Sunburned my balcony tomatoes with a cheap shade net last month

Bought a 70% shade cloth off Amazon for like $12 thinking it'd help during that heat wave in Phoenix. Wrapped it too tight around the cages and the leaves actually fried worse than before, the net held the heat right under it till 5pm. Had to cut off half the plants and move the rest near the railing for airflow. Anyone else had shade cloth backfire on them, or is there a better setup for small balconies?

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felixward7d ago

Wait, didn't the 70% shade just trap the heat like a greenhouse instead of blocking it? I've had way better luck with a lighter 30% net and leaving a gap at the bottom so hot air can escape.