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One of the challenges with greenhouse cultivation is removing excess heat at ground level, which can kill some types of plants (no wind).
A mulching sequin is a stiff 2" disk of reflective foil with a non-biodegradable coating to keep it from oxidizing.
As well as normal mulch duty - inhibiting
weed growth and minimizing water loss - the sequins reflect light (that would otherwise heat the soil) back through the leaves.
etc.
Make the reverse side black and it can be used to heat soil during a cool season.
Aluminum Can mulch
Aluminum_20Can_20Lithic_20Mulch
[bungston, May 29 2016]
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Annotation:
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You will have a devoted following of crows. A following that follows you around and makes off with the sequins. Sparkly! |
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Albedo one to cast my opinion on using aluminised mylar for this. Turn litter into glitter... |
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Thick mylar, so they can be washed and reused. |
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Better than simply silver|black would be silver|red and silver|blue - whatever the plant uses at its stage of development: silver side up reflects everything so some of the light can leave the greenhouse and not be trapped as heat; blue/red side up reflects the important colours into the leaves and warms the bed. |
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/silver|red and silver|blue/
It just so happens that I have about a gross of empty Bud Lite cans in exactly this colors. |
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I was thinking how the mirror mulch would be constructed. Mica pressed into a pellet? A rock, tumbled to a mirror finish (could that work? I suspect I would have seen them in the tourist trap souvenir bins). A piece of mirrored aluminum? |
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They could be like one of those aluminized mylar balloons, but thick enough to retain shape; or they could be aluminium disks, clearcoated... about 2-3" across. |
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As soon as the seedlings poke their heads up, lay them flat between the plants, butted up against the stems; whatever side/colour is appropriate to their current absorption requirements, and to aid temperature regulation in the greenhouse. |
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Come harvest, collect, rinse and stack them for their next use. |
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/ Come harvest, collect /
Iron would have a big advantage here because you could use a magnet. |
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I am thinking now of shapes. A sequin is flat. But that flat top will quickly gather dirt and there goes the mirrored reflectivity. Flat is conservative of material but if you are a person using technological artifacts as mulch that may not be so important. |
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One can get steel balls with mirrored finish. I think that chromed mirror finish also repels rust. The curved top with shed water and dirt. Yes: Pinball mulch. |
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//Pinball mulch// likey that idea - Given the opportunity, there's no real excuse not to have a dozen or so barrels full of ball bearings kicking around. |
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I read that plants respond differently to different frequencies of light, thus it might be grow light colored. |
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there are puffed mica thingies at soil mixes, the fancy version of puffed mica could be grow light colored mirror mulch |
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