prep for garden in severe weather

olivehill · #21 08/09/11, 05:04 PM

I think this year is one of those "put up more than 1 year's worth" realization years for many. And for those that already knew it's one of those that just reinforces the idea.

goatlady · #22 08/09/11, 05:13 PM

I built two 14 x 25 hoop greenhouses in Western SD and used that woven polyvinyl covering. The hail bounces off that stuff as do falling tree branches, snow slides off. You cannot even punch a hole in it with a nail! Wonderful stuff, put it up once and mine were still in perfect condition after 12 years of high wind and -20 degree winter temps. I got mine at Northern Greenhouse folks in ND. My daughter just ordered and received her covering a month ago to build her's down the mountain in Rapid City, on the plains. 80% light filtration, UV protection. Never yellows, never shreds or tatters, stays soft and supple no matter what. WELL worth the cents per running foot.

TheMartianChick · #23 08/09/11, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by olivehill

I think this year is one of those "put up more than 1 year's worth" realization years for many. And for those that already knew it's one of those that just reinforces the idea.

I think that this is key... Many of us may not have enough planted to be able to do it this year. We should look to farmer's markets, gardening neighbors and produce loss leaders at the grocery store to try to shore up our stored foods. There are some veggies that I won't grow due to a poor harvest but I can buy them at the market and can them with ease.

anniew · #24 08/09/11, 08:52 PM

What's the name of the woven poly covering? Thanks.

goatlady · #25 08/09/11, 10:23 PM

No "brand" name, just woven poly

http://www.northerngreenhouse.com/

naturelover · #26 08/09/11, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KimTN

We mostly use hoop houses for our food production. The way my dad constructed them, nothing to date has been able to damage them. We used cattle panels, framed them out with 2by 4's for strength, covered them with chicken wire, and then covered them with 6 mil plastic. Hail just bounces right off. Severe thunder storms have done nothing. Deep snow ( a real surprise for down here ) didn't hurt them either. We are able to get a better crop in the winter. One heat lamp keeps things from freezing. In summer, we open the ends and the milky plastic actually helps keep the plants from scorching. All my plants in the green house are very nice while everything out in the main garden is trashed. We have had terrible heat here. Even tomatoes and peppers grown out in the open are burned to a crisp. We are now working on more houses because it has become evident to us that if we want a garden around here, it will have to be protected from this extreme heat.

I second the above. Heavy hoop houses, and lots of them, built the way Kim described with the chicken mesh on them covered with heavy plastic or the woven polyvinyl coverings. Big hail stones just bounce of that stuff because of the chicken wire absorbing and distributing the impacts of them. In the summer if it's too blazing hot with high UV index you can open it up for air and cover the tops of the hoop houses with the black greenhouse cloths (or even tree branches) for shade and added coolness. Plus there's less risk of bigger critters raiding hoop houses since they don't like to try to get inside enclosed, covered areas. Another plus is that there's less loss of essential moisture inside hoop houses.

Ultra Violet radiation kills plants, it is getting worse and worse and that is something that all home gardeners are going to have to take into consideration in future growing seasons.

.

MOgal · #27 08/12/11, 05:21 PM

I second the woven poly from Northern Greenhouse Sales. We use ours only in the winter, removing it in the spring. We have two pieces, one in use since 2000 and the other since 2001.

Spinner · #28 08/12/11, 07:46 PM

When I first got this place, I had lots of chickens, peacocks, guineas, ducks, and other animals. My garden was fenced, but we added chicken wire over the top to keep the poultry out. It was fairly easy using 6' wire with a few tall posts in various locations.

It worked for hail too. Some hail got thru, but the majority of it would hit the wire and lose it's force before hitting the ground. We often hear and see unintentional consequences, but this time I ran into an unintentional benefit.

When I got quail, I put them in the garden area and they ate bugs while leaving the produce alone. That was a win/win since they eliminated many bugs and provided a small amount of meat and eggs for the table.

Callieslamb · #29 08/12/11, 11:23 PM

I have a greenhouse and keep an extra cover ready JIC. For my smaller tunnels- I cover them at night with a blanket if needed.

motdaugrnds · #30 08/13/11, 12:16 AM

Lots of great ideas here!

NewGround · #31 08/13/11, 08:10 AM

Great thread and it shows why we should strive to produce even greater than what we think we need... Can, freeze, dehydrate enough for two or three years and in years of plenty trade or donate the surplus... In lean years add what you have etc... Get out of thinking there's always a grocery store because there may not always be a grocery store... Even a small space can produce a lot with intensive gardening...

