A shadehouse can be explained as an inbuilt structure with agro nets or some other shade cloth that enables the needful sunlight, air and moisture to seep in from the gaps that serve as a weed barrier. Shade houses usually maintain the most ideal atmosphere to enhance plant growth.
Applications of a Shadehouse
- Enables the agronomics of vegetable and spices, flower plants, medicinal plants and foliage plants.
- Shade-houses are widely used for tissue culture plantlets to harden them.
- Recommended for fruit and vegetable nurseries, and immensely used for raising forest species.
- Shade-houses serve as a barrier for animals or a weed barrier, and safeguards against pest attacks.
- In the hot summer days, these are used widely for producing graft saplings and mitigating their mortality.
- A shade house assists in drying of agro products in the most qualitative method.
- Shade houses help in protecting vegetation and flowers from frost, heat, wind, hail and rain.
The Steps involved in the Planning of a Shade-house
The most important factors to keep in mind while planning a shade-house include things like the local weather conditions, the materials available in the market and the kind of vegetation to be grown. The possibility of a future expansion should always be kept in mind. The following factors should be considered while selecting a site for a shade-house.
- Selection of the Site
The site of the shade-house should be nearby a market so as to get all the supplies and products necessary in this regard. In order to keep it away from industrial pollutants or vehicular discharge, the shade-house should be constructed away from them as well as buildings and trees. Moreover, the site should not have any drainage issue at all. Electricity supply and water are also two very important concerns to be kept in mind for the benefits of your plants. Last but not least, the wind breakers should be situated at least 30m away from the shade-house.
- Orientation
The 2 main aspects to keep in mind for shade-house orientation include the direction of the wind and even tenor of light intensity. A multi-span shade-house should be situated in the north-south direction whilst a single-span shade-house should be situated in the east-west or north-south direction in order to get optimum light possible.
- Materials used for building the structure
The two most important elements that a shade-house is designed of are the cladding material and the frame. Basically, the shade-house frame is built to safeguard the structure from crop load, wind and rain. It also provides support for cladding material. If the rust treatment is done regularly, the frame of the shade-house can last for approximately 22-25 years. The bamboo structure, on the other hand, can last easily up to 3 years. The agro shade net depends on the weather conditions but can usually last for 3 years or so. The shade netting is available in the market in many densities such as 25%, 30%, 35%, 50%, 60%, 75% and 90%. The engineering skill is what the design of the shade-house depends on.
Fsunction of a Shade-house
- Offers temperature control and shade to the vegetation and flowers
- Offers protection form hail
- Offers protection from birds and varied weather changes
- The wind loads on the canopies are considerably reduced due to shade houses
Features of a Shade-house
- Any shade-house can be easily modified to suit a plethora of heights and interior pole gaps.
- The perimeter can easily include wind and security fences.
- In order to get uplift resistance, the poles are fabricated using galvanized steel that is based on an anchor.
- The light spectrum can be managed using colored fabrics as shade cloths.
- Can be combined with several layers and the lower layers can be easily separated when not needed and based on the requirements of the season.
How can a Shade-house be made strong and sturdy?
If the shade-house is not constructed in a well-planned manner, the replacement value for the whole thing may become a lot more than what has been anticipated. There are so many losses to consider, like disaster of plants due to the sun in case the shade cloth is blown away or loss of special root stocks that are not easily available. All such issues can be avoided if proper steps and things are taken into consideration. The strength of the following three things should be kept in mind when constructing a shade-house.
- Fatigue
- Foundation
- Fabric connection
Foundation
In the windy areas, the shade cloth is sucked up in the air or dragged here and there as sideways. The whole structure might fail due to this small issue, therefore good anchors should be installed with huge, deep plates.
Fabric Connections
Any high-quality shade fabric is strong and has about 22-25 yarns per inch. Moreover, each yarn has a tensile strength of 61lb when it is new. Over time, when the strength of the shade cloth reduces, the entire structure of the shade-house gets affected. This is the reason why a top quality fabric for the shade cloth should be used at all times.
Fatigue
A hailstorm or wind storm does not produce steady wind and the impact load that it produces makes the shade houses weak gradually. Cables bent front and back, and they break down sooner or later. This is why the right sized components should be used to withstand fatigue.
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