Hello, I am working on attaching half of a metal frame greenhouse to my house as a trial-experiment... I was gifted the greenhouse frame and some plastic. However, the plastic I was gifted is slightly opaque, and I notice that, while the sun comes through it bright and diffuse, it actually casts a visible shadow, and while it's sunny outside, it's "shadey" (and bright) in the greenhouse. Like a very thin cloud. In appearances, when the plastic is wet, it looks more clear, When it's dry, it still looks sorta clear, not white, but opaque. I thought it was totally clear, which is why I took it, but I can't see through it, which is sort of a bummer. I'd like to be able to look out on my garden.

But my main concern right now, since this is just a home DIY experiment anyway, will this diffuse shadey light be okay for plants? I can't quite tell yet because all I have growing in there is garlic that's still in the ground and I haven't built out the tables yet... plants are still sunning it up on my porch.... but.... Maybe it will be better for them in the summer, not so intense as direct summer sun? Will I just observe and see how it goes...? Or can anyone tell me right away that this plastic is no good and I should find another solution.

Thank you.

Hi @mudkraut and welcome to the forum

You didn't say if you panels are single, double or triple walled. While single wall polycarbonate panels are clear to begin with, double and triple wall polycarbonate panels are not perfectly clear to begin with because of the layers and both begin to "whiten" a bit with time. It is perfectly OK for the plants and actually better since it diffuses the light coming into the greenhouse, avoiding burning of plants. If the plastic is starting to "yellow" it is near the end of it's life and should be replaced. Since your greenhouse was gifted, I imagine your panels are just showing their age. Pictures would help if you can post them.

That is indeed an interesting topic. I believe that is a nice experiment