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: 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: 46207
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: 15965

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: 8914
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: 46207
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: 46207
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: 8914
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: 15965

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.

wellington womble

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

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 20 4:47 pm Post subject:

Because a shipping container is higher than anything else I could put up, I hypothesise it will shelter more of the allotment. (I believe the usual guide is shelter over three times the height, and diminishing protection over eight times the height) I think it may be worth thirty foot of good shelter and the whole allotment getting some shelter, with the fruit bushes at the least sheltered end (where they are already planted) as they are not doing much at the windiest time of year and are highly unlikely to blow away! I’m also thinking of myself. I would value doing my winter work in a smaller part of the plot that’s well sheltered, rather than spreading partial protection over the whole plot.

While I agree a very large solid barrier might impose problems, I think a twenty foot one isn’t going to deflect enough wind to be a major issue further down. Almost the whole row have sheds at that end, so it’s effectively one long partial windbreak anyway. Also, if solid barriers aren’t effective, however did walled gardens become the pinnacle of kitchen gardening?

Such a pity walls aren’t allowed. I’ve always covered a walled garden!

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15965

Posted: Sat Sep 19, 20 6:33 am Post subject:
If you want a shed or shipping container that end seems to be the best place. You could always add a mesh or hurdle fence part way down if it is needed for extra protection.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Sep 25, 20 6:16 pm Post subject:
We've got a similar problem and tried a few things over the years. I've decided on a heavy duty fruit cage structure that will hopefully mean I can put wind mesh down a couple of sides and bird/butterfly netting down the others. 1" steel tubing type structure, not cheap but neither is putting in some good quality fence posts to attach the wind mesh to.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15965

Posted: Sat Sep 26, 20 8:17 am Post subject:
That sounds a useful way to go. Will be interested to hear how well it works.

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