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Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: tim on May 18, 2006, 16:10:51

Title: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: tim on May 18, 2006, 16:10:51
Yes, I knew it was going to be gusty - & I know what the wind can do.

But it lifted this off, smashed the long 'brick' in half & flattened all my seedlings.

 I know - I shouldn't have left an overlap facing into wind.

Better safe than sorry?
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: Jill on May 18, 2006, 16:33:06
Sorry to hear that.  Last year my mini greenhouse blew over scattering all the newly potted seeds and just growing seedlings of courgettes, squashes, beans and tomatoes and their labels all over the patio.  Beans and toms were easy to identify but courgettes and squashes were impossible to identify until the fruits formed.  This year I weighted down the greenhouse but I've just been out to check on the tomatoes and courgettes that are hardening off outside it to find that the wind has snapped one of the healthiest tomatoes right at the base.  Can't win, can we Tim?
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: Robert_Brenchley on May 18, 2006, 21:40:14
Some of my cloches were blown loose, though none had actually gone flying. I once had half the roof come off the shed, but that's the only time I've had any real damage. i recovered the corrugated and nailed it down more firmly.
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: tabbycat on May 18, 2006, 21:54:19
i was down at the plot this morning and it was really windy - a few plots along, the black weed fabric that they'd put down, (all 10 metres of it) had blown over the fence, into the woods and was firmly entangled in the oak trees, about eight foot off the ground. I was complaining to my OH that we hadn't managed to go and get any weed fabric yet yesterday. Now I'm glad that we have been so slow!
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: lorna on May 18, 2006, 23:03:29
Another one who should have known better. I had a very nice fu*hsia, happy wedding day in a large pot which I left near the shed ready to take to a friend. It is still a reasonable size but now missing some of the side stems/leaves.
Lorna.
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: sandersj89 on May 19, 2006, 09:22:53
Yes, very windy all day and night and it is set to continue and maybe get worse tonight in the south.

I have to do a bit of emergency cold frame lid securing last night and increased the anchorage of my walk in plastic greenhouses. The one at the allotment is in a very exposed position in particular. Tied extra guide ropes onto it anchored to concrete blocks and used 4litre plastic milk containers, two attached to a piece of rope (one on each end) and placed over the top of the house so the rope is held  down reducing the flogging of the plastic. It came through the night fine though I did loose one tomato plant where the flogging of a piece of plastic snapped it of at ground level, have plenty of spares to replace it though.

The forecast for the weekend is more wind and more rain so outdoor activity may be curtailed some what.

Jerry
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: kippers garden on May 19, 2006, 09:27:02
I'm dreading seeing what's happened to all my black plastic when i nxt go down.  Only put it down on Wedsnesday!
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: tabbycat on May 19, 2006, 11:11:18
got hardly any sleep last night - we've got an oak tree at the front of the house, it's at least 150 years old and twice as high as the house. When the wind's high it's like being by the sea, the noise of the leaves is incredible!

Maybe I should have closed the window, but then I can't sleep becasue I feel too "shut-in", so at about fiveish I gave up and just sat by the windows watching the tree dance as the day came in.

Tabbycat
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: Robert_Brenchley on May 19, 2006, 23:01:42
My cloches were blown about again today, but not so badly this time. The wind's died down now anyway.
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: markyb23 on May 19, 2006, 23:14:21
Everyone under-estimates the forces of nature.The wind and the sea.
 are more powerful than most of us realise. :)
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: Robert_Brenchley on May 19, 2006, 23:34:34
I was once walking ocer Cairn Gorm - it blows gale force 360 days out of the year up there - and I was literally knocked off my feet and blown several yards across the snow. A couple of years later I was camping in Glencoe, and having trouble staying upright just walkng down the road heading for the village, when I got caught up in a rescue. Some people had been up on Bidean nam Bian (in that weather!) and this girl was similarly picked off her feet by a gust. She was extremely lucky; she landed in a snow gully, kept hold of her axe, and managed to stop just before she hit the rocks. She got away with a broken rib, but someone else I was involved in trying to rescue the week before wasn't so lucky or cool-headed, and died very messily. Never underestimate the wind!
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: loulou on May 20, 2006, 00:04:42
I'm so up set i went to my dads yesterday at 330pm with the birthday girl (5 ) and my pop up green house was ok i did put some bricks round it just in case and my other half phoned me at 405pm when he got home and said i needed to sit down because i wasn't going to like what he had to say ( Imagine what i thought  1 he'd crashed my car  2 house burgled 3 family member died 4 rabbits got out etc ) he then told me the pop up house was in the middle of the drive  ??? i came home and what a mess   :'( :'(  every thing was out off its pots  soil in a big pile   as i proceeded to clean up i got more and more annoyed  I'm missing at least 8 tomato plants all the sweet peppers have died sweet corn gone  cumbers melons gone i re potted 16 toms the only problem now is i don't  know which is which  I'm leaning more to some one has done it  rather than the wind because i had 28 tom plants and iv replanted 16  found 4 under the soil dead so I'm 8 missing   ??? but other half is convinced it was the wind  oh well back to the sowing board ill get some veg in December at this rate  so sorry for the whine but I'm very very very ******  off  at the moment not to mention disappointed
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: tim on May 20, 2006, 06:57:51
Life can be real MEAN at times?? And I haven't a surplus to send you.
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: amphibian on May 20, 2006, 07:21:31
I arrived at my allotment on yesterday to find a long polytunnel cloche neatly placed on my plot, the bit that some woman had tried to steal (see allotment elves thread) my first thought was, 'oh god, not this again.'

