Need to build some shade

[morgan]

When that Texas sun gets to blasting away, it can kill off not just greens but also beans, squash and pumpkins, sweet potatoes, . . . I notice a lot of plants do better when they are right up against a wall or a solid fence where they get partial shade. So that makes me think I should build some shade over some or all of the garden .

I am thinking like making a frame (use cheap wood, or maybe a PVC pipe construction) and wrap it in something like nylon window-screen material.

I'm looking for suggestions for materials that are cheap and easy to assemble. Durability against violent wind gusts is a plus.

[montanagarden]

I have some cheap bamboo blinds that I use over the lettuce beds... they cost $12 and they're about 45/72 inches? it's a good filtered light and then I put those plants where they get shade from the fence in the afternoon...

The violent wind gusts I can't help you with-we have them too and sometimes they still win the battle!

[ghostwriter]

If you use the pvc piping shove the post between 1.5 and 2 feet then fill with sand. It will help stabilize them.

[reavilh]

One year, we had used a bunch of tall wooden stakes to stake the tomatoes. It got really hot that year, and was burning the plants, no matter what we did. My wife got a bright idea, and it worked great. She had bought a bunch of sheets at a yard sale. wesimply drove a tack thru' the sheet into the stakes, and made them a lage tent, It was probably 20 degrees cooler under there, and saved that year's crop.

[hort stu]

You could get shade cloth which is pretty durable and reusable. Most horticultural/ greenhouse outlets should have it. Try this...

http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/Search?catalogId=10052&catalogId2=10001&ftCatalogId=10001&storeId=10001&langId=-1&division=FarmTek&searchMethod=wcSearch&searchType=ANY&searchBeginIndex=0&searchDefaultPerPage=10&ftSearchBeginIndex=0&ftSearchDefaultPerPage=10&searchQuery=shade+fabric

[Fritz]

Hello Morgan !
Light weight steel tubing, covered with a shade cloth is very wind durable, and gives great protection from the sun. This structure was built using 1" square tubing, with a 3/32" wall thickness. 70 mph. winds have not been a problem. The covered portion of this garden is
17" X 40". Trusses are on 10 ft. centers, with a lot of braces.
Material used:
28 bars 1" square tubing 24' long
12 used pipe 1 3/8" dia. 10 ft. long
12 bags ready mix concrete
1 shade cloth 20' X 40'
It took 3 days to complete ( not a professional), but it does still needs painting.
Good Luck
Fritz
2462

[Blanesgarden]

Morgan, while I was reading this....I thought you wanted to build a temporary shade, seasonal type?....my bad.
Like Corn to help shade.
it helps...but just for a few months.:o

[tuk50]

Morgan, it gets pretty hot here in Tucson and squash and asparagus pole beans love the heat and thrive. Maybe your problem is a lack of mulch and irrigation. Armenian cucumbers is another heat loving plant that will grow during the 100 plus days of june. Green Zebra and Bonnie Best are two tomatoes that will survive the heat and start setting again after the temps drop out of the 100's in late july. My swiss chard is about the only green that we like during the hottest part of the summer and it will do ok if started early and is large when the heat hits in june. I don't use shade because of our monsoons and the very strong gusts of wind that comes along with the storm cells that move through without notice. I do use sugar cane on the west side and always plant my rows running north and south. Mexican sunflower is another tall and thick plant that I use along with gourds on the west fence. The sunflowers also attract bees, butterflys and hummingbirds. Okra is of course a great veggie for the heat and it will provide some afternoon shade for shorter plants as well. It takes a little practice, but it is doable unless you want a more permanent structure. A lot of it is the timing of plantings and the varieties you plant. Above all don't get frustrated and enjoy... :cool:

[morgan]

Sugar cane - - isn't that a swamp plant? How do you grow it in Tucson - - just leave the water running all day?

I'm sure more water would help those squashes. There is no natural soil here so I bought enough to fill a raised bed about 9 inches deep. I pour water on - - it dries out a few seconds later - - I pour water on - - it dries out - - etc. I fear my raised bed is "well drained" . Maybe I should condition it with a boatload of coir or something to hold onto what water there is.

This year I mulched with the coffee filters that sometimes show up in the sacks of free grounds from Starbux, plus a whole lotta dried dead grass from the neighbor's lawn do-over project.

