We have cold frames that are subject to 60-80 mph winds several times a year in during big storms. We always close them up tight as a drum. The absolute last thing that you want is for the wind to get under the plastic from the sides being opened. The reason for this is 2 fold, 1st it will act like a large sail with the wind underneath pushing up from the bottom and creating lift. 2nd the wind will be rushing over the top, and like an airplane wing this will create low pressure above the greenhouse, and this coupled with the wind blowing through the greenhouse will make for a lot of lift force and could literally lift the house off its foundation and blow it away. We had pretty bad wind damage about 15 years ago in a wooden greenhouse when the wind blew so hard it pried the top vent slightly open, the wind then caught this and turned it into a 30' by 120' sail. There was so much force that it actually snapped and ripped about 15 2x4's and their structural cross members, twisted the 2" sch 80 pipe that turned the gears to open the vents etc. The last thing you ever want in a storm is wind entering the greenhouse.

The application of trash bags over the ground at the base of the dahlias worked as far as keeping water from deluging them from above, and the mostly dry soil I applied under the bags was still mostly dry after the storm, but it was obvious that some water still got to the soil and roots by seeping in from the surrounding soil that was deluged with rain, but it wasnt nearly as bad as it wouldve been without the bags in place. As far as mold, I dont really see any. The only plant of mine that was damaged by the storm was a tomato, which started wilting 2.5 days after the rain was over.

Hello staceyneil, I am on the southern coast of Maine and I am thinking of the same thing. I was just admiring my bumper crop of tomatoes. THe FIRST time I ever had a bumper crop of tomatoes! And I have been trying to figure out someway to protect them from the wind and rain but I can't think of anything short of building a shed around them that would be strong enough. SO I guess my only solution is to pick all the tomtoes even the green ones and say goodbye to all the tomatoes plants. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear what has worked for you in saving your tomatoe plants during a hurricane. Blake

Well, after a rather harrowing night, the last half of today turned out to be amazingly beautiful. Perfect weather to be outdoors, and for all the clean up. That said, I'm sure most people were not exactly having 'fun' today though. It seems like the absolute worst of this storm and its damage occurred from about Cape May, NJ, south along the coast to Va Beach, and inland to the big cities west of those points. The Damage seems to be less severe the farther north you go from NC/VA. For us here in the DC area, well, I have to say I was 'surprised' at this storm. The damage left behind was just about as bad as Isabel in 2003, maybe slightly less. From about 30 miles west of DC, to the coast the damage is what is being called 'major'. The most common are trees being blown on homes and going through them and crushing cars. The sheer number of trees down around just the DC Metro is staggering. Probably in the thousands. Lots of roads / streets were blocked and many still are. No real structural damage to most buildings from winds alone, other than a couple buildings having roofs partially peeled back / loss of shingles / some siding / gutters ripped off. Some minor to moderate flooding from storm surge along tidal waters which capped out at about 3-4 feet. The far worst of the flooding came from the massive rains. Ranging from 3-4 inches 30 miles west of DC, to 5-8" right in the city, to 10-12" 30 miles east and much more the farther south/ east you go from here. Lots of river and creek flooding causing road overwashes. My rain gauge maxes out at 5", and was full by 1:30 am. I'm guessing we got 1-2" more than that here. Reports of 4-8" in the immediate metro area were commonplace. Over all, it was probably 'worse than expected' in our area. The absolute worst of it came in the period from midnight to about 5am, when we were having sustained winds of 40-50+ and gusts 55-75mph. The worst part was pretty much like a 6 hour long severe thunderstorm. It would come in waves. Backing off to 40MPH or so for a few minutes, then big huge gusts around 55+, then every 7-10 minutes or so we would get a period of several minutes where the sustained winds were like a gust that just would not stop, and then an even higher gust on top of that, topping out around 70+. The wind reports all around our region were pretty consistent, with the highest gusts just west topping out around 55in places 30 miles west, to 65-70 inside the beltway, and 75-80 30 miles east and south along the Chesapeake Bay. about 40 miles west of D.C., almost no damage to speak of. Just some heavy rains at times, and gusty winds of 35+, but nothing very bad. It was a very sharp cutoff line between damage and almost nothing. The thing that made this storm worse, was its size, and slow movement. Had this been a quick event, we probably would not have seen nearly the damage. But, because this event was very protracted and lasted for 20 hours, most certainly lead to more damage. Isabel in 2003 was in and out fairly quickly. She was here less than 6 hours at her worst. The other difference, with respect to storm surge anyway was that it was less here because the storm passed to our east this time, in stead of to our west. This was a east, northeast, north, and northwest wind event here, which helped to push water more OUT , than in on top of the storm surge itself. Partners mother in Smithfield VA had a pretty bad night, as I suspect most did in SE Virginia and Eastern NC where the damage reports are much worse. No power since 6AM Saturday morning. They lost two large trees in their yard, but fortunately both missed the house. Their neighorhood is literally littered with trees down, and quite a few homes damaged by them. The pictures coming out of Va Beach, and the NC beaches are by far and away the most incredible. Even along the MD/ Delaware beaches there is quite a bit of damage. Tornadoes caused damage in both Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, DE. As for my yard, well, just 1 large tree limb from someone elses tree is in it, and most things that were not either VERY HEAVY and/ or tied down , did blow over. It looked like a war zone, but fortunately nothing was really damaged except for a clay pot with my rosemary bush in it. The palms, well, 2 got knocked over, but the big 8 foot pigmy date came through it like a champ. I tied it down with rope and rebar and it went no where. Ill post some photos in a bit. I hope everyone made it through OK with no significant losses / damage!