How to Add Shade Cloth to a Hot Summer Garden (Easy DIY Setup)
How We Added Shade Cloth to Our Hot Summer Garden (And Why I’d Do It Again)
If your garden gets full sun like mine, you know how intense summer can be, especially in a hot climate like Arizona. In 2022, I added a simple DIY shade cloth setup to protect my plants from the worst of the summer heat. Three seasons later, I can say it was one of the best improvements we’ve made to the garden.
The structure is easy to put up in late spring and take down in the fall. When the original shade cloth wore out after three years, we replaced it and kept using the same support system. If I were doing it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing, except for one upgrade: swapping the original poles for thicker steel ones that handle wind and weight even better.
In this post, I’ll show you exactly how we added shade cloth to our raised bed garden, which shade cloth we chose, and what we’ve learned after using the setup through three hot Arizona summers.
If your garden gets intense summer sun like ours, this guide will help you give your plants the protection they need to keep growing all summer long.
For more tips, see How to Create Shade in the Garden and Why Add Shade to Your Garden in Summer.
Why You Need Shade Cloth for Your Garden in Summer
In March 2020, we expanded our garden with six raised beds and a row of arched trellises. This part of the yard receives full sun, which is ideal for rapid growth in spring, but during summer, the intense heat becomes too much for many vegetables. If you live in a hot climate like Arizona, a garden shade cloth setup is a simple way to extend your growing season.
To help our garden thrive during the hottest months, we decided to install a seasonal shade structure. It’s easy to put up and take down each year, and it’s made a huge difference. Our DIY garden shade structure used wire supports and steel poles to hold the cloth in place all summer long.
Read more about surviving heatwaves in the garden and what to plant in June that can handle the heat.
When To Add Shade Cloth for Vegetable Gardens in Hot Climates
Most vegetables begin to show signs of stress when temperatures are consistently above 90°F (32.2°C). Adding shade helps cool the growing area by as much as 10°F (6°C), which can reduce sunburn and water loss.
I usually add shade cloth once we reach those 90°F days, and remove it in fall when temperatures consistently drop below that point. Label the corners before storing it, and keep it indoors until next season.
Not sure which vegetables need shade? This post breaks it down: Which Vegetables Need Shade (and Which Thrive in Full Sun)
How We Installed a DIY Garden Shade Structure Over Raised Beds
1. Install Pole Supports
When we first added shade cloth, we started with two 10-foot (3.05 m) metal poles that were already in place for garden lighting. We added two more poles of the same size and style to complete the support structure, so all four were originally the same.
These poles also hold café lights, which we keep up year-round. The lights add ambiance in the evening and make the garden usable after sunset, especially helpful during Arizona’s hot summers when it’s more pleasant to garden later in the day.
After using the original poles for a few seasons, we decided to upgrade the setup. We replaced all four with thicker, sturdier 12-foot (3.6 m) steel poles for improved strength and durability.
The upgraded poles:
- Are cemented 2 feet (61 cm) into the ground
- Made from 4” x 4” x 1/8” square steel tubing
- Include a welded hook on top for easy clipping of shade cloth or lights
The added height and strength help the support wires stay tighter, making the structure more resilient during wind and monsoon storms.
2. Install Wire Supports
To support the shade cloth and prevent sagging, we added crossed steel cables:
- Used ⅛-inch stainless steel wire rope
- Loops were secured using aluminum crimp sleeves and a crimping tool
- Cables were attached corner-to-corner with carabiners, forming an “X” shape
This type of support works well for areas larger than 100 square feet. Our cloth covers 17′ x 20′ (5.18m x 6.09m)—about 320 square feet (27.72 m²). For spaces over 400 square feet, consider adding more support lines.
3. The Best Shade Cloth for Vegetable Gardens in Hot Climates
Wondering what type of shade cloth to use for vegetables? Here’s what we recommend:
We chose white 50% shade cloth, which offers a good balance of protection and light diffusion for most vegetables. Adding shade cloth to your vegetable garden can prevent heat stress and sunscald.
Here’s why we like the white 50%:
- Reflects sunlight and reduces heat build-up
- Provides diffused light with fewer harsh shadows
- Increases light quality and duration for fruiting plants
Tips for Choosing the Right Percentage Shade Cloth for Vegetables:
- 40% for most vegetables
- 50% for tomatoes
- 60–70% for succulents and sensitive plants
Click here to see the shade cloth we used.
