shade Shade cloth for hardening off

So here's my question. Can I use shade cloth to harden off plants and if so what percentage? 
 
My plan was to put all 32 trays on a trailer I have and roll it in and out of the garage to harden off. Well I got to thinking doing it this way the plants will see an hour of sunlight and then be rolled into a dark garage for the rest of the day and night. I'm thinking this might not be enough light for them and possible stunt/slow them down. There are no trees close (well close enough for me to push and pull that heavy ass trailer back and forth to each day) that I can park the trailer under for shade.
 
So I was thinking of leaving the trailer in the driveway but covering the plants with shade cloth. At night the trailer would go into the garage since not warm enough for plants to be out all night and cover with a blanket. Not sure if this will work. Would I have to have multiple percentage cloths and gradually switch to each or would I be able to use one percentage and after a couple weeks remove it all together and be good? Can I lay it right on top of the plants or does it need to be suspended above them to work properly? It's too much of a hassle to carry 32 trays with 15 solo cups in each outside and then back in after an hour or so each day so trying to figure out a solution and hoping shade cloth can help in some way. Any info and or different ideas are much appreciated. I'm used to hardening off 30 or so plants not over 400. Thanks!
 
Depending on the size of your plants and price of the cloth, I'd go for something close to 70/30 ~ 75/25  (blocks 25%) cloth.  You can double it to start, then go with a single layer for another week or so.  
After that, full spring sun should be OK.  You might want to keep the cloth around for later in the summer, when a little shade will reduce heat stress.
 
All my potted stuff is under 60%. And everything that gets put in the ground must stay under the cloth for two weeks before I plant out. It's already in the 90s here so I'm guessing summer is going to be a scorcher. 
 
I hope I hardened mine off enough, they are going in the dirt on Sunday.  Since Easter I have had them outside as much as possible, but that has not been easy since I leave at 6am and get home at 6pm.  The weather finally cooperated and I had them outside for about 36 hours straight and they handled it very well.  I have about 125 plants and it is a pain moving them, good luck with  the amount you have.  
 
First, damn I thought I was the only one nutty enough to use a trailer. I put two foot walls on the side, plywood and cover with the stuff the hardware calls clear plastic that is really more of a translucent white.  In a heavy storm, trailer goes in the barn.  If I am worried about a cold night, space heater goes on.  Keep in mind I am dirt poor so I selected the cheapest options, but I also do not have to move my trailer in for rain.

Thinking if you are using trays that dont drain, rain would get threw the shade cloth and flood your small plants.  Not really sure because I dont use the stuff yet.  Currently I shade with other crops and locate strategically based on where buildings and trees are.  Ah but some day when I can afford to I will be more professional, still a cheap bastard but one with proper shade cloth.
 
Once potted up I keep most of my containers on the trailer. Usually my more rare plants or ones that I really want to make it go on the trailer. This way it can be rolled into the garage in case of long periods of rain or severe summer storms. It holds around 40 or so Walmart bags.
 
So it looks like I might go 30% and double it for the first week or two to make it 60% and then back it off to 30% for another week. With 60% blockage would it be ok to leave them out all day or should I put them away after a few hours? Guess I can just run a test. I was planning on getting some shade cloth anyway to put over the 23 foot long raised bed for late summer. Want to see if the plants grow better under a light shade cloth since all plants get full sun all day long. Thanks for all the ideas and answers.
 
Just make sure you secure the shade very well if you live in an area where high winds can pick up at any given notice!  :rolleyes:  Two years ago (grow year from hell) I put pvc posts into my raised bed and hung a nice shade cloth over it to help harden off my plants.  While at work we had rain and high winds move in that were strong enough to rip the gromets out of place just enough to cause the cloth to sag in the middle and what commenced after was a total beat down of the tops of my plants in the middle of the bed where the cloth just whipped up and down beating the :censored: out of my plants until I got home. :eek:
 
Now I just start them all on one side of the patio (3-4 hours direct sun) and slowly move them over the other side of the patio (10+ hours direct sun) across a few weeks.  Some get sunburnt, some get whipped by the wind, some don't make it :(  But usually its only a handful that don't get through it.  My beds receive 12+ hours direct sun and tempertures between 90-100 in the summer so I tend to have to give them a pretty good wakeup call pretty quick around here. :flamethrower: :dance:  
 
Scorched said:
Once potted up I keep most of my containers on the trailer. Usually my more rare plants or ones that I really want to make it go on the trailer. This way it can be rolled into the garage in case of long periods of rain or severe summer storms. It holds around 40 or so Walmart bags.
 
So it looks like I might go 30% and double it for the first week or two to make it 60% and then back it off to 30% for another week. With 60% blockage would it be ok to leave them out all day or should I put them away after a few hours? Guess I can just run a test. I was planning on getting some shade cloth anyway to put over the 23 foot long raised bed for late summer. Want to see if the plants grow better under a light shade cloth since all plants get full sun all day long. Thanks for all the ideas and answers.
 
