Be Prepared or Prepare to be Upset

In the wake of storm Arwen, which saw red warnings for wind being issued for north-eastern parts of the UK, I have now decided to write this month's blog on what we can do to prepare our allotments for storms and severe weather. On our plot we have been caught out a few times over the years, we have lost a greenhouse that we were using as a fruit cage and also one of those cheap green polytunnels. To be completely honest it did us well for two seasons, but in that short time it wasn't just the weather that caused all the damage, the material was rotting away and the poles were rusty.

Over a two year period, we lost them both due to high winds, the wind was so strong it had twisted the metal frames to the point of no return. The only plus to this, silver lining and all, was we then had poles to use to help rebuild our fences and help build structures to grow up.

So to the blog in hand. I am going to share my top 5 things to help protect and prepare you for storms.

1 Make Sure Everything is Secure and Tight.

This may sound simple but really even the smallest of movements can cause a lot of damage when the wind gets under it. For example, my polytunnel skin - if it wasn't tight, every time the wind blew it would rub against the frame and keep doing this till it rips.

Make sure doors and windows are closed. A strong wind would blow right through your structures causing a windsock effect and possibly lift the structure of the ground.

I have noticed on my polytunnel that the main front door frame has developed some movement. This is a me issue, as I think I did not seat the door frame into the ground properly. With the wind pushing on it causing the frame to move back and forwards this has caused the soil to become loose around the frame, to fix it I may use a little cement or just stamp on the ground to make it hard and tight around the pole.

Also, our tunnel has a rear opening which I have not yet blocked up but I am going to do so to help prevent any damage.

2 Debris

Another simple one, but sometimes something as simple as an empty plant pot being left out could become a projectile in strong winds and breakthrough your polytunnel or even smash your greenhouse glass. So clean everything up when you can. We also have the added danger of a big tree on our plot, I have to keep a good eye on it to make sure no branches are dead and also to make sure it's trim and not in reach of any of our structures.

3 Repair Damage

A damaged roof, a ripped polytunnel skin or even a damaged fence panel may seem small but when the winds pick up and the rains begin, that little bit of damage may become a massive problem. A small hole letting lots of water in causing rotting that could see you losing your roof in strong winds. That small hole in your polytunnel left unattended could end up causing you to completely lose your polytunnel skin when the winds pick up. Thank god you can use polytunnel tape to cover and strengthen any holes.

I have a small hole in my polytunnel that I need to patch up as soon as possible. This hole I think was caused by a bird trying to get the flies on the inside of the tunnel during the summer.

4 Clear Structure of Snow and Ice

Build up of snow and ice on structures can weaken them due to increased weight. Also the cold can make the material brittle and break when put under stress caused by that excess weight. My shed roof isn't at a steep gradient so snow collects on it. The way I combat this is to put the gas heater on, this heats the structure and the snow and ice just slip off. For our polytunnel I use a brush to just scrape the snow and ice off, I would not bang from the inside as you risk puncturing the skin.

5 Struts and Anchors

When possible I would recommend anchoring any building or structure to the ground and making sure all roof struts are strong enough to support the weight of snow and storms.

On our allotment, when I build a new structure like the hothouse or shed, I anchor them into the ground using a metal rod in every corner. I hammer them into the ground as far as I can and then fasten them to the structure. As for our polytunnel, we used the anchor screws when we were building it but apart from that we don't have anything else, the poles themselves are only in two sections and are extra thick so I don't have any worries that it will fail. I do know Northern Polytunnel offers bracing bars if you need them these help add extra strength to the overall structures.

Once again if you're reading this, thank you for taking the time out of your day. I am not an expert; I am just sharing my experiences with you and maybe it helps in some way. For more on our allotment head over to our Instagram page @allotment102. We try to post a few times a week and we share everything good and bad