Grower’s Solution also offers custom-sized shade cloth if you need a more exact fit.
4. Attach the Shade Cloth
We clipped the shade cloth to each pole using carabiners and the grommets built into the fabric. The support wires underneath held it securely, and installation only took a few minutes with a ladder.
The cloth comes down just as easily at the end of the season or ahead of high winds. We store it labeled and folded for reuse.
What We Learned After 3 Years of Using Garden Shade Cloth in Arizona
- Upgrading to thicker poles made a big difference: The original 10-foot poles worked for a few years, but we eventually replaced all four with taller, sturdier 12-foot steel poles. The added strength and height gave better tension to the support wires and helped the structure hold up even better during monsoon winds.
- Measure carefully: I eyeballed some of the wire lengths when setting up the supports and had to go back and adjust them. Taking a few extra minutes to measure properly would have saved time later.
- An extra set of hands helps: It’s possible to install shade cloth on your own, but having someone else there makes it easier to measure accurately and get the cloth into place.
- The structure held up well: Even with high winds during monsoon season, the shade cloth stayed secure with the carabiner clips.
- Plan for replacement: After three summers, the original shade cloth began to stretch out and tear in a few areas. We replaced it with the same type of cloth and reused the existing wires.
- Repurpose old cloth: Instead of tossing worn-out cloth, we folded it and used it to add shade over part of the chicken run.
More Summer Gardening Resources
Looking for more ways to help your garden thrive during the summer? These posts and videos are packed with ideas, plant suggestions, and practical tips for gardening in the heat:
- Vegetables That Love Hot Summers (and How to Grow Them)
- 10 Flowers That Love Hot Summers (and How to Grow Them)
- Summer Gardening in Arizona
- Hot Summer Rose Care: How to Help Roses Survive Extreme Heat
- Take the Summer Off: Plant Heat-Tolerant Cover Crops Instead
- How to Keep Chickens Cool in Hot Summers
- 10 Ways to Prepare Your Hot-Climate Garden for Summer
- Watch: Summer Gardening Playlist on YouTube
If this post helped you feel more confident about adding shade to your garden, please share it with a fellow gardener.
Thank you for the detailed description and pictures! How windy is it in your area? We’d love to add some shade cloth for our garden in southern AZ, but we get a lot of wind gusts in our yard even outside of the really bad wind storms – strong enough to regularly knock over potted plants if we aren’t careful. How much wind can something like this hold up against?
Sounds like your wind may be worse than ours. We do get monsoons and the occasional microburst which would be a problem I’m sure. We will see how it does. I’ll post an update after the monsoons.
@K, i have a 50% shade 20×18 cloth. The wind does not take ahold of it enough to cause any problems. Mine just lays on top of the framework with plastic clamps.
@K, i have 40% white shade cloth. We get strong winds in the nc foothills. My shade cloth, 20’x 20’, is barely affected. Most of the wind blows thru it without damage
Do you worry about lightening striking the metal poles?
With the monsoon’s definitely, but I hope for the best!
My HOA requires that shade cloth be tan or sand, the lowest % I found that’s tan is 65%, is that too much shade, do you think my veggies would survive? Any suggestions? Thanks
That should be fine. I wouldn’t want to go much higher but 65% should not be too much. Observe your plants and see how they do.
Should the shade cloth hang down on the west side to protect from late day sunlight?
Yes, if possible.
Aaaak. It seems like the AZ sun and heat are wiping out my garden earlier and more extensively each summer. I’d like to add some shade like you have done. A couple questions:
1. The area I need to cover is appx. 20’x30′. Your 17’x20′ install looks a bit ungainly, particularly for one person to handle. If you had it to do over again, would you recommend I break up my sections into two 15’x20′ (4 poles) or three 10’x20′ (6 poles) pieces?
2. It looks like you’ve used both the standard white plastic shade cover and aluminet. Based on performance, would you recommend one over the other?
Thanks in advance. Long-time fan and subscriber.
1. If it’s just one person it might be a good idea to break it up into smaller sections. See if there are pre-made sizes, that might make it more economical. I would probably do mine the same if I did it again, because the poles are a bit of a pain in the garden, so I wouldn’t want to add more unless I had to. 2. Mine is just the standard white cover, not aluminet. It lasted for 3 years and started to get very stretched out. We got a new one and put the old one on top of the chicken coop (folded over). Hope this helps!