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Location

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Date Posted

Jaffrey NH

Anyone have plans for a cheep wind breaker that can go up fast? I have seen what others have done but do you use stakes or moveable posts. Thanks. Wind has just started to become a problem. First female pollinated today but just for fun and the wind last night really ripped up the plant.
Thanks
Douglas

6/20/2004 10:41:12 AM

[email protected]

Standard silt fencing here. 100' roll with oak stakes already attached. $20 at Home Cheapo. $18-$22 anywhere you look that building contractors shop. Probably not the most effective. But hard to beat for the money.

6/20/2004 11:06:57 AM

Western Pa.

I tried to get the silt fence above, but the Depot said it was a limited sale and they were all out!
Last year I used a 100' roll of plastic folded to 4' wide, and attached it to already existent posts with a little tie wire. When it got REAL windy we parked out two Cherokees back-to-back in front of the break". Our high winds almost always come from the South.

6/20/2004 2:15:50 PM

Appalachian Mtns.

I use silt fence, and orange webbed snow fencing

6/20/2004 3:05:08 PM

Circleville ,OH.

I use the orange webbed snow fence also, but I wire tie 4ft plastic to it on the windy sides of my patch. I use burried posts and metal tee-posts to hold it up, so you dont need to worry about it blowing down in high winds. Works good and lasts for a few years. Just dont get a weed-eater too close, the weed-eater will win !

6/20/2004 9:20:08 PM

I'm with Gordon... GO UTES!

I use the orange snow fence, but I've found that I need
really heavy duty metal posts... not the lightest ones
at HD. The wind bent up three of them over the weekend!
But... it's proof of how much wind it is slowing down...
Just don't skimp on the metal posts, if your wind is
anything like mine.

Then again, if your wind is anything like mine, quit now! ;-)

6/21/2004 5:27:46 PM

Brillion Wisconsin

4 X 8 sheets of plywood or used paneling would work great. If your not concerned about what the neighbors think and already have a fence around your patch old carpeting strung up between the post would block the wind also.

I saw a diary were a guy wrapped shrink wrap around his planting area, great idea. There are many ways of blocking the desructive force of wind from reaching your pize pumpkin plants. Be creative, this is one reason this sport is so appealing to many of us.

Having to engineer and then manufacture custom devices for the well being of our obsession, the Atlantic Giant Pumpkin. I love this aspect of the sport! Dean o

6/21/2004 10:24:43 PM

Eugene, OR

Wind is a MAJOR problem where I live and I've had it with temporary solutions and having to move/rebuild them every 3-4 days to accomodate the now larger plant. The problem with solid wind breaks is that the wind hits them, is diverted up, and simply goes back down to the ground and gets to the plants anyway. An ideal windbreak would be made of something that allows the wind to pass through it while breaking it up into smaller, more easily dissipated currents.

The wind screen they use around tennis courts is a perfect example, as is snow fence and other porous materials that can take the wind loads.

I live on a hill and the wind tears through here at more than 20 mph almost every day. I have 4+ foot temporary plastic windbreaks tight around each plant right now and they still get some minor leaf damage so I've decided to go ahead with a more permanent solution. After A LOT of searching I found a great supplier of shade cloth that should do the job as well as the more expensive fabricated tennis court wind screens for less money. As an example, 1.03 per linear foot gets you a 6 foot wide piece of 80% knitted shade cloth that you can cut to size. It won't fray after cutting and has a burst strength high enough to take hurricane force winds. As long as the fence supports can take it, your windbreak will hold in the strongest of winds. A good rule of thumb for a fence is 10% of your post length in the ground for 4x4's.

Their website addy:

http://www6.mailordercentral.com/igcusastore/products.asp?dept=1117

Just makes sense to buy something that will last for years instead of doing it like I am now with plastic, staples, and lots of wasted time that could be better spent on burying vines, weeding, etc. We put too much time in these things as it is! :-)

Good luck guys!!

Brian

6/22/2004 12:20:14 AM