[GreyWing]

Morgan, I recently built several pvc shade structures and am very happy with the result. I'll post a couple of pictures, let me know if you would like the 'parts list'. Mostly you need to know which and how many connectors to purchase. The structure costs about $20 in pvc and fittings. Then there's the cost of shade cloth and grommets.

I put grommets in the hem and slid a length of rebar into the hem to hold the shade cloth in place. You can adjust the height of the structure as the plant grows by adding a coupling at the end of each leg, and add a length of pvc, maybe 6" at a time.

I anchor it with buckets of water and bungee cords. Real hi-tech!

[Durgan]

Four by four lattice sheets properly supportred on 4 by 4 posts and 2 by 4 for support are relatively cheap and readily available. Many plants like the diffused light.

Several years ago I had a wide tour of Venezeula, and observed many greenhouses. At first this was astonisheing to me, a person from from a cold climate, The greenhouses were for protection form the hot sun.

I have a bit of shade in my vegetable garden, and find some plants thrive in this situation. The end of the row doesn't get full sun and often the plants are larger and more robust. Certainly I will pursue this information in the future.

[Train]

When that Texas sun gets to blasting away, it can kill off not just greens but also beans, squash and pumpkins, sweet potatoes, . . . I notice a lot of plants do better when they are right up against a wall or a solid fence where they get partial shade. So that makes me think I should build some shade over some or all of the garden .

I am thinking like making a frame (use cheap wood, or maybe a PVC pipe construction) and wrap it in something like nylon window-screen material.

I'm looking for suggestions for materials that are cheap and easy to assemble. Durability against violent wind gusts is a plus.

Ya Morgan
So your in Austin, well I'm in Houston and I know how hot
it gets.
I see some might fine ideas in here already. Some of these
folks really give some thought to design.
That ain't me though. My first concern was the birds and squirrels.
As an after thought however I see a potential for an adjustable shade
in the hottest parts of the day but also something to
wrap a plastic in the winter to do a lil winter starting.
It's cheep, down and dirty, a little flimsy, well flimsy but it goes together
like a child's tinker toy set. You might want to consider it.
Surrounding that frame is a garden net I bought from
HenryFields. Cheap and extreamly light weight.
That's Amish Paste in there and I'm
not loosing one more to the squirrels. Not after tasting one.
Should you be interested in building my flimsy contraption
instead of some of the sturdier and prolly more attractive
assemblies Just yell for more info, glad to oblige.
Train

[Train]

Ya!
As usual I went ahead with my post then read everyone elses, Heheh.
Ok, but now I have to make a return trip.
Just so I can say that my structure made of electrical conduit
is not going to support much weight nor stand heavy winds.Mine works forme because it is ide open. Even plastic covering will require adding more struts, but they are portable.
Train

[roysmom]

Greywing,

that is a great design using plastic pipe. If a person had raised beds with wood sides--all they would have to do is attach pieces of larger pipe to act as a 'sleeve' onto the wood sides and then slide your leg supports into the bigger pipe pieces. Maybe 10" or so --then the whole thing could be easily installed and removed. Maybe a few guide wires to keep it from moving side to side would also help.

I had always thought about just using pipe in a tunnel-like design but the half circle shape really cuts down on the side room. Your structure solves that problem.


These structures are for rain but could be adapted to shade cloth. Could also substitute plastic pipe.
http://www.avrdc.org/LC/tomato/shelter.pdf

[GreyWing]

Roysmom, Thanks! I'm glad to hear that you like it. I took part of the design from a book I have by George Brookbank, Month-to-Month Desert Gardening (or something like that). I added the horizontal across the bottom to keep the design more compact. Making the bottom of the legs turn down at 90 degrees 2' from the bottom keeps it more compact and stable, at least that's my opinion.

My friend had input by saying she wanted a structure she could stand up in. So when you toss the cloth back over the top, you can get inside. I would like to sell these but the planning, building, the redesign to get the kinks out (that leg extension mentioned above), took longer than expected (what else is new??) and we were well into needing shade structures before I got to market, in a manner of speaking.

I'm thinking to adjust it to a greenhouse later. I like the design(s) in your link, but you are right, the circle is not as compact and space saving as right angles.

Happy gardening!
Mary