Gardening on the gulf coast

[ChanellG]

Hello all, are any of you on the Gulf Coast? Every time I start to think about expanding my growing efforts I try to imagine what I would do with my plants during hurricane season. Everything I grow is in containers and I usually just push the pots closer together and hope for the best when the winds pick up.

I've some recent wind damage to the blueberry bush and lost a lot of baby berries. I'd be really upset if a storm blew through over the summer and wiped out all of my hard work. Right now the plants are mostly herbs and flowers. Besides the blueberry bush I also have a very young Meyor lemon.

I'm nowhere near ready to build a greenhouse and there's no space indoors to bring the plants in at storm time. How do those of you who live and grow on the coast manage it during hurricane season?

 

[Lilley1]

Well, I'm not on the gulf coast but I am only seven miles from the Atlantic coast so I have been through a few hurricanes as well. Do you have any type of covered area to bring your plants under? The only thing I can think of is to line them all up against the side of your home. Lay the larger ones on their sides if possible. Most post offices or office depots sell large rolls of plastic, like cling wrap. Maybe wrap the pots and lightly around the base of large plants to protect the soil from falling out and to keep most rain water out. I don't know if herbs would survive the winds and rain. You can also pick up a 4x4x8 piece of lumber and stake it down longways against the north side of your house with the plants snug in between.

I would hate to see you lose all your hard work, too. Mine will have to make due in the garage or on my back porch. Fingers crossed that we won't experience a hurricane this year.

 

[maddie]

Chanell, I do not live on the coast, but we have these really destructive thunder storms that twist and twirl your plant and break them.. then there are these hail stones that wreak havoc. All I do is get a thick tarp and put them over my plants. I have poles/ iron rods stuck in some pots to keep the tarp from damaging the plants. My plants have survived most of the destruction for years now.. to be exact for 14 years now in this current home of ours. Maybe you could try something like that.

 

[ChanellG]

We had some hail recently, Maddie, but it didn't do any damage to my plants, thankfully.

I have a small area in the yard that is paved over that I would like to erect some kind of structure on to both create more growing space and to be able to cover and contain the plants in bad weather. Making that happen is a little complicated right now though. Fortunately all of my plants are in containers and the wind usually isn't too bad in the driveway