- Thread starter
- #11
The Mama Chicken
Attractive To Bees
No kidding! It has been an... interesting year here in Texas. At least the next week looks nice, highs in the 80's, lows in the 60's, and no storms.
Killer Wind
- Thread starter The Mama Chicken
- Start date
SweetMissDaisy
Garden Addicted
TMC, I have terrible wind here too (I'm also in central TX) ... Last year, it was so bad. After one of the rounds of tornadoes, I searched Craig's List for fence panels. People had loads of them for FREE, or for as little as $5 or $10 each. Since people were having to replace their panels that had been blown down in the high winds, they were eager to get rid of them. Nothing wrong with them, other than they toppled over like a line of dominoes.
We ended up simply positioning a few of them at the south side of the garden along our existing treeline, to block more of the wind. It has helped this spring tremendously!!
You can kind of see them in this photo, at the top:
They're not the prettiest thing, but they're functional ... and I was desperate!!
We ended up simply positioning a few of them at the south side of the garden along our existing treeline, to block more of the wind. It has helped this spring tremendously!!
You can kind of see them in this photo, at the top:
They're not the prettiest thing, but they're functional ... and I was desperate!!
Jared77
Garden Addicted
You could add some chicken wire to those fence panels and grow grapes or a decorative vine on them. Heck even grow some beans or cukes to take advantage of the vertical space you've created.
SweetMissDaisy
Garden Addicted
The one that gets sun during the day will have gourds growing on it this year. The others are all in the shade.
desertlady
Attractive To Bees
Been windy here too ! hate that ! I have not plant my veggies yet because I fear the wind !! (they are little plants I grew inside) But I know I will have to set up barriers which its not attractive !!
Stubbornhillfarm
Attractive To Bees
I stumbled upon the "stone wall advantage" purely on accident. I had to relocate my roses and the only place to put them was in the front garden. Our house faces due north and it is windy, windy up on top of the hill at all times. Before relocating, the roses did ok at best. After putting them behind the stone wall, they are thriving! Not only do they have the wind break, but I assume that there is heat that comes off the stone as well and radiates into the soil. This is not a great picture, but you get the idea.digitS' said:I am sorry, TMC! Yes, even a strong breeze on seedlings will dehydrate them. Strong enuf to break! Yeah, I know something about that. At times, I've thought of "stapling" vines especially to the ground. When they are up-side and in the neighbor's yard . . . well, that's too late to be trying to come up with ways of "nailing them down!"
My big veggie garden has the advantage of rocks. Boy, does it have the advantage of rocks
I've never visited Ireland but see what seem to me to be those charming stone walls around little fields and gardens in pictures. I know that they serve a purpose more than just a handy place to toss the rocks or just to keep the sheep out. I bet they do some good at deflecting the wind.
A stone wall and what advantage it might afford me - I don't know. That garden isn't on my property and, I know one thing, I'm not going to spend a summer hauling rocks from a neighbor's huge stone pile nearby to build a wall or walls! Still, I wonder about the protection it could provide and how high it would need to be and how far out into the garden it might protect the plants.
Protected growing is more than just about temperature. And, these "micro-climates" gardeners talk about -- well, they just blow away when hit by 35mph+ winds!
Steve
who knows there's some research out there on windbreaks and is curious what it is.
So sorry to hear about the wind Mama Chicken. Gardening can be so frustrating at times. I am glad the joy outweighs the aggrevation or we would all be very hungry!
digitS'
Garden Master
The roses certainly look like they are thriving! And, that's an attractive stone wall .
I hardly know what to think about stones - you'd think I'd be an expert . . . I've gotten fairly good at replacing shear pins in rototillers, at least.
The idea that stones "heat" the soil: I was prepared to discount that completely several years ago. Then I got to thinking. What I think is happening with stones is that they move heat. So, heat is moved into the soil if they are warm but they may move heat out of the soil, if they are cold. A wall of stones would collect sunlight and warm, in mass. A stone "mulch," which is dang-near what I've got in that veggie garden without even trying :/, probably cools the soil as much as it heats it.
I wish wind would heat things . . . It is sunny and didn't freeze last night. However, we now have enuf wind that the Weather Service is measuring "wind chill." It has been below freezing by the wind chill measurement all morning and it is nearly noon . . .
Steve
.I hardly know what to think about stones - you'd think I'd be an expert . . . I've gotten fairly good at replacing shear pins in rototillers, at least.
The idea that stones "heat" the soil: I was prepared to discount that completely several years ago. Then I got to thinking
. What I think is happening with stones is that they move heat. So, heat is moved into the soil if they are warm but they may move heat out of the soil, if they are cold. A wall of stones would collect sunlight and warm, in mass. A stone "mulch," which is dang-near what I've got in that veggie garden without even trying :/, probably cools the soil as much as it heats it.I wish wind would heat things . . . It is sunny and didn't freeze last night. However, we now have enuf wind that the Weather Service is measuring "wind chill." It has been below freezing by the wind chill measurement all morning and it is nearly noon . . .
Steve
