The light deprivation greenhouse begins with a large cover over the arch of the structure to block out the majority of the light. But if you’re serious about using this technique to trigger growth or flowering, it’s essential to get the matching accessories that truly keep light out. Without matching equipment like light traps and end wall covers, enough light will still get into the greenhouse that light dep is practically impossible. These five light dep greenhouse accessories aren’t strictly required, but they are recommended to get a better and more profitable growing experience.
Ventilation Upgrades
Ventilation is a concern in every greenhouse, but the light dep greenhouse is particularly prone to developing both heat and humidity issues. The key to preventing this is to upgrade the ventilation system while adding any covers or tarps to block out light. If the greenhouse previously relied on passive ventilation alone, it’ll need a re-design to rely on active ventilation instead. Passive ventilation simply can’t be covered with light traps in the same way to ensure actual darkness, making it a poor fit for the high humidity of the light dep greenhouse.
Light Traps
Light traps are special baffles installed around ventilation equipment like air movers and fans. These baffles allow air to move through freely while still interrupting beams of light that might reach your plants and interrupt their night extension. Light traps work best on active ventilation systems since there’s no need for a large gap to stay open to let air flow in and out. These kinds of designs are also available for doors and other entryways so that workers going in and out won’t interrupt the photoperiod. If you’re not going to invest in light controls for the entryways, make sure the greenhouse doors stay locked during dark periods while it’s still bright outside.
End Wall Covers
Standard light deprivation covers are primarily designed to fit over the long end of a curved or Gothic arch greenhouse. Yet the end walls in most greenhouses also need their own covers if they’re covered in translucent glazing or lack a tight fit to the rest of the structure. BTL Liners can happily supply the materials to create matching end wall covers to fit any size and style of greenhouse. Don’t settle for covering end walls with improvised materials like siding or sheet metal that costs far more than affordable light deprivation material.
Tarp Pulling Arms
Whether you decide to go with an automated or manual tarp control system in the end, make sure you invest in actual tarp pulling arms. Trying to move hundreds of pounds of light dep cover completely by hand is a fool’s errand, even with a large crew of people. As soon as you’re covering more than a hoop house that is a few feet tall, invest in pulleys and arms that lift the cover over the building, so it moves freely. This reduces wear and tear dramatically to keep the tarp intact as long as possible. Each tiny crack and tear allows light through to interrupt the deprivation process, so don’t risk damaging the cover just to save money on tarp pulling arms.
Interior Curtains and Enclosures
Unless you need to block off the entire greenhouse at once, and for the same photoperiod, you’ll likely want some interior curtains to divide the space up. Interior curtains made of clear materials obviously ruin the light dep effect, so make sure they’re made of the same total black out material as the rest of the tarps. These curtains and enclosures will have the same basic shape as end wall covers, but they’ll need more temporary attachment options since they’re likely to be moved around regularly to block off different areas.
With all five of these accessories, you’re sure to get much more use out of your new light dep greenhouse. Find the materials to cover and enclose the greenhouse here at BTL Liners to make the project move ahead smoothly.
