wont get me on the cover of 'Better Homes and Gardens'but it works for me.The shade is 50% nylon,the posts have an eye-bolt attached with a hose clamp.Zip tie some quick connects to your eye-lets on the corners of your shade and you can unhook when you want to get full sun.Works great for hail storms.Tie rope to your stakes and anchor like you would a tent.
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[Roguejim]

Thanks.

 

[mrgrowguy]

Oh, I did want to add one more thing, now that we are having gusts of wind come through. The way that my cover is curved and how close it is to the house, it has been a godsend. The wind blows everything around in my backyard, empty pots and other gardening stuff flying every which way, but under the cloth - even a little (starter sized) pot did not even knock over.