The winds of repair!

Well, there is a major repair/re-engineer process going on.

The hoophouse has been hit by at least three 50+mph winds in the past few months. When researching this weather area these high winds were a once in a decade phenomenon.  Well, three in a few month are not “once in a decade”!

The first pounding came from super storm Sandy. High winds came through here off the spin of the atmosphere and managed to bend some of the hoops.  I think it was maybe 6 down at the south end.

So in the past couple weeks we’ve had two more of these massive wind systems and after repairing the bent ones it bent maybe 9 more hoops.  These are bent much worse and some of the damage came from a heavy, wet snow that put some drifts on top of the hh of over 2 feet.  The evening of the snow the winds weren’t blowing but for the next couple days the winds went back up to 50 or so.

When I went out to the hh yesterday the wind was blowing in the 40 mph range and the hh was blowing sideways again.  I put cables from the east purlin to the 4 foot level on the west side. That stopped most of the motion without making the hh too stiff.

Most things work much better if they give a bit and not be so rigid.  Bending without breaking and all of that.

I have had some experiments in re-bending the damaged hoops in place but it seems I will have to replace. I can do a new one and then work on every other hoop going down the line. What also might make the structure able to withstand some of the winds is to reverse each hoop. The joints are now all running, male into female, from west to east. By reversing every other one I hope that the strength will be shared.

The PVC covering has developed little dime sized holes near some of the sharper bends. I have put some pipe insulation on those areas and must now order some repair tape and PVC from the supplier that I am working with. 

The company is called Grower’s Supply and they have been a pleasure to work with. They have experts in all the areas they sell in and guidance from a knowledgeable sales person is always a joy to work with.

So the wind has calmed to the 20’s today, and moved a bit north on the direction dial and the temporary cables are doing their job. 

 

This is just a quick note to let everyone know that when I start a new project, I have learned to not expect that the job is finished. This is especially true when stepping out of a comfort zone and into a new area of growth.

This farming has so many aspects to operating it for a profit that I must first thank my partners in this operation. Respect for elders first, Wilma. For taking a chance on growing trees and structures that she might not ever see grow to maturity or realize their full potential.

My life partner is much more than a partner. She teaches me, she helps me, she corrects me (sometimes more than I can handle), and most of all she has taught me to love and be loved.

Thank you, Jane for coming into my life again and lets not wait too long to make this partnership permanent!

 

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