Windbreak Advice

[lavenderlass]

I have secured a plot on a very windy rural site and would like to put windbreak netting around to protect the plants. I am not sure whether to purchase netting 1m or 2 m high. The windbreak netting also acts as a shade, and I don't want too much shade! P.s. I am new to allotment growing, although I have grown vegetables in my garden for a few years now. I have helped out on this site for a few years, hence I know it really is windy. Any advice on securing netting to the wooden posts in the simplest way possible would also be appreciated. Thankyou.

[Bigmallly]

Hello LL & welcome to the jungle. What do the other plot holders do to combat the windy conditions? If you are to go down the netting route, I would think cable ties will last the longest. You could obviously staple the net to the posts or just use string.

[Martin H]

The RHS advice page says that effect is felt for a distance of up to ten times the height of the windbreak.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=624

[Kristen]

Scaffolders debris netting. Cheap-ish, of free if you Blag if from a building site as they are knocking down the scaffolding

Needs to be on strong posts as it will have to take the force of the wind. You'll need horizontal wires, so that the strain of the wind against the netting between the posts is shared / spread by the wires - otherwise the netting will just rip at whatever fixtures you use to attach it to the posts. The wires can be attached to the posts with U-shaped staples.

I got my scaffolders debris netting from:

Debris Netting | Garden Netting | Safety Netting | Allotment Netting | Fruit Cage Netting | Barrier Fencing

[Kristen]

P.S. You could also plant a hedge along the perimeter. Not an instant solution, but planting a row of, for example, Raspberries or Jerusalem artichokes would provide a windbreak in Summer at least.

[Two_Sheds]

very windy rural site ...not sure whether to purchase netting 1m or 2 m high.

A rule of thumb is that the area protected is twice the height of the fence.
So a 1m high net would filter the wind for 2m of ground (or more)

The windbreak netting also acts as a shade,

Not as much as you'd think.
I have a lot of crops under dense debris netting, not high but just floating over my brassicas etc) but stuff grows with no problems.
The netting helps to filter the wind slightly



Our windy site is banned from erecting windbreaks, hedges or fences (duh!), so most of us improvise by planting our tall stuff (raspberries, climbing beans etc) on the windy side of the plot, providing a little protection for other crops


A shelter belt of tall trees would be best of all, but that would mean digging up a main road

[lavenderlass]

Windbreak advice

Hello LL & welcome to the jungle. What do the other plot holders do to combat the windy conditions? If you are to go down the netting route, I would think cable ties will last the longest. You could obviously staple the net to the posts or just use string.

Many of the other allotment holders have installed windbreak netting. I was chatting to one man who said people were installing it to counteract the geese- but of course , they fly over the top! I have helped out at this allotment so I am aware of the terrain and I know that brassicas have not done well at the plot I have helped with, and I am very partial to brassicas! Also my plot does not have the benfit of a hedge near to it, as some of the others do. I am not allowed to erect anything permanent, but posts are already in place.

[Bigmallly]

Regarding Brassicas, have you tried planting them really deep and firming them in with your foot? They don't like wind rock.

[lavenderlass]

Windbreak advice

Scaffolders debris netting. Cheap-ish, of free if you Blag if from a building site as they are knocking down the scaffolding

Needs to be on strong posts as it will have to take the force of the wind. You'll need horizontal wires, so that the strain of the wind against the netting between the posts is shared / spread by the wires - otherwise the netting will just rip at whatever fixtures you use to attach it to the posts. The wires can be attached to the posts with U-shaped staples.

I got my scaffolders debris netting from:

Debris Netting | Garden Netting | Safety Netting | Allotment Netting | Fruit Cage Netting | Barrier Fencing

Thank you for this advice. I hadn't heard of debris netting before and it is certainly cheaper than many types of netting advertised by some gardening suppliers.

[lavenderlass]

windbreak advice

The RHS advice page says that effect is felt for a distance of up to ten times the height of the windbreak.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=624

Thank you for this link.

[lavenderlass]

Windbreak advice

A rule of thumb is that the area protected is twice the height of the fence.
So a 1m high net would filter the wind for 2m of ground (or more)

Not as much as you'd think.
I have a lot of crops under dense debris netting, not high but just floating over my brassicas etc) but stuff grows with no problems.
The netting helps to filter the wind slightly



Our windy site is banned from erecting windbreaks, hedges or fences (duh!), so most of us improvise by planting our tall stuff (raspberries, climbing beans etc) on the windy side of the plot, providing a little protection for other crops


A shelter belt of tall trees would be best of all, but that would mean digging up a main road

Thank you. I'll give it a go!

[lavenderlass]

brassicas

Regarding Brassicas, have you tried planting them really deep and firming them in with your foot? They don't like wind rock.

I grow brassicas well in my garden- which although on a hill, is sheltered by a hedge. I do usually firm them in although I don't plant them deeply. I will try that on my new plot. I always net them as well, so they don't "disappear" or get eaten by slugs caterpillars etc. I particularly love PSB and am looking forward to having the room for them. One year I had them in my front garden , and I feed them too well, so you coud hardly see out the window they were too tall. Very healthy and tasty though!

[AlanP]

I have two plots, one at the bottom of a hill and one right at the top of the hill. the hill faces West so the westerly high winds blow right up the hill. Most of my veg are grown at the top one as all my tunnels and greenhouses are at the bottom one. On the top one I make a trench and then plant in that, as the crop grows I earth them up, sprouts have to be staked though. The only thing that gets ripped to bits with the wind is French Beans (bush type) these I grow at the bottom allotment.

Alan