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plastic that allows UV light to enter hoophouse

therevverend

Well-known member
Veteran
I'm considering building a structure of some sort next month to keep the autumn rain off my plants. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, just enough to keep the buds from getting soaked. Every year I take losses from grey mold. PM is a possibility as well. Aside from hanging a tarp a PVC hoophouse seems the simplest fix.

I'm worried about the type of plastic cover. I've found in damp overcast conditions PM can run rampant on the lower parts of the plants that are shaded. UV light keeps the upper branches clear. I'm worried if I build a hoophouse it'll slow down the boytritis but the PM will spread. A friend in the area used a hoophouse last year and he got hit hard. The humidity was so high some of his flowers rotted anyway plus he had a PM explosion. Not sure if it's worth the trouble.

Most greenhouse plastic is UV resistant because the UV causes the plastic to break down. I've noticed there's plastic with less UV blockage, for greenhouse plants that need pollination. (bees use UV light to navigate) I don't care about the plastic breaking down because it'll only be for a few weeks. Does anyone know if there's a type of plastic that allows a full UV spectrum? Or a plastic that's been developed to fight PM?
 

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
Just get hardware store polyethylene plastic. It's real cheap. All greenhouse plastic is uv protected. That's the difference between real greenhouse plastic and clear 6 mil for construction
 

maryjaneismyfre

Well-known member
Veteran
Proper 3 or 4 layer netafim or similar budget greenhouse film is well worth it..the uv blocking ones are called things like virus shield or such as they stop whitefly and other virus vectors from seeing the uv of cucurbit flowers or other..but you pay more for that film, the standard diffusing 3 layer film that is not uv blocking but is uv stabilized is what you want.

Air flow and humidity cause pm in greenhouses or hoophouses, keep ends as open as you can and keep length short.
 

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
Regular 6 mil doesn't block enough that it will affect pm. People get pm easier in greenhouses then outdoor because air flow is blocked a little and usually people cram plants in there tighter. Just spray potassium bicarbonate proactively and u won't get it.

But if u are really only covering for a few weeks, you can use the cheaper non uv stabilized.
 

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