Dry air and wind can stress the plant as well. The sudden increase in water loss will trigger more root growth, but this obviously takes time.
If the plants are outside for the first time, I'd be cautious even with doubled 70/30 (which actually works out to 0.7x.0.7 = 49 / 51).  If possible, put them out for a morning and see how they're doing before you leave them alone all day.
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
Where you picking up your shade cloth?
I picked mine up from Amazon since I dont need that much right now. I believe mine is 6'x20' and cost like...... I believe 15 or twenty bucks. I remember the shipping was almost as much as the cloth.
 
I looked at greenhouse megastore and the price was crazy-ish. For me that is.
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
Where you picking up your shade cloth?
 
I was going to order it from greenhouse megastore since I need to get a roll of their weed barrier for the ground garden but I might look around at some other places. I wanted to get it made to order but looks like that takes 3-4 weeks.
 
I will keep an eye on them and not leave them out all day the first couple days. Not too bad around here with heat and such til middle of June
 
On my raised bed (where it will makes it's permanent home come late summer) I'm going to get some cheap cull 2x4s or something like it and screw six of them onto the bed as posts. Going to use a bungee cord from the grommet to a screw I will screw on each post to secure it. This way if a bad storm comes through I can remove the cloth quickly to prevent damage to it.
 
Scorched said:
I made a mistake and started all the seeds at the same time. Some annuums I've had to top/cut back three times already because they wont fit under the lights anymore
Yeah I had to move my whole tray out of the lights 10 days before the others :) I was almost 1 month behind where I was last year but with some changes the grow is 50% ahead this year....
 
To me I used 80% shade cloth.
I actually think people think sun is the only problem with putting plants outside.
Wrong,I think.
Yes plants need to get used to more Sun LM.
BUT you also have to consider root growth.
I grow in 4 1/2 in. pots.
BUT I have most of my garden in Southern exposure.
A plant in a #15 pot (7 1/2 gal.) get messed up even though they are hardened off.
Roots still need to support the plant with water.
I'm talking about,like for the last several months we have 80+ degree days on and off,lately 90+.
 
Roots aren't big enough to support the plant I think.
Then you get a toss up of too wet or too dry.
Shade cloth is the solution.
OR I found cuttimg both ends off a Gal. can,placed on the start works great.
Lets the sun in but holds moisture.
White lined cans work best.
With cans I don't even harden off plants anymore.
Looks funny when the plants are in can walls,but it works.
Why I think like I do it's because the plants reach for the sun.
Don't shrivel up at noon after a dark thirty watering.Soil is still damp around the inside of the can even though the first couple inches of potting soil outside the can is dry for a couple inches down.
I think people forget about roots and are worried only about sunburn.
I used mostly LEDs at the time.
I think the LM. of mine made hardening off for the sun not a problem if it was mid 70's or less.
I did the can method because I had 400 pots to deal with at the time.
Shade cloth helped but I think root growth in hot days was the problem.
Shade cloth might be all you need in where you live.
I NEVER messed with moving plants around.
Once they were outside they stayed there.
Shade cloth was cool,but the cans seemed to keep the area around the starts moister.
It's never humid here.
 
smokemaster said:
To me I used 80% shade cloth.
I actually think people think sun is the only problem with putting plants outside.
Wrong,I think.
Yes plants need to get used to more Sun LM.
BUT you also have to consider root growth.
I grow in 4 1/2 in. pots.
BUT I have most of my garden in Southern exposure.
A plant in a #15 pot (7 1/2 gal.) get messed up even though they are hardened off.
Roots still need to support the plant with water.
I'm talking about,like for the last several months we have 80+ degree days on and off,lately 90+.
 
Roots aren't big enough to support the plant I think.
Then you get a toss up of too wet or too dry.
Shade cloth is the solution.
OR I found cuttimg both ends off a Gal. can,placed on the start works great.
Lets the sun in but holds moisture.
White lined cans work best.
With cans I don't even harden off plants anymore.
Looks funny when the plants are in can walls,but it works.
Why I think like I do it's because the plants reach for the sun.
Don't shrivel up at noon after a dark thirty watering.Soil is still damp around the inside of the can even though the first couple inches of potting soil outside the can is dry for a couple inches down.
I think people forget about roots and are worried only about sunburn.
I used mostly LEDs at the time.
I think the LM. of mine made hardening off for the sun not a problem if it was mid 70's or less.
I did the can method because I had 400 pots to deal with at the time.
Shade cloth helped but I think root growth in hot days was the problem.
Shade cloth might be all you need in where you live.
I NEVER messed with moving plants around.
Once they were outside they stayed there.
Shade cloth was cool,but the cans seemed to keep the area around the starts moister.
It's never humid here.
where in the heck did you find that many one gallon cans my friend ?       :onfire:
 
moruga welder said:
got white sheets over mine works great !     :onfire:
 
 
Did you mean white sheets instead of the shade cloth or white sheets over the shade cloth? I have a hoophouse up myself and am in the process of getting something. My summers are rather intense. Was considering Aluminet... pricey though.
 
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