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Greenhouse shading help please

TheveggardenerTheveggardener Posts: 1,057
in Tools and techniques
Some of you know I have just got my first greenhouse. I bought some shading and put it up inside, still it is hot doubled up still hot yesterday 110c inside the GH even with both windows open. Question is it better to put the shading on the inside or the outside I have put it on the inside but it's not tight to the glass, I first put 2 layers up but it was still no good so now have 4 layers if I make it thicker I'm thinking it will keep the light out to much. I've tried using those little green thing that are meant to keep the shading or bubble wrap close to the window but both son and I can't get the to go in any stay. Any advice. 





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  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited September 2019
    We have a large polytunnel so no windows but we leave the doors open either end and it has a green mesh shade stretched over the top from May to end of September.   Even when it's 44C in the shade we don't get temps like yours inside.

    I would put the shade net outside as it's easier, as long as you can peg it down against strong winds and leave the door open as well as the windows.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Shading on the inside stops direct sunlight hitting the plants but allows the greenhouse to heat up because the sun still gets inside the glass. Shading on the outside stops the heat getting into the greenhouse as much. I use outside shading because it's easier though.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I agree with @wild edges the shading needs to be on the outside.
    Shading on the inside will trap more heat inside your greenhouse, but at this time of year it shouldn't be a problem for much longer

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • TheveggardenerTheveggardener Posts: 1,057
    edited September 2019

    Obelixx My GH has two windows (one either side off set) I have them open from around 7 am till it starts to get dark. A few weeks ago the thermometer could registered any higher at 120c plus It's a bit late in the year now but I'll need to work out something so it can go on the outside next year. I do however have the problem of squirrels at the moment they are finding it difficult to climb on the top of the GH but when I put the shading outside I'm worried they will rip it to bit's.   

    wild edges Thanks for the explanation I hadn't realize that. My problem will be how to attach it outside but have the winter to work on that. I've just said to Obelixx about the squirrels which are a real pain they have even worked out how to lift the chicken wire off the tubs where the bulbs are so now have to tie it under the rim with wire.

    Thanks both for the advise.
  • TheveggardenerTheveggardener Posts: 1,057
    Pete.8, I hadn't thought about the heat being trapped. Next year It will be on the outside but I need to work out how to attach it and what to do about the squirrels as they will have a field day with the netting.
  • Singing GardenerSinging Gardener Posts: 1,237
    I have shading on the inside but my greenhouses never get above 50 degrees. I do open the doors during the day as well as the windows though. Is your thermometer in the sun during the heat of the day - that can give a misleadingly high reading?
  • TheveggardenerTheveggardener Posts: 1,057
    Singing Gardener, I put the thermometer in the one place that doesn't get any sun, which is near the door so should be the coolest place. Even with the door and both windows open when you walk in there the heat hits you. My son said it needs to have a trellis or something to give it shade as it full on sun all day. If I put up a trellis it would shade the GH to much I think.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    NannaBoo said:
    My problem will be how to attach it outside but have the winter to work on that.
    I'm working on a system where the netting is wrapped around a pipe or pole at either end. One will clip to the ridge of the greenhouse and then I can roll the netting up and down like a roller blind from there. I will probably use a bamboo cane for the ridge end and a pipe for the moving end. I can then add weight or clips more easily to the pipe if it gets windy and sunny at the same time.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • TheveggardenerTheveggardener Posts: 1,057
    wild edges, that sound like a good idea as you can then roll it up at the end of the year and store ready for next year. I have managed to get some thick 8ft bamboo cains so I can make a fruit cage next year so could buy another pack of them. I was thinking if you have trouble with the right size pipe how about those plastic covered garden stakes I think they come in 8ft and two together tied together would do the job. I'm going to look on toolstation and amazon to see if I can find a sturdy pipe on there or elsewhere on the internet, it would only need to be around an inch wide to do the job. Thanks for the idea :) .
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I have a plastic poly tunnel made of this tough, woven, flexible plastic that diffuses the direct sunlight but lets plenty of light in. I wonder if you could buy similar stuff on a roll to use as shade netting. Not sure if it would be squirrel-proof though...


    When it gets really hot I throw cheap bamboo blinds on a roll over the top of the roof and halfway down the south-facing side, stapled to a length of 2x1” timber each end to weight it down. It is still pretty light in there even with the bamboo.

    The wire type mosquito netting on a roll, similarly attached to lengths of timber might work in a similar way to the bamboo - the latter I just roll up and store when not needed.


    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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