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marashipley

Easiest way to put up shade cloth?

marashipley
9 years ago

Hello,

I'm a relatively new gardener, and I have a very small (4' by 6') organic garden in zone 7a, which has very hot summers beginning in June. Since the temperatures are in the 90s most of the summer once it really heats up in June, I was thinking of putting up 40% shade cloth and just leaving it up for the duration of the summer. Or maybe 30%. Either way, I was hoping some of you helpful folks could answer a few of my questions if you're able.

1. There are no trees or structures around my garden, so I'm going to have to put up some hoops or poles to hold up the shade cloth. As I mentioned, my garden is 4' by 6', and I'd like the shade cloth to be 6.5' to 7' high, since I have tomatoes that end up getting pretty tall. I'm having trouble finding plans for PVC hoops that are that tall, that also fit a 4' by 6' garden. Plus, hoops seem like more work than just putting up 4 posts, and also since the plants are already in, I think putting PVC hoops inside the garden might disturb the roots. So, can anyone tell me the easiest/cheapest way to put four 7' posts in my yard (non-permanent)? Would rebar and PVC pipe work as posts? Obviously I have no idea what I'm doing.
2. If there isn't really an easy/cheap/non-permanent way to put four posts up, could someone tell me how I would do 7' hoops with PVC pipes in a 4' by 6' garden?
3. Does anyone have a good recommendation about the best/cheapest 6' wide grommeted shade cloth? I've only found rolls of it that are really really long, but I don't need very much. I know I'll end up with more of it than I need no matter what, but I certainly don't need 100 feet of it.

Sorry this is so long. I'd really appreciate any advice at all. Thanks!

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