We live in a high wind area too and have 5 bent-pipe, plastic covered houses. None have really been affected by the wind. The g/h plastic is REALLY tough. Snow however, is another matter; we lost one over the winter but it probably was our fault in the long run. If you're looking for a small, economical hoop house, check out the following link. Four of our frames plus another [uncovered] came from them. And he stands by his product. When we called him and told him what happened with the snow he sent us replacement pipe for a VERY reasonable amount. Not sure about the shipping charges though. Regards, Tom Here is a link that might be useful: Grower's Solution

Tracey, You have poppies started in containers? If so, you may find you get better results if you harden then off and transplant them while they're small because they really don't like being transplanted. Did you work outside? I did for a while, but it was windy out there and I only stayed out there for an hour or two. Tomorrow should be nicer. Ezzirah, Inside with cocoa is the perfect place to be. It is still windy here, but warm (mid-60s). We are not getting the rain or hail here that has fallen/is falling in some parts of the state. I hope to spend most of every day this week working outside, but the wind today made it unpleasant to say this least. Dawn

I was thinking of you specifically when I linked this because y'all seem so likely to have blowing dust even if the rest of it misses you. It is creepy to see "Blowing Dust" as an official forecast. We get that sort of forecast here in Love County maybe once or twice a year, but most often in early spring more so than in early winter. With so little rainfall this fall and winter so far to hold down the soil, I think we may see "blowing dust" a lot more often this winter. This wind here has been increasing in speed the last couple of hours, but we aren't supposed to have really strong wind arrive here until late afternoon or early evening. I'm watering the yard with sprinklers that keep the water down really low so the water (or, for that matter, the surface soil) doesn't blow away. I'm not sure I remember the last time we had to worry about wind gusting in the 50s or around 60 mph in some areas of the state in December. March? Sure, but it seems crazy for December. I don't mind the wind so much when the humidity is fairly high or the grass is green. It bothers me a little more when all the vegetation is dry and dormant and the humidity is low.

I feel for you. When I was in North Port, I didn't have oranges for several years because every year, they would bloom then the winds would come and blow all the blooms off. I lived in a freaking wind tunnel!