[Tinbasher]

How has everyone coped with the March winds we now get in June?  I thought the Bank Holiday in May was bad enough - it snapped about 4 sunflowers that were just starting to come up nicely, say about a foot high, overturned a cold frame and broke 6 tomato plants that I had nurtured from indoor sowings from March and did various other damage.  The other day (sunday), with more plants put outside and getting to a height, it was even worse.  24 French beans have been shredded, most of them snapped (or at least kinked badly) at ground level, 9 runner beans on a Munty Frame have been shredded, 2 of them broken low down, all remaining sunflowers have been damaged, tomatoes outside have had leaves stripped off them, fruit has been stripped off bushes, especially currants.  The list is endless.

It's my first year with an allotment on open ground.  All the stuff in my garden (walled on 3 sides) has fared much better, having had some protection by being enclosed, but on the allotment the only things that seem to have withstood the winds are the potatoes - low growing, tough stems, earthed up to give some support.  The onions seem alive still, though all the foliage has been laid flat.  Everything else, more tender and fragile has been decimated.  I've made a vow that next year, no tender plants will be going on the plot.  I'll keep all that for the garden, and the only things that I'll put on the allotment are potatoes and leeks.  Brassicas may be ok I've thought, being low and tough, and I have 2 dozen winter and savoy cabbage still in pots to go out in a week or two.  I'm glad I haven't put them out yet.  It all seems a waste of land though not to try loads of varieties of veg, and I know that by next Feb/March, I'll have changed my mind and be hopeful to have allsorts on the plot.  The garden at home isn't big enough either to fit in everything that I feel needs more protection.

Has this year (once again) been abnormal and I've just suffered a freak series of events?  The winds the other day were gale force (midsummer's day or thereabouts) and I can't imagine I could have done more in the way of staking or tying in, even if I had anticipated winds of such fury.

How has everyone else fared?

[Jen]

it's all sent to try us, that's allotmentering for you
..no two years the same, we'll be complaining bout
some-ut else next year.  :roll:  :roll:

jen     :flower:

[Helen G]

Grr!  I leave the garden unattended for one weekend whilst I visit my folks, and what do I find when I get back? - total carnage. :evil:

On closer inspection, most of my veg seems to have survived; onion foliage a bit bent over, peas & mangetout blown off their frames, even my tubs of toms seem to have coped with being toppled over, although their stakes are no longer anywhere near vertical...

The only realy casualties are my spuds - nearly all of them have been blown over (then again, I suspect this is my own fault for planting them too close together, it's the only explanation I can think of for them growing 4' high!).

I really feel for you Tinbasher, best of luck salvaging what's left.

[peterjf]

in my opinion this bad and windy weather is mother nature kicking our butts and reminding us that she is in control of most things , well , apart from my misses ,

[Aidy]

it's all sent to try us, that's allotmentering for you
..no two years the same, we'll be complaining bout
some-ut else next year.  :roll:  :roll:

jen     :flower:

True. No one ever said it was easy.