What about the wind?

Can anyone point me in the right direction as far as protecting my boxes from the wind? Right now the wind is gusting over 40 mph with sustained winds at 25 - 30 mph. Of course it doesn't blow year round (we will be wishing for a breeze come July). The problem is that it tends to blow during the months when my plants will still be young. Any suggestions? All will be appreciated!

~Rhonda

Hi,
Yours is a question that doesn't get asked to often; I'm curious too as to the responses. One solution is a windbreak that is appropriate for your area. Another is to make a box cover as described in Mel's new book. Here are some of my boxes that are put to bed for the winter. The light colored hoop one is one example of how to protect your beds.



That box is 4 feet wide. The electrical pvc I used was cut to 8.5 feet. If you left the sticks at 10 feet, as they are sold, you could get more height.

Tim, boffer, and I have been discussing the different types of mulch lately to keep the precious Mix from blowing away. I've been using that shredded mulch around some of my trees and it seems to stay put in these south plains "breezes." I'm going to try it on my SFG beds also, but I am concerned about the higher (40+mph) days.
I'm thinking that the wire cages that Mel Describes could be covered with the same light colored row cover cloth or perhaps the weed block fabric and double as a sunshade for our hot summer days too. Whatever we use needs to be easy to place, strong enough not to fall into the plants and anchored well enough so it wont blow away.

Thanks for the suggestion boffer. I appreciate the pics too.....oh and the light gray looks great on the ticker!

~Rhonda

Im thinking a couple of poles or some 2x4's stuck in the ground then staple gun some shade cloth onto the uprights. it should provide a decent wind break and still allow the sun to penatrate the fabric. just a thought

I have been having the same issue with wind at my house too. We are in a new subdivision with very few trees. My garden also sits almost above my lower fence line due to a dramatic drop off in the elevation of our backyard. I have constructed the covering for the plants and it did great with blocking the wind but I have a follow up question:

Are there any long-term effects to leaving the cover on? I am not familiar with a greenhouse design and am not sure if there are any ill effects to my plants for remaining under the protection of the tarp?

I have attached the pictures of my SFGs to give you an idea of what I have done.

Any suggestions would be welcome!

Thanks

Aaah another Texan griping about the wind... glad I'm not alone! After years of gardening in this area where the wind blows almost non-stop in Spring I decided the only thing to do was move my garden into an area that had permanent/natural windbreaks.

It's in the corner of my yard where my wood privacy fence acts as two side of the garden, then there's a chainlink fence in the yard that makes the other two sides of the garden. I put honeysuckle on the chainlink to take over and create a natural windbreak.

I've been reluctant to try any type of cloth or plastic because of how intense the wind gets. Couple years ago it took the thick, heavy cover off my gas grill and blew it to who knows where.

rmdoogs wrote: I have constructed the covering for the plants and it did great with blocking the wind but I have a follow up question:

Are there any long-term effects to leaving the cover on?

Be sure to provide plenty of ventilation when the sun is shining and it's not cold outside. They heat up quickly. I fried a whole box in one day cause I didn't open the cover in the morning.

Best way to understand what it's like under a covered box is to get in your car. The temps will be similar. Ideally, you want to avoid 90+ temps, as that's when warm crops start to shut down.

Definately need to vent. My covered one has been running anywhere from 100-122 inside while it's only 40-60 degrees outside.

Everyone's pictures look so good, I'll be glad when the mess is cleaned up around here. I was working on this post & it disappeared, if it shows up twice, forgive me.

DH built the frame for one box this weekend from PVC pipe. He tried wiring it at the top, but kept flipping sideways. He drilled a hole in each piece, slipped a nail through. Hole is larger & nail comes out easy. The skeleton of a frame at the left is for my sugar snaps. I soaked them in water overnight & they are peeking through the mix already.l

When the wind started up earlier, I found a plastic painter's drop cloth & clamped over the frame. Doesn't look great, but works in a pinch. The top is open on both ends where it goes over the frame for ventilation. I have my trays of peppers & tomatoes inside. I only have romaine & cabbage planted so far, they seem very happy.

One thing to fix this weekend - the cat loves her new litter box. We have wire fencing at the barn, so we'll make a cover of some sort for it.

Ahhh the winds of spring in Texas. Poo! Like jjphoto I've got one of my beds running east-west along the north fence. It certainly helps. The wind is either east to west or west to east and it blows long and hard in the spring. My other bed is "out in the open" running north south along side the driveway. I put my trellis on that one. (There's a photo in my gallery if you care to look.) This year When the trellis is covered it acts as a wind break, but by then the winds are over for the year. This year I'm planting a climbing/vining nasturtium that I hope will cover the trellis quickly. We'll see what happens. Once the cukes and cantaloupe start growing, I'll cut the nasturtium back if needed.

Special thanks to you Dixie. I got the idea of using clamps from your pictures. It has worked out better than I had hoped. I was able to create a half cover to block the wind and still allow ventilation and rain to fall on the garden. Still having some plants destroyed by the wind, but I'm able to minimize the damage. Thanks for everyone's help. I know I'll be begging for a breeze come June and July