Fortunately I soon realised that as neat as the cloche had been been placed, it had merely blown from plot 2, a few plots away.
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: sarah on May 20, 2006, 07:24:55
You have my sympathies lou lou, its so frustrating when you have got everything to such a point, i think a few of us down here on the south coast will have some casualties of this weekend, i managed to hastily put up sopports for my broad beans yesterday morning ( a job i should have done a while back) but my runners and french beans are gonners. Luckily can start them again.  My plot neighbour had just planted out his tomatoes, i dread to think how they are today.

lou lou,have you had a good look underneath the plants and shrubs on your drive, your missing toms may have got blown under something.  I guess someone may have taken advantage of your plight and pinched a few though. hope you manage to salvage something.
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: amphibian on May 20, 2006, 07:25:21
I'm so up set i went to my dads yesterday at 330pm with the birthday girl (5 ) and my pop up green house was ok i did put some bricks round it just in case and my other half phoned me at 405pm when he got home and said i needed to sit down because i wasn't going to like what he had to say ( Imagine what i thought  1 he'd crashed my car  2 house burgled 3 family member died 4 rabbits got out etc ) he then told me the pop up house was in the middle of the drive  ??? i came home and what a mess   :'( :'(  every thing was out off its pots  soil in a big pile   as i proceeded to clean up i got more and more annoyed  I'm missing at least 8 tomato plants all the sweet peppers have died sweet corn gone  cumbers melons gone i re potted 16 toms the only problem now is i don't  know which is which  I'm leaning more to some one has done it  rather than the wind because i had 28 tom plants and iv replanted 16  found 4 under the soil dead so I'm 8 missing   ??? but other half is convinced it was the wind  oh well back to the sowing board ill get some veg in December at this rate  so sorry for the whine but I'm very very very ******  off  at the moment not to mention disappointed

I'm really sorry to hear that, alak I just gave away my spare peppers, or else I would send them to you.
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: amphibian on May 20, 2006, 07:27:50
You have my sympathies lou lou, its so frustrating when you have got everything to such a point, i think a few of us down here on the south coast will have some casualties of this weekend, i managed to hastily put up sopports for my broad beans yesterday morning ( a job i should have done a while back) but my runners and french beans are gonners. Luckily can start them again.  My plot neighbour had just planted out his tomatoes, i dread to think how they are today.

lou lou,have you had a good look underneath the plants and shrubs on your drive, your missing toms may have got blown under something.  I guess someone may have taken advantage of your plight and pinched a few though. hope you manage to salvage something.

My broadbeans are lying parallel to the ground, but seem to still be alive.
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: supersprout on May 20, 2006, 09:03:29
So sorry to hear of the casualties loulou :'(
Let us know if there's anything you could do with (apart from sympathy and a hug) :-*
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: lorna on May 20, 2006, 13:25:02
loulou Have just got home and read your post.I have some pepper(Jalapeno) seeds if they are any use to you..Also some Melon, mainstream you are welcome to. I have no idea if you still have time to plant these seeds as I have never grown anything but flowers until this year. PM me your address I will put them in post tomorrow (Sunday) if they are any use.
Lorna.
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: tabbycat on May 20, 2006, 13:38:40
loulou,

You have my sympathies. It's all the love and nuture that we put into our plants that makes things like this so upsetting.

PM me with your address. I have 3 cucumber plants that you are welcome to have.

Cheers,

Tabbycat xx
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: Gadfium on May 20, 2006, 14:22:10
lou lou,

I've got 3 or 4 small Californian Wonder pepper plants in the greenhouse, if they'd be of any use just let me know and I'll post them to you.
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: saddad on May 20, 2006, 23:41:19
I had tried to overwinter some broad beans, red epicure, having had great success the previous year. Few survived but were in full flower and are now lying down! My worst nightmare was a metal shed I put on our allotment, but hadn't fastened to the base properly, which took off over a 4' fence and landed upside down across the next allotment, with things like the workmate still fastened to the roof spars. At least it had stopped not gone another three feet up and across into someones greenhouse! When i put it back I turned it through 90 so that its doors were not facing prevailing winds, screwed it down to the base well and so far it hasn't moved!
 ::)
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: loulou on May 21, 2006, 00:20:07
to every one who has been so kind  with the offer of plants  a very very very big thank you i spent to day running round like a blue ***** fly sowing seeds and looking for them in my very messed up seed pot ( next job sort it out and put them in order ) and to the offer off a big hug ill accept please I'm still convinced some one did it because plants and pots have gone but other half says I'm silly  it only took 30 min for all that devastation to happen the good side is  i  still had seeds the bad side is they will be late oh well the old saying is  better late than never so once again thank you all i now believe there is kindness still around in this world if there is ever anything i can do for any of you please let me know thank you from the bottom of my heart loulou
Title: Re: Will we (I) never learn??
Post by: Andy H on May 27, 2006, 10:46:35
A few years ago mum looked out into garden to find the greenhouse had gone!
It had cleared 2 six ft fences and missed next door garden and landed in next one!

Obviously she then received text messages for a while about greenhouse seen doing 80mph anticlockwise down the M25 :-X
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