You might want to use a narrow strip of shade cloth so that it doesn't cut out full sun for quite so long. If I were you I would try different amounts of shade for one half of your plants and that way you might be better prepared for what you want to do next season. Just a little too much shade on tomato plants will reduce their production and make them leggy and tall. I never cover my tomato plants but am using a frost cloth to shade one of my pepper beds to see if I can have less sun scald without getting plants too leggy. I don't know how much of the sun it cuts out but I would guess it is around 70% or possibly even more. I have it set up so it gives them shade for most of the hottest time of the day and I also have a bed of peppers with no cover so I can compare the differences that I observe in the growth and production of the peppers. By the end of the season I should be able to determine if less shade would be better or maybe they will do well under the shade provided.
Bill
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