My daughter's father-in-law (old cambodian f@rt) uses the same technique in his garden, but last year in this part of Texas.... I don't think anything helped.
/johnny
Yeah, we don’t get those 100 plus days one after the other so it may have been the heat. I lived in Texas for about 5 years and remember quite well.
The shade cloth I got wasn’t all that expensive. The total for the 20x32 was only $98.85 shipped to my door. It came from http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/60-percent-black-bulk-shade-cloth/shade-cloth which was much cheaper than others. I didn’t get the one with the grommets already put in because I am going to staple to the frame.