Rise and shine, 2/22/15

A bit of an early start this am.  Picking up where I left off yesterday, with respect to the Wishbone visit:  One other thing we discussed was wind.  Sometimes out west, there can be a lot of wind.  This seemed like a good point to me, and therefore, I am giving it consideration.

It's not as if I gave wind no consideration at all.  A quick glance at the quonset I plan to build gives credence to the view that they may not stand up very well to strong winds.

It looks to me that there is going to be a need for some type of windbreak for the quonsets.   How to do this?

One thing I'm thinking of is to drill holes into the ground like I wanted to do previously.  Into the holes, drive some 10 foot rebar about 3 feet deep.  Pour concrete in for about the last 1 1/2 feet.  To these rebar posts, attach some metal roofing material I found last week.  These would be laid sideways and attached to each other and to the rebar.  They would overlap a bit so as to have about 7 feet in height.  If needed, some additional support could be attached so that they will stack without sagging or falling.

I could make it go around a perimeter, with a gate that allow entrance into  "da compound".  On top, I'd put some water catchment material, or just use greenhouse plastic.  Chicken wire and rope could be used as described before, with the chicken wire replacing the cattle panels.  This would keep out birds and insects.  It could replace the quonsets completely.  Or perhaps not.  Perhaps each structure could be used to support the other, come to think of it.

This will block sun, and alternatives are costly.  Nope.

Well, scratch that idea.  Another possibility would be to do a second layer of plastic over the cattle panels.  This would make that part of it stronger and the rebar could be driven into the ground and attached to the wood studs in order to anchor it to the ground.  That should give it the additional strength and stability that could withstand strong winds.

The downside is that I will lose some sunlight.  This could hinder growth.  But it may also be helpful to the plants not to receive too much sun.  Hopefully, the loss would not be too much.  This choice is my preference for the moment.

Update:

Don't know if it would be more expensive or cheaper, but shrink wrap could be.  The stuff is clear, so it could strengthen the cover, without adding too much sun blockage.