How Much UV Light Does Greenhouse Plastic Block?

When growing plants in a greenhouse, whether as a hobby or a business, your main concern is keeping your plants healthy. By ensuring your plants are in the best possible conditions, you have a greater likelihood of them delivering abundant amounts of healthy produce. This task is easier to send than done. Many factors go into making sure your crop has the perfect environment to thrive in. Most of these factors pertain to whether or not the plants are receiving too much or too little of something like water or sunlight.

For those who are growing outside in the open air, it is almost impossible to control these factors. Instead, you are at the mercy of what Mother Nature has in store. That is why many professional growers and seasoned gardeners turn to building greenhouses to grow their fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Within a greenhouse, you are able to have better control over your plant’s environment to ensure they are receiving all the proper nutrients that are needed to survive and thrive.

How Much UV Light Does Greenhouse Plastic Block?

Depending on the type of greenhouse plastic you have installed will determine how much UV light is being blocked. Traditional clear greenhouse plastic is capable of diffusing 23% of UV light with a total light transmission rate of 90%. This style of greenhouse plastic is great for plants that need lots of direct sunlight.

There are also other styles of greenhouse plastic, like white or black plastic, that can allow for as little as 1% of light to come through. This type of greenhouse plastic is called light deprivation plastic and is often used by farmers and other professional growers who are looking to control the growing schedule of their crops by depriving them of sunlight. This type of schedule is used when farmers would like their harvest to peak at a certain time of the year.

Benefits Of Greenhouse Plastic

There are many benefits of using greenhouse plastic. As mentioned above, it allows you to have better control over your plant’s environment so they have the best possible outcome in producing a bountiful harvest. Greenhouse plastic allows you to control how much sunlight and water your plants receive but also helps you regulate the temperature to ensure your plants are not too hot or too cold. Being able to effectively control the temperature is a big reason people turn to building greenhouses. Growers are no longer stuck with a few months of growing but instead can continue to grow their plants all year round.

Building a greenhouse that uses plastic sheeting instead of glass panels is a cost-effective way to grow. Greenhouse plastic, if installed correctly and properly maintained, can last one to two growing seasons before needing some repairs or replacement. While glass paneling can be easily damaged or broken during turbulent weather. Also, replacing glass panels is far more expensive and time-consuming than greenhouse plastic.