Mutti · #32 08/13/11, 12:44 PM

This is the worst of three bad years in a row...and the topper being 60-70mph winds that blew our greenhouse down. Knew it would go as had some torn plastic and if the wind gets in your are doomed. Fall plan was new plastic which we have enough of on hand to cover twice. Well, we planned to move it to another location and put on more permanent foundation.

If our garden was our survival plan we'd be doomed....maybe we could shoot the bear that took out our bees last week....uck; tasted bear once and it was way nasty! But my latest inventory shows we are still ok and a cow ready for freezer camp....assuming another calamity doesn't hit. DEE

motdaugrnds · #33 08/13/11, 03:41 PM

I discovered the UV rays did a lot of damage to our garden, including our newly planted comfrey. I have been planning for raised beds next year with shade cloths that will negate some of this.

Since I'm wanting long-lasting structures as much as long-lasting foods, I have ruled out the PVC pipes as they are going to need to be replaced every few years. [So much to learn!]

7thswan · #34 08/13/11, 04:17 PM

One week of those awful tempatures did alful damage to our garden. It didn't help too much with me watering it alot. But It was bakeing,so I steamed it.

Eather way, a 35' row of summer squash,gave me as much as probably one plant.

foxfiredidit · #35 08/13/11, 04:56 PM

Didn't plant a garden this year as I needed a break, but 2 years ago my garden suffered really bad from the intense heat and too much drought. I didn't think about building a hoop house, probably should have. Anyway, last year I moved my garden area closer to the tall timber that adjoins my place, calculating that it would go into shade at about 2 and 3 pm every day, and it did. That worked pretty good, production was off some, but not destroyed. The shade provided more comfort for garden chores as well. Now I'm just going to add 20 ft. to each of the 18 rows that are now 70 ft. long. The yearly drought is what really infuriates me. Looking at the farm tek site, I'm thinking about adding drip tape irrigation. Just depends on cost.

Freeholder · #36 08/13/11, 09:56 PM

Mutti, if the bear meat you tried tasted nasty, it may have been a rank old boar, or it may have been eating something nasty. I've eaten meat from several bears, and it was always good. I wouldn't hesitate to eat bear meat again (just make sure it's well done, as bears can have trichinosis, just like feral pigs can).

Kathleen

Ann-NWIowa · #37 08/13/11, 11:38 PM

I've been wanting to try a hoop house. I have a hoop but dh fills it with ground up leaves each fall and this year hasn't gotten it cleared out due to the heat. My problem is snow drifts as high as the house between me and the hoop and the only other place to put it would be where it drifts.

I agree with canning/freezing/dehyrdrating everything when you have it to cover you through the bad years. It ties up a lot of jars but its worth it. We're just not finishing up 2008 green beans. Canned a lot again in 2009 but hardly any in 2010 or 2011. The expression "make hay while the sun shines" sort of covers this.

Cyngbaeld · #38 08/14/11, 10:47 AM

Ann, can you put up a snow fence?

Cyngbaeld · #39 08/14/11, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxfiredidit

Didn't plant a garden this year as I needed a break, but 2 years ago my garden suffered really bad from the intense heat and too much drought. I didn't think about building a hoop house, probably should have. Anyway, last year I moved my garden area closer to the tall timber that adjoins my place, calculating that it would go into shade at about 2 and 3 pm every day, and it did. That worked pretty good, production was off some, but not destroyed. The shade provided more comfort for garden chores as well. Now I'm just going to add 20 ft. to each of the 18 rows that are now 70 ft. long. The yearly drought is what really infuriates me. Looking at the farm tek site, I'm thinking about adding drip tape irrigation. Just depends on cost.

What I did was to scoop out the paths between rows and make them wide and flat. I put earth dams at both ends of each trench. Then I run the hose from the pond pump into the trenches. The water soaks in and the plants are doing very well. Also the weeds aren't at all bad in the rows, though I have to hoe the trenches regularly. I do 5-10 min of hoeing each day and that is all that is needed. This is on 1000sf of garden.

foxfiredidit · #40 08/14/11, 05:09 PM

Good going there Cyngbaeld, I know that works well as I did it back when the garden was smaller and in a better location for it. My problem is that my water source is 600 ft away, and is a well pump. I about wore myself out fooling around with trying to water the garden, so for me the drip tape will do it all at once and apply it directly where needed and not break the bank on running the well pump. Hopefully with the new and growing compost pile and some water as needed, I can actually downsize the garden into being more productive. But I have to see how the water system works first. I want to maximize production on the smallest plot necessary to produce all I need. I'm producing that now, but the workload is a bummer for 1 person........and I understand what you mean about that hoeing. I get to it early in the day and limit the time to 30 minutes, done or not. That keeps the grass out very well. Good luck with your garden.