Greenhouse plastic - how much does it matter? (light transmission, color, quality)

Recently I had to come to terms with the fact that I under-estimated my 10x20x10 greenhouse. I directly transplanted (12) 30 day old seedlings (from seed) in standard 5" cube planters to 20gal smart pots. (early june) Within 30 days, they absolutely exploded and we realized we would have to start super cropping and training them hard. We kept trying to make it work - soon enough we came to terms with having to expand. As the end of season is approaching - and everything started pre flowering, we noticed the inside branches were not getting close to enough light penetration and were essentially being choked out. We did not want our yield to suffer, and we needed to allow these ladies to breathe.

A standard 6 foot fence was built around the perimeter for added security before committing to the change. We utilized this, and decided to use it as the main foundation for a hoop house. We used pvc conduit and drilled holes on top of the posts, and connected side to side. we gained over 5 feet of width, and atleast another 5 feet of length. We utilize the entire fence square footage, and the ladies finally are able to breathe!

Here comes the main concern - new greenhouse plastic. There was not a sufficient amount of homework done on what is the best to use before we needed to make a fast decision. We learned fast that that "agriculture / greenhouse" quality grade poly 6 mil plastic needs to generally be ordered online. Nothing like that is sold in the popular home improvement warehouse stores. So we naturally decided to innovate. The only thing available was the construction commercial grade " clear " plastic. If i'm not mistaken - this is made out of polyethylene? The only difference I encountered so far within my research is that everybody says the main difference is the UV protection not being on the commercial stuff, and that it wil brittle over time and only last for one season. This isn't a problem for us, considering we only have about 6-8 weeks left for everything to finish flowering, and it comes down regardless. My main concern is the light transmission. - Will this type of plastic allow enough light inside and penetration for the yield we desire? Will we inevitably see a decrease in potential yields due to the fact that the plastic isnt as " see through"? Here are some side by side comparisons, before and afters.. Any advice on this matter will be greatly appreciated. There generally just seems to be a lack of information out there on what plastic is best to use, etc.

Nice work. You will be fine with regular plastic. Good luck

That's what I used for two temporary structures that will only be used this year -- Home Depot 6mil construction clear (translucent if not transparent) plastic. My plants are way bigger than I had hoped or expected, you'll be fine.

I covered a green house in (1000 Gauge Plastic UV stabilised virgin grade polythene) off ebay and its very thick and strong and lets loads of light in
worked really well with all my plants in the green house



not weed but a greenhouse full of heathy plants

hey thanks for the response fellas. I assumed I'd be okay with the plastic, I was just a little nervous due to the fact that I have another 6 weeks or so to go.. and didn't want to crap out on the biggest thing that matters the most.. their light! There seems to be very little knowledge on this matter, I hunted on the internet for hours trying to find out the difference between this standard 6mil construction transparent shit and the commercial greenhouse approved stuff. the main thing seems to be the fact that the greenhouse approved stuff seems to be sturdier with the uv protective stuff in it. But a lot of the greenhouse stuff seems to be a lot more clear.. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't giving my plants some half ass sunlight compared to the stuff that penetrates the other films that are more "see through"

As you can clearly depict in the pictures I put up, the plastic that was on the greenhouse before we disassembled was wayyyyy clearer. The growth has been amazing with that stuff, and just wanted the substitute to be something that can match the same quality. To the naked eye the construction stuff is so much more cloudy. I still can't help but to think about the difference!!

Dude what is that plant with yellow flower on it my dad planted those and forgot what5 they were so I took over on em and put em in my greenhouse look forward to seeing your green plants

I posted a similar thread in the spring when I first put mine up and I could see that it cut the light enough to throw a vague shadow. If its any consolation, do a search under the benefits of defused lighting, there are some studies that say its actually superior to direct lighting. IDK, it helped me get over the initial concerns. I also live adjacent to a lot of farm land, and when driving through I started to look carefully and noticed 90% of the greenhouses had plastic that was not transparent, so that made me feel better too.