RED SHADE CLOTHE

[Tad]

Anybody using the red shade cloth by chromatinet?

Pros,Cons? I have had great results with the aluminet product and so I am thinking of ordering the red to replace the 2 shades I lost on a couple of quonset houses.

So anybody??

I plan on using it on the 2 houses I currently sprout seed and harden off olive cuttings in.

Its supposed to mess with the light spectrum and cause thicker foliage and better root systems, and accelerate growth.

[_Keith]

Well, at least it looks really cool.

[Walter John]

looks like a scene from Star Trek.

[niftinfiftin]

They use it extensively around my region for covering apple and hop plants against hail, birds and extreme winds. I've heard it works very well, doing exactly what you stated, although i think some of the other factors are the main reason for erecting it. As you can imagine, some of the locals have kicked up a stink about it being there, over 20 hectares of red cloth. Here's a pic of some of it.

Edited August 6, 2008 by niftinfiftin

[SubTropicRay]

I like the surreal look.

[Jeff Searle]

Tad,

Boy, this could really get some second looks at first. In our industry down here, I don't think one grower is using this. I would really be interested later down the road if you should choose buying some of this, how it's working out for you.

Jeff

[Tad]

Jeff, I just ordered two, 40X96 foot pieces, so were going to give it a whirl, I sorta have it worked out in my head, of using these 2 shade houses for olives and the palms we go into the field with, I think accelerated growth, and better root systems with more foliage is just toooooo good not to try, I will have to work out some kind of test to see if it really works or not.

[FRITO]

TAD, VERY INTERESTING. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE RESULTS OF THIS ENHANCED CLOTH.

(TO LAZY TO TURN CAPS OFF)

Edited August 6, 2008 by FRITO

[Tad]

Me too luke, I have placed order and hopefully it will be waiting on me next week after I return from the Tx show!!

[kahili]

I also would be really interested in how well they work. whats the percentage of shade that you ordered, and if you don't mind my asking-how much was a 40x96? I need one that size.

[Tad]

40 X 96 foot, 509.00 includes sewiing and shipping, I ordered a 30 % and a 40%

[cycadjungle]

I picked up some Dioon edule seedlings from a man who had a palm nursery near Gainesville Florida and one of his greenhouses was covered in the red cloth. He was also using the blue cloth on another greenhouse and the silver on yet another. He had used the red for a couple of years and said it was the most amazing thing he had ever tried. He was using it to start new palms in small pots before they went outside and he claimed that the palms were growing at least twice as fast as they would when the greenhouse was covered with regular shade material. He just about talked me into trying it myself. He also said that the blue wasn't helping at all and for whatever reason he felt the spectrum wasn't right for palms, but maybe the blue might help for other plants, but he was getting ready to take it off the next season and get another red cloth for that greenhouse. He was impressed with the silver as well and said it cooled down that greenhouse about 10 degrees from what it would have been before with the regular cloth.

[Tad]

interesting to know, I have the aluminet stretched over my prop house and its absolutley amazing, we bunched and tied it for the hurricane and man did it get hot with out it!!

[Tad]

I know some of you folks hate the mega thread so I included some shots here too

[Tad]

so far so good, even with the rain its going off without a hitch!!

[Jon North Padre Island]

Tad,

Is that 30 and 40 % transmittance or attenuation? Transmittance, I bet.

[Tad]

I asked the guru at Clemson U, his reply was both depending on %, color, and plant?!?!?!