Garden Fence (that acts like a windbreak)

[BrianSkilton]

Hey guys, last year I know I posted something regarding a "wind break". Some of you told me to buy a snow fence, or something similar. It seemed to help, however it doesn't look very nice. I was wondering if anyone here as either built there own wind-break or had one installed that looked like a nice fence but broke up the wind as well. As you know by my past postings...the wind here is unbearable at times. We probably average 20mph some months. Then we get these streaks of having wind hit 40mph and up. Its just enough to cringe.

[soil]

its not instant gratification but a living hedge of windbreak plants like short pines, or dense fruiting shrubs would be ideal. giving you something to look at while blocking the wind. the pines could be eatable pinenut pines to give you a harvest.

[gumbo2176]

What berries grow in S.Dakota? Put up a little fencing and let the berry plants fill in the rest. Lots of folks out in the country in La. use blackberry vines along a barb wire fence for a little wind break, to hide the fence a bit and for picking all those great berries in the summer.

[Kisal]

Where I grew up, hedgerows and Lombardy poplars were commonly used as windbreaks. Lombardies, btw, grow very fast, but like most fast-growing trees they tend to be weak and short-lived.

The last thing I would use for a windbreak would be blackberries, but I don't live in SD. Maybe blackberries don't grow quite so rampantly there as they do in Oregon. I've seen blackberries allowed to grow along a fence, to help confine livestock, but I've also seen blackberry thickets so overgrown that they filled the entire pasture. I think you could find some kind of shrubs and trees that would work well for your purpose. but be much tamer than blackberries. JMO.

And yeah, snow fencing is purely utilitarian and totally ugly!

[Spicy Chicken]

I am in zone 4 same as you and found that bamboo works very well.
The key is to try and keep the roots from freezing, mulch works good,
I only purchased only a few and now have thousands, makes a wonderful wind break.


http://www.lewisbamboo.com/cold-hardy-bamboo.html

here is some good info on planting and care.

http://www.bamboo.org/GeneralInfoPages/SchneiderIntro.html

[soil]

not only is bamboo a great windblock because it grows fast, its useful as hell. and some species make delicious bamboo shoots.

[farmerlon]

I had different priorities than you... I wanted a windbreak that would be inexpensive, and also be "temporary" in the event that I wanted to move it around or dismantle it; and, I didn't really care what it looked like.

I found that Pallets were a good solution for me ... but, they're not pretty.

[BrianSkilton]

Wow, Bamboo huh. That sounds intriguing, however can Bamboo withstand like -20 or even -30 degrees? We also often get a few feet of snow, well the last 4 years we have. Some years we don't get much.

Some of you have some great ideas. In South Dakota we can grow raspberries, blue-berries etc. Any fruit bush that gets huge? I'll have to check out the bamboo idea also.

[BrianSkilton]

I am in zone 4 same as you and found that bamboo works very well.
The key is to try and keep the roots from freezing, mulch works good,
I only purchased only a few and now have thousands, makes a wonderful wind break.


http://www.lewisbamboo.com/cold-hardy-bamboo.html

here is some good info on planting and care.

http://www.bamboo.org/GeneralInfoPages/SchneiderIntro.html

Spicy, do you know how many bamboo shoots you get in the 3 gallon size? It looks like the Nuda can survive our harsh winters.

[franktank232]

Sheets of plywood?

[garden5]

Hmmm, I wonder if couldn't just build a wooden fence with wide pickets?

That may work.

[Spicy Chicken]

I am in zone 4 same as you and found that bamboo works very well.
The key is to try and keep the roots from freezing, mulch works good,
I only purchased only a few and now have thousands, makes a wonderful wind break.


http://www.lewisbamboo.com/cold-hardy-bamboo.html

here is some good info on planting and care.

http://www.bamboo.org/GeneralInfoPages/SchneiderIntro.html

Spicy, do you know how many bamboo shoots you get in the 3 gallon size? It looks like the Nuda can survive our harsh winters.

Nick, or Brian is it?

I picked up the bamboo at a local nursery, kind of a fluke that I ran across it, I bought two clumps about 8 to 12 stalks maybe and that was about 9 years ago, they multiply like rabbits. Mine only get about 10 feet tall and are quite thick. First year I was a little disappointed but the second year they took right off, the third year I dug some up and spread them across the area I wanted to cover, by the fifth year they got thick. Not sure how much time you spent at the links I posted but there is some awful good info there!

Anything that you put up for a windscreen/privacy fence may tend to be a little costly at first and if they are plants, will take a number of years to fill in anyway unless you buy a crap load.

Of course there a lot of options mentioned and not mentioned in the post, I like the thought of natural over a fence or even berry bushes even though they are natural, their picky and ugly in the fall and winter and spring.

If this is something that you will seriously consider, flip through every one of the pages on those sites and any other site you can find, do your home work as I'm sure you will and see if this is the right fit for you.

I will say in conclusion that I am extremely happy with my bamboo and now have sold tenfold what I paid, the more you buy the quicker the wind break will grow but I always like to test the waters before jumping in, so to speak. Well worth it in the long run

I do not know exactly what type of plant that I have anymore, so as far as how long and how much, you will have to decipher from your research.

Good luck on whatever you decide, Cheers. Jeff

[2cents]

If you have the room for them, you can try the - Blue Pfitzer Juniper. Dad had a variety that got to be 12 feet tall and 12 feet diameter.
We were on the crest of a high hilltop and it was very windy at times. West side of the garden tended to get beat up, no snow fence ever really helped. We put up tin sheets, but that was ugly.
He planted the junipers 8 feet apart(they got bigger than he expected).
It was the best wind break ever. It solved the problem. we never pruned them.
Good luck