Tomatoville® Gardening Forums


Notices

Discussion forum for the various methods and structures used for getting an early start on your growing season, extending it for several weeks or even year 'round.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old January 21, 2017   #1
AKmark
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Wasilla Alaska
Posts: 2,010
Default Snow load

It is amazing how much weight two pieces of plastic can hold hen they're poofed up with a fan. I finally got scared and put some heat to them to get the load off, there was probably 15+ inches on them
Attached Images
File Type: jpg SANY1586.JPG (374.4 KB, 149 views)
File Type: jpg SANY1585.JPG (336.8 KB, 148 views)
File Type: jpg SANY1582.JPG (362.6 KB, 145 views)
File Type: jpg SANY1577.JPG (365.7 KB, 148 views)
File Type: jpg SANY1576.JPG (342.6 KB, 146 views)
AKmark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 21, 2017   #2
greenthumbomaha
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Omaha Zone 5
Posts: 2,514
Default

After reading your posts and seeing all the beautiful homes on the water on the cable real estate shows I was dreaming of spending a year there and a year in Florida.

Fairbanks made our news here with everything freezing over. This brought me right back to reality. Its good that you are there to protect your property. At least you are over the winter hump and have gardening to keep your mind focused.

- Lisa
greenthumbomaha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 21, 2017   #3
ddsack
Tomatovillian™
 
ddsack's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3
Posts: 3,218
Default

That was a healthy dump of snow! Glad your greenhouses survived so well, but it sure is discouraging to know that it will take that much longer to see bare ground in the spring.
__________________
Dee

**************
ddsack is online now   Reply With Quote
Old January 21, 2017   #4
Ricky Shaw
Tomatovillian™
 
Ricky Shaw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Zone 6a Denver North Metro
Posts: 1,910
Default

Dozens of mini-avalanches breaking off, sliding down and crashing. Whish! Boom.
Ricky Shaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 22, 2017   #5
AKmark
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Wasilla Alaska
Posts: 2,010
Default

Fairbanks is about 300 miles north, very harsh winters, nice summers though.

It can snow up through May, but it melts super fast, sometimes we just go from winter to summer. LOL Usually April and May are chilly, but sunny, nice for heated greenhouse growing.

I was entertained by the mini avalanches. lol
AKmark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 22, 2017   #6
Cole_Robbie
Tomatovillian™
 
Cole_Robbie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Illinois, zone 6
Posts: 8,407
Default

The strength of the plastic is actually the problem. It's strong enough to pull down the structure when it collapses.

The pics below are how I know that. These pics are from three years ago. I put everything back together with the old materials. I'm a little lumpy now, but the collapse cost me about thirty bucks. Now I know to take the plastic off in the winter. This was a freak storm, ten inches of mostly ice pellets. My Clearspan building survived it; my top rail high tunnel did not.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg 1206131320a.jpg (62.8 KB, 127 views)
File Type: jpg 1206131410.jpg (53.1 KB, 124 views)
File Type: jpg 0113141552_0001.jpg (123.4 KB, 124 views)
Cole_Robbie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 22, 2017   #7
AKmark
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Wasilla Alaska
Posts: 2,010
Default

That is not good Cole Robbie. You guys can get some bad storms, I remember the 77-78 blizzards over in southern Indiana. I cannot fathom the strength of plastic, it hates tree branches, but is tuff for sure. lol How have the winters been the last several years?
Maybe consider some trusses if you want to keep plastic on, then you can store some stuff in it too. If you do a simple Kings post truss system, they will take the snow, and you can hang stuff from the trusses too. I worry the most about the winds, every year we get a couple nasty storms.

Last edited by AKmark; January 22, 2017 at 12:37 AM.
AKmark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 22, 2017   #8
AlittleSalt
BANNED FOR LIFE
 
AlittleSalt's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 13,333
Default

I've been reading this thread today. We get snow here in this part of Texas maybe once or twice a year and 4 inches is a lot of snow for these parts. What really messes things up here is ice storms. Freezing rain is (to me) worse than sleet. Freezing rain followed by temperatures dropping well below freezing brings a lot of tree limbs and power lines down.

We haven't had a bad freezing rain storm like that for several years, but it'll happen again. That's why we have both propane and electric heaters - just in case.

I don't have a green house, but am wondering how ice storms effect greenhouse's?

Greenhouse - they used to be green. I guess they are Hothouses now?
AlittleSalt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 22, 2017   #9
FourOaks
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: NC
Posts: 511
Default

All these pictures of snow shiver me timbers. Exactly the reason why I like living in the south. I can deal with the heat. Snow, not so much.

Speaking of, its a chilly 54 this morning.
FourOaks is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 22, 2017   #10
PhilaGardener
Tomatovillian™
 
PhilaGardener's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Near Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 1,940
Default

Glad you got that snow off! Made me feel better, at least
PhilaGardener is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 22, 2017   #11
whoose
Tomatovillian™
 
whoose's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Bozeman, Montana Zone 6b
Posts: 333
Default Real Snow

6000 feet in the northern Rockies, just another snow storm.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg 2005-01-01 001 2005-01-01 030.jpg (409.1 KB, 91 views)
whoose is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 22, 2017   #12
Cole_Robbie
Tomatovillian™
 
Cole_Robbie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Illinois, zone 6
Posts: 8,407
Default

There really ought to be such a thing as greenhouse plastic which contains a netting of heating filaments. Just plug in the cord when it snows, and the plastic heats up enough to melt off the snow.
Cole_Robbie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 22, 2017   #13
AKmark
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Wasilla Alaska
Posts: 2,010
Default

Still snowing here, by looking at others posts, I am not alone, TOGETHER WE STAND AS ONE. LOL
AKmark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 22, 2017   #14
Jimbotomateo
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Santa Maria California
Posts: 1,006
Default

Does it get muddy up there after the melt Mark?
Jimbotomateo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 22, 2017   #15
AKmark
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Wasilla Alaska
Posts: 2,010
Default

Yes, before the ground thaws it is very muddy, as soon as it thaws the water instantly vanishes. We bury our water lines 10' or deeper, it takes awhile for it to thaw.
AKmark is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:22 PM.


★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★