artificial light/indoors growing Vs. nartural light/outdoor gronwing

[David]

Hi there Pananep,

SHADE CLOTH GROWING

I used to grow my neps under shade cloth for a couple of years and my observation tells me that it is better (in my tropical climate) to use 50% shade cloth instead of 70%-75% shade cloth for neps.

When I use more shade (70%-75%), the plants are more prone to fungus attack botrytris and rust-spot-fungus. Growth is also slower. At 50% shade the plants are more vigorous and healthy. However, I also cover 3 sides of the shadehouse with the same shade cloth leaving only the entrance wide open.

I realised that if I cover the shadehouse with shade cloth on the sides as well instead of just the top, my neps were seldom attacked by pest. Only once or twice did a locust find its way in and chewed on the leaves.


I will not repeat what everyone says about the pros and cons of growing neps under artificial lights and outdoor, but to me the main difference is light. Nothing beats natural sunlight. Also temperatures at night in my grow chamber and terrarium is warmer compared to plants grown outdoors. I noticed even lowland plants like cooler nights. They seem to be healthier for me. Of course this is just my observation on my plants. It might be due to other factors as well like better air flow for plants grown outdoors.