Windbreaks for an allotment

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Windbreaks for an allotment
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wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 20 10:37 am Post subject: Windbreaks for an allotment

Our allotment is very windy. The beans have really struggled with it, and it held back many of the young plants early this year. It’s also deeply unpleasant to work in. Even the polytunnel I put up in May, and weighted down with sandbags full of stones blew away!

Short of building a wall around it (wouldn’t that be lovely!) what sort of things make good windbreaks that are easy to put up and maintain? I don’t want to grow things that need trimming and weeding, there’s enough of that on the plot itself.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 20 10:57 am Post subject:
posts , stainless steel braided cable, scaff net or fruit bushes such as black currant, gooseberry etc not a block but they mitigate strong wind at ground level by breaking the airflow hedges are good and better than anything "solid", even a few feet tall makes loads of difference

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28239
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 20 2:39 pm Post subject:
Polycarb sheets, stakes either side to keep them in place.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6614
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 20 11:58 am Post subject:

jema wrote:

Polycarb sheets, stakes either side to keep them in place.

Sounds like a recipe for chasing polycarbonate sheets from neighboring land

I would go for something that's well rooted, whether through living roots or concrete

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 20 3:16 pm Post subject:
We can’t have concrete, but if I plant a hedge, I won’t be able to weed it and it will get infested with bindweed and mares tail. I’m considering a heras panel, with netting on. Or maybe a hazel hurdle. Or maybe a full-width shed... Annoyingly, the wind comes in on the short side of a long thin allotment, so I may need to put another one in part way down, too.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 20 5:21 pm Post subject:
if you can cut coppice hazel is ace to use pay for not sure

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16004

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 20 7:08 am Post subject:

We have found that a wire mesh fence breaks the wind up quite well in our garden, which is on quite a windy hill but hazel hurdles are probably the best. If you buy them, for longevity, get proper British made ones that are woven in at the bottom and wound round the end rails, not the nailed ones from the garden centre. They are more expensive, but mounted on chestnut posts with wire or nails through the gaps, they will last longer. Make sure nothing grows through them, and treat with wood preservative every year, and they should go on for a good few years. They may get a bit brittle after several years, so treat with care.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8961
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 20 8:57 am Post subject:
Another thought..it is an allotment..ask the secretary of the allotment committee what is allowed.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 20 4:42 pm Post subject:

having thought about it seems ideal for a couple of strips of fruit bushes

currants and gooseberries are ace and reducing wind in the microclimate in their lee

both are hardy and easy to propagate, hint a stem and a brick

if this is long term, wide space, propagate and get the full benefit in 2 to 3 years

i grew up and had an allotment in a very windy place

hedges and bushes are better than most solids, trees are good

eg the third garage was concrete panels and extra metal+ a wedge of vegetation from a monterey pine .huge lilac, big rowan, biggish birch
that one is still there 40 yrs later

a gable flanked drive lined up at the prevailing wind in the moderately high pennines

trees and bushes do seem very effective

something to consider is that a solid will divert the energy but veg or a holey fence absorb it

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 20 2:34 pm Post subject:

It’s the wrong place for bushes. Something easy to weed needs to go there, because of the bindweed.

I’m awfully tempted to put a shipping container there. It’d be a bombproof shed, and block the wind nicely. I wonder if it would be allowed!? 🤣

Hurdles are allowed, and someone has a heras panel, which I think would work nicely. I’m leaning towards hazel and those angle irons, if I can get them.

katie

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 713
Location: midlands

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 20 6:17 pm Post subject:
Rosa Rugosa works well as a windbreak - and grows quickly.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 20 6:43 pm Post subject:
the lottie near mine had a shipping container, nice solid shed ask, if it is not excluded in the Ts and Cs chances are it would ok if done politely my edible york chums have one in a corner of a community orchard raised beds on and a ladder and to the roof would avoid carrot fly as well nowt to lose by asking

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8961
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 20 6:45 pm Post subject:
Sometimes too quickly!! Not a native, but the large rosehips are very handy for making cordial 😎😄

NorthernMonkeyGirl

Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 4630
Location: Peeping over your shoulder

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 20 7:04 pm Post subject:
Would the shipping container disrupt the air TOO much and make little tornadoes further down the plot..?

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16004

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 20 7:34 am Post subject:
That is a good point NMG. I think something like mesh or hurdles would be better as they break the wind up well but don't cause turbulence. I love the smell of rosa rugosa. When I come across one I always have a good sniff. Perhaps not suitable for this site though.

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