first outdoor mini greenhouse plans

[Mo Boggie]

Hi, I want to put together a mini greenhouse in my backyard; this will be my 1st attempt. I live in new york and wanted any advice I could get on shade cloth. I'm thinking of buying aluminet. I read that it not only shades the orchids but also keeps them somewhat cool (i won't have a cooling unit). Can someone recommend the shade percentage I should purchase, and if I should go another route? BTW I have cym seedling, onc, den nobile, zygopetelum, cptra. Thanks

[bil]

I bought a shade cloth that had eyelets made as part of the sloth, sides and middle, and I put fine braided steel wire thru those, which worked well.
I put mine on the top of the greenhouse so that the heat from the cloth goes to the atmosphere outside and not into the greenhouse.

[Daethen]

Are you planning on keeping plants in it year round? If not, maybe a shade house would be better. I have a small greenhouse and in the summer I move them out of it and into the shade house so that they don't cook.

[Mo Boggie]

I plan on leaving them out into fall season. If I buy a mini greenhouse that comes with a clear cover, should I remove it and replace with a shade cover? Or do I put the shade cover under the cover the greenhouse comes with? I don't know if the shade cloth allows rain in; I'm concerned with water getting in when it rains.

[jmmehler]

Recently installed a 7 x 14 50% aluminet on a clear roof, and a 7 x 11 50% aluminet along the side of a custom greenhouse that is covered in clear vinyl. It is amazing. You need to consider many factors. Are there trees around you? if so, if they are not evergreens, they loose their leaves in fall, and you then have very bright light. If you get leaves in the summer, you may want more.

My friends situation has 2 100' trees just south of her greenhouse. I selected 50%. Still not sure how much sun will filter through the leaves.

If you need more, understand that combining a 10% shade cloth with a 50% one, does not block out 60%. Rather it blocks out more.

[Daethen]

I have an old black shade cloth that was just used for blocking vision from intruders. I put that over an old motorcycle shed frame and they get plenty of light and lots of water whenever it rains. I leave them in there until nights start to get too cold then back to the greenhouse. My major problem with the greenhouse is keeping it cool during sunny days.