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Ohio

Heres a neat little set up that gave me a few diffrent ideas how to do mine.

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/displayphoto.asp?pid=139&gid=-1528

Any one else have a easy way they set thier hail protection up (Ideas,pics?) that they can pull over the plants quickly if a hail storms hits?

12/7/2009 2:52:05 PM

Joliet, IL

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=23431

boz, here is a pic from 2004. i have since expanded my patch and removed all the 4 x 4s in the middle. all my perimeter 4x4s and connection points with earthanchors on the outside of the fence in my lawn are still in place. i used to just grow around the 4x4s and leave them in place. with just dirt compacted around them 2 foot deep holes, it was easy to remove one if totally in the way of an expanding pumpkin and still have enough support to span the removal of a post when needed. 1/4" steel rope plastic coated cable grids from one side to other and attached and unattached easily with u cable clamps with bolts. u can see in this pic i use to run over head sprinklers attached to the cables as well. i still have all the posts incase i want to put some up again for the shade cloth purposes, but without enough center brace support, i will not put up for hail. the biggest problem with hail is the weight of a heavy hail storm. go back and look at boily's diary from 2003 i think it was off the top of my head. sagging weight of netted hail almost flattened out his plants.

my system was easy with all the supports up to have two 25' sections of 30% shade cloth rolled up on each side of the area. then roll them both to the center and connect them together with removable netting clamps strong enough to carry the load. all your connection points on the perimeters also must be strong enough clamps to hold heavy weights if needed. and there has to be strong enough anchored cable with enough grid support posts to hold the entire load. if you are home in the hail storm, you can go out and put a hard hat on and keep forcing gathering hail over the edges by using a broom and pushing it up and over from under neath. so the netting has to be high enough to get under to do this.

if i lived in colorado, i would probably be leaving something up full time like this and roll the cloth on and off when needed.

12/8/2009 4:08:04 PM

Ohio

Cool Shazz, thanks for that pic, I think I was looking at that pic last year but over looked your rope you have going across each beam to help support you netting, I like that idea also. Where did you buy your Netting at Shazz?,, I think I asked you this last year but how many ft sections does your netting come in? I think next year Im going to do some re modifications.

12/8/2009 8:45:08 PM

Joliet, IL

boz, i have a different computer now and have no records where i purchased it from. use can get screw in metal rings to go into the top of the 4 x 4s to keep the rope in place. remember, you will be getting major updrafting as well, so it is a good idea to take a couple ropes and throw them over the top of the netting too to stop from updrafting in the wind and pulling on your connection points. the 4 x 4s worked great, but it might be easier to work around rebar pieces with welded rings on the top for supports and rope guides. probably much easier to move if needed, and you can use varying size bar from the highest in the center to lower as you get towards the edges to create some pitch if you have to roll the hail off while accumulating in heavy hail storms. my dad is a mechanical engineer, so if you had any ideas on how to make a system on rollers like a garage door and to be able to call from home on your phone and activate an automatic rolling cloth, i am sure it wouldn't take him long to give you some ideas on how to accomplish this. he is a wizard at design and worked in the packaging and manufacturing assembly line of work and designing automated systems all his life. now he designs golf putters for tour edge and golf testing equipment for the pros at cog hill in his retired years. i am sure he wouldn't mind putting his noodle to the test.

12/9/2009 3:47:22 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

Hail tested in Colorado........What is just as important would be where the hail is going to accumulate.....If not bounced, shoved, or rolled off, it will accumulate quite quickly, and bring down the netting,poles and all due to weight smashing type damage.,,,so its important to consider that in your design..Ropes work quite well like in Shazzys design but can create pockets for accumlation........Or you can have stand underneath it with a foot ball helmet on manually assisting.....I have done both.....I hate hail.....I think the best design is more Volks Wagen shaped.....with retractable hail netting dropped down from the top like The ShaZzman sayZ,,,,Good Luck...GrowZem Big

12/10/2009 8:48:48 AM