looking for advice on my greenhouse film/covering

dr.zeus

New Member
Hello all, I'm a long time lurker and first time poster. I have gotten a lot of very good info from this site over the last few years. I have a medical card so everything I am doing is as legit as it can be. I did an outdoor grow last year with five plants. I had the cramped in too small of a space and they got way overly crowded and were getting all up in each others business. . This year I have decided to put in a hoophouse, hightunnel, greenhouse whatever your name for it. I think I am going to make it twenty by fifty feet to give my ladies some room. It will be in a much more visible part of my property than the plants last year. Again, i am legal and my neighbor is an old cool liberterian so we are on the same page. I also live in an area with about twenty hoophouses within a mile of me and I grow a big garden also (right next to hoophouse location). The advice I need is this: this will be seen from a road that runs near me. The hopphouses around me have "opaqe" plastic but I can still see the people walking around in them and I beleive my giant bushes will be visible to some extent even with opaqe plastic. I have been looking into different coverings like solarig 172 (woven polyethylene) and even into these "clear" tarps: http://www.tarpsurplus.com/agricultural-tarps.html.

I am wondering if anybody has experience with this problem? I searched this site over and over and I see a lot of reccomendations for opaque plastic. Is that the best I'm going to get as far as being able to see inside and still get light penetration? . Is this even an issue? Has anyone used tarps like these? I emailed to companies about light percent on the tarps but have received no replies.Do they get enough light penetration for the plants? Has anyone tried the Solarig? It is very pricey and from the pictures I see it seems just as see through as the opaque six mil.

Thanks everybody for any feedback.
 
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dr.zeus

New Member
I might also add that I'm planning on doing ten plants in this greenhouse this year. I will be starting on the frame itself in the next week. Strains are:
2x blue cheese
2x exodus kush
3x snow white
1x kandy kush
1x og kush
1x iss
 

angryblackman

Well-Known Member
You want to hit up the carport thread. I believe that DJJ uses farmtek 6 mil plastic to cover his. :)

I don't have a hoophouse but I was using a carport frame and black mesh tarp to help with concealment from a distance. I had an album here with my pics but haven't seen it since the forum upgrade.
 

dr.zeus

New Member
thanks guys. im a big fan of your grows djj. i beleive in one of your grows you used a "tarp" that was a thicker mil. was it similar to the ones from the tarp link i have posted? do you think they would let enough light through? they are very reasonably priced with grommets in place allready. they say ag use im just not sure if they would give enough light for the ladies.
 

UncleBuck

Well-Known Member
6 mil diffuses light enough so that you won't know what's growing in there unless there is a leaf pressing against the plasric in the right light. it won't slow down their growth any either, they still take off.
 

doublejj

Well-Known Member
Yes DrZ I used a clear tarp just like the ones you have posted, worked great. But I didn't order exactly the correct size & water would gather up along the lower edge. It didn't fit tight.
I have purchased one of these replacement carport tops in clear, but I haven't put it on yet. Good Luck.
Carport replacement tops...http://chico.craigslist.org/fod/4406591183.html
 

zugbug16

Well-Known Member
I use farmtek's sumaster 6 mil. u can order any size you want and they will cut it. It has 92% light trans. and is guaranteed for 5 years if you do not contact it with metal or pvc. they have felt tape you can put on the metal rafters or poly-pvc what ever you use. I have it on top of Agribon here in AR. damn rain. DO NOT USE THE CRAP THAT IS NOT FOR GREEN HOUSES. IT WILL YELLOW AND FALL APART AND HAS ABOUT 70% TRANS. I use Agribon 15- @92% light trans. as well you can not see through it and it breathes very well so heat and humidity is kept at a minimum. you can buy agribon from Johnny's seed or groworganic.com or farmtek. I use all of them. sometime I glue two together to make the size I want to. If you get a hole in the Agribon and you will you can patch it with a piece of the Agribon and some spray adhesive. locktite or 3M is great. same thing with sunmaster poly.
MY HOOP HOUSE IS 42' LONG AND 10' wide x 7'6" H.I use two pieces of grey UV 3/4"pvc 10' long joined with a coupler and a 1' x 1/2"piece of EMT(home depot) as a strong back to join them held together with a self tapping screw. ( I am a carpenter) I use a piece of agribon 50' wide and 100' long I got from johnny's on sale in March. hope that helps. rafters are 6' O.C. on center(8)
Oh I lace it like a boot to keep the bellowing to a min. and sand bags in between the rafters I use "S" hooks from farmtek to anchor the rope(3/16") or 1/8" curtain cord both UV protected from farmtek.
I use cloth pots from 45 gal.-65 gal 30 will work I use a couple of 50's 5,10,15 and 20 for my autos. yeah I like gigabuds
 
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