Mosquito Net as a Shadecloth

I use portable hothouses for starting seedlings and cuttings and overwintering some succulents. The great thing about the portable ones is that you can move them around to suit the season and sun angle. As long as you secure them, they can withstand some wind, and you easily can bring them into a patio if you are expecting really bad weather or winds.

The problem is that they can get too hot in the sun and kill your plants. You cannot get different levels of shadecloth covers for these, only different types of plastic and a winter cover. If you drape heavy shadecloth over them, the covers buckle and the plastic can get stretched out of shape in the heat. And it looks junky unless you can sew one up so it fits nicely.

So grab an old mosquito net and hang it over your hot hothouse. Usually, there is a lot of extra material and you can overlap it in different places to get different degrees of protection for your plants. Plus, it looks pretty. The air can get through and it keeps the temperature nice and even inside.

You can also use this fabric inside your glasshouse or conservatory to protect sensitive plants and create a really dramatic effect.