Ocra grow film vs Mylar

[croven]

I used Mylar film last year for the first time. over all it worked well but a few of the covers got torn during the year. Mostly around the by the clamps but some around the holes for the plants and fill tube. they also made a lot of noise in the wind. I was looking for replacements and came across Ocra grow film. Ocra has a white surface instead of the shiny one mylar has. The company claims that it reflects better than mylar but I am not sold on that. The thing i like the most is that it is 11 mils thick instead of the 2 mil mylar.  this thickness keeps it from making noise in the wind and i am hoping that it will last longer. the bad thing is that it is almost twice as much as mylar. I plan on planting a box of peppers in both mylar and ocra to see if they perform similarly.

[mjb8743]

Can you post a link for the product?

[croven]

http://www.orcagrowfilm.com/


http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=ocra+grow+film&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=16159374085790863684&sa=X&ei=EwJpT_TcIMvjsQKJzMjLBQ&ved=0CFoQ8wIwAA#scoring=p

[ErnieHodge]

The thickness difference and the price of oil could be the difference in price.

[John]

Two years ago I experimented with a very good quality mylar (could have been 11 mils).  Wanted to see if it would reflect enough light on the underside of the foliage to deter aphids.  Very disappointed results.  In less than 2 weeks the mylar lost it's shine and became permanently dull as a result of being exposed to the elements.

[croven]

Two years ago I experimented with a very good quality mylar (could have been 11 mils).  Wanted to see if it would reflect enough light on the underside of the foliage to deter aphids.  Very disappointed results.  In less than 2 weeks the mylar lost it's shine and became permanently dull as a result of being exposed to the elements.

I am more interested in being able to reuse the sheets than I am about the reflectiveness of the Mylar. I doubt if there is enough light is reflected from the small surface area of the shower cap to make a difference. I think you would have to lay out a sheet around the plant to get that type of effect and most likely it would only last a short time.

[croven]

Just giving an update. The Orca grow film had about the same amount of fruit produced and had similar amount of bug issues so in that part they are about the same. the ocra film does cost about 3 times as much as the shower caps or Mylar but after one year the orca shows little signs of deterioration that a shower cap or Mylar will show. the only wear that shows on them are near the clamps I used which punched/tore small holes in the orca a few times. the holes did not get bigger or in the case of the Mylar rip. Another thing I noticed is that the ocra does not flap in the wind like the others have. in the past this flapping cut some of the plants off. In the past , I also avoided cutting the Mylar in X's or boxes because it would tend to rip along the strait lines. the ocra doesn't exhibit this problem. I'm buying more to do my other boxes.

[croven]

btw the reverse side is black but i do not know how well this side will hold up to sunlight