While light deprivation is a general technique, widely used in horticulture, there’s more than one way to actually apply it in the greenhouse. Rushing to order a cover large enough to cover an entire greenhouse may be a mistake if you’re still experimenting to see how your crops respond. On the other hand, trying to deal with individual covers won’t work once you’re trying to manage a full harvest of plants. Here are the basic options for light deprivation in the greenhouse, including methods making good use of materials from BTL Liners.
Tarps and Covers
The most flexible and affordable materials for controlling light exposure is a tarp or cover designed for black out use. Shade cloth may reduce the amount of light entering the greenhouse, to control heat or growth rate, but it won’t replace actual light dep materials. BTL Liners not only produces clear greenhouse covers with light transmission rates but also covers with practically no transmission. These covers are kept as lightweight as possible so they’re easy to drag back and forth over the exterior of a greenhouse without tearing either material. Even if you only plan to build smaller internal enclosures to do limited light dep, make sure to use a durable black out tarp or cover material.
Shade Cloth
While shade cloth isn’t an actual light deprivation material, it’s still useful in controlling the total rate of growth for many plants. It’s also commonly used in conjunction with complete transmission blocking covers so that the sudden transition to brighter light doesn’t shock or burn the plants. Hanging a layer of thin shade cloth that only blocks 10% or so of the total light helps transition plants that have grown used to spending a lot of time in the dark. Shade cloth can also be used over layers of black out tarps to help protect them from long-term UV damage.
Solid Materials
Building or re-purposing an entire building just to contain a light deprivation system is expensive, but it’s the best option if complete light control is needed. Solid materials like siding, drywall, and insulation ensure that even small cracks can’t let light in to interrupt the photoperiod manipulation. However, most greenhouse growers can only afford to build relatively small structures for light dep if relying on solid materials and stick-framed construction techniques. Instead, almost all light deprivation greenhouses are traditional, plastic glazed designs, that are covered temporarily or permanently with a light blocking cover because they’re much more cost effective.
Internal Booths and Tents
For smaller scale experiments and crops that don’t fill up an entire greenhouse on their own, internal booths, tents, and section covers work well. These limited size enclosures are far more affordable than trying to cover an entire commercial scale greenhouse at once with a premium light blocking cover product. You still need a heavy duty, durable, light-proof cover to build these internal enclosures. Just because they’re smaller than an entire light dep greenhouse doesn’t mean you can settle for sub-par products. In fact, the extra wear and tear these small enclosures tend to see means they typically need a more durable cover material than larger tarps.
Individual Covers
The smallest scale, of light deprivation, is the use of an individual cover over a single plant at a time. Obviously, this kind of treatment will only work for tests and experiments and not for actual production scale. It’s a valuable tool for seeing how individual species or cultivars respond to light deprivation in varying patterns and periods. Plant pots and plastic bags are often repurposed for these kinds of experiments, but you’ll get more accurate results and lose fewer plants by using real cover materials. Cut and seal a few circular covers, from a light blocking tarp, to build a set of inexpensive testing covers for homegrown light dep experiments in the greenhouse.
Regardless of the amount of light deprivation cover you need, you’ll find the materials you need at BTL Liners. Our light deprivation covers are designed to slide smoothly over greenhouse glazing materials without damaging them. They provide unparalleled light transmission blocking so you can achieve precise control over the exact flowering and growth periods of any day sensitive crops.
