Hello, I am a new farmer who is struggling with strong winds on our farm. This is our first year farming, and the wind is making all of my crops suffer. The lettuce is becoming tough at an early age, the zinnias are browning and my basil is all dead. I have extensively gardened for 9 years (6 years locally), but this is our first year on this new windy site. We have planted a long 200' multi-row windbreak, but that is going to take years (decades?) to take effect.

I am in the Pacific Northwest of Canada. Our property is around 600' from the ocean, and we get winds strong enough to blow our neighbour's canoe into the air and OVER our entire 2.5 acre piece of land. It crashed into the roof of our other neighbour's barn. This gives you some idea of the strength of our winds!

Does anyone have any experience with fabric windbreaks? Our whole property is fenced with a 7 foot welded wire pounded post fence, and I was thinking that that would at least protect our windbreak as it grows. I am concerned about how well they work, and also durability, but I didn't find much information available from people who had actually used them online.

Our tomatoes are wrapped in plastic, and are underplanted with lettuce, and there is a huge difference in the quality of lettuce with that shelter. Wrapping all of the beds in plastic sounds overwhelming though, so I am wondering if anyone has any tips that have worked for them. I am looking into hoop houses/ polytunnels, but I am worried about them surviving the winter winds (which are much stronger than the summer ones). I am also considering purchasing the hoop benders from Johnny's Selected Seeds, but again, that likely won't arrive in time to save this years crops.

Any help for a discouraged new farmer is much appreciated!