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Central Utah

I realize I'm way early asking this but what is a good cheap way to shade pumpkin plants? In the past our dry hot climate usually destroys my plants that have full exposure to the sun. Any tips to prevent extreme flagging and burning? Thanks for any help

5/13/2019 11:13:45 PM

Morgantown, WV

Shade cloth becomes tricky without good supports and ties to hold in place with wind. And easy and effective way to prevent flagging is to mist your plants just before the hottest part of the day. 5 minute mist or so, to wet them down and allow evaporative cooling to take place. sometimes it only lasts for an hour or so depending on how hot it is and the root system you have. If this is the case, you can set a timer to go for 5 minutes every hour during the few hottest of the afternoon.

5/14/2019 6:26:41 AM

South Dakota

I use rolled burlap supported by wires strung from post to post. The burlap is in 3 ft wide rolls and I roll it up across the wires when not needed. A short plastic rod every 4 ft or so zip tied into the burlap facilitates the rolling and unrolling as the rods stick out a foot on each side to ride the wire supports when rolling/unrolling. Burlap gets heavy when wet, so make sure wire support is tight and secure. Works for me, but the burlap only lasts one year.

5/14/2019 8:38:30 AM

Pittsburgh, PA

I just bought a 6.5’x50’ 30% shade cloth on eBay for $31

5/14/2019 10:53:07 PM