Before you worry and think, how do I protect my greenhouse from wind, remember three possible solutions. Anchors, reinforcements, and strategic location should help you maintain a sturdy greenhouse amidst challenging outdoor and weather conditions. You must always be one step ahead of possible problems to protect your plants in the long run.
While the greenhouse protects your crops from the harsh climate, you also have to safeguard the structure itself. This is especially crucial if your state is one of those that experience severe storms as Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana. This article will explain three strategies to protect your greenhouse, as well as bonus tips to keep the damaging wind out of your structure.
How Do I Protect My Greenhouse From Wind Successfully
Anchors, reinforcements, and strategic location should protect your greenhouse from harsh winds and storms. It’s better to apply all three in preparation of an upcoming bad weather, and then inspect the whole structure for parts that might be missing or in need of replacement. And more than protecting against wind, you should also keep the wind from getting inside, which this article will discuss later on.
Anchors
When building a greenhouse, make it mandatory to fix and secure it into place. However, please do not make the mistake of settling with fixing pegs as they are only useful to hold small and lighter plastic greenhouses. Therefore, using something more sturdy like ground anchors is safer against strong winds.
You can anchor your greenhouse down to a metal base to keep it from moving when the weather is unpleasant. If you have a greenhouse with polycarbonate glazing, you are at higher risk, so don’t forget the anchors after placing the greenhouse.
It’s fair to say that having an anchoring system for any greenhouse should always be part of the construction. Among the three solutions, one can say that using anchors should be mandatory, even if you think your area doesn’t experience harsh winds. A strong foundation will never fail your greenhouse, as long as you choose the appropriate system for your soil conditions.
Reinforcements
Once you have a strong greenhouse foundation using anchors, you can step it up by adding reinforcements. After all, the best way to protect the greenhouse from wind is by being prepared. Remember that the greenhouse profile is not as massive as a typical farm building, so it’s up to you to anchor it and add reinforcements.
Did you know that you can bury the greenhouse’s extra cover material, such as the PVC glazing in trenches? This method secures the structure against winds, but remember to dig the trenches 7 to 8 inches deep before burying the glazing with sand. You can even attach patches inside and outside of the greenhouse and use them to secure the cover onto the structure’s frame joints.
You want to add reinforcement patches because when the wind gets inside the greenhouse, it will eventually damage the frame and glazing, trying to escape. It’s a good idea to block all the gaps you see in the frame, so that no wind can get inside. Lastly, did you know that you can further strengthen the greenhouse foundation after you added anchors?
Paving slabs around the base and bottom shelf will help weigh down the greenhouse. Additionally, some owners tie or screw the greenhouse to a more stable structure such as a fence if they see a storm coming up.
Strategic location
The final solution to protect your greenhouse from wind is by planning the location for it. You want the greenhouse area to be open so that nothing will get loose and possibly fly towards the glazing. You can secure any potential objects that wind can pick up and also inspect the location for another time when a storm is coming.
This way, you can remove debris such as tree limbs and other potential parts flying towards the greenhouse. You can also relocate smaller greenhouses to another secured location until the weather gets calmer. If this isn’t possible, build a wooden fence or add wind netting to protect the greenhouse.
Can You Keep Wind Out Of The Greenhouse?
As discussed earlier, allowing wind to get inside the greenhouse is also problematic. So, in addition to securing the structure itself, there should be no opportunity for wind to get inside your greenhouse. Start by inspecting the doors, vents, and louvers and close them before the winds come.
Your glass panes might also have damages, so replace the cracked ones immediately. It’s always good to check the panes as glass tends to get brittle as time goes on. And while you’re at it, you might have some missing glazing clips or some of the glazing splices, and bar caps may need replacement as well.
Conclusion
The greenhouse protects the plants from the damages of storms, but do note that greenhouses need care. So how do I protect my greenhouse from wind? Anchors, reinforcements, and strategic location are three solutions that should maintain the stable structure of the greenhouse amidst weather and climate changes.
Start by strengthening the greenhouse foundation using anchors and then adding reinforcements to feel more confident amidst the upcoming strong winds. You can then plan the best location for the greenhouse to be safe from other storm damages. Lastly, don’t forget to do a check-up throughout the greenhouse as any gap can have wind enter inside and cause destruction.