Drag the container close to the wall of the building, if the balcony has a wall to separate it from a neighbor's balcony you could put it next to that wall but still as close a possible to the building. Water the container well because water adds weight and will help keep it from tipping over. The plastic sounds like a good idea to prevent wind damage. You can instead wrap the plant with a large bed sheet and tie with string to hold in place. Or if possible, take it inside for the duration of the storm.

I'd have to detach the zip ties which attach the stakes to the balcony wall. The stakes are also in the boxes - it's just extra reinforcement. I'm begging dh to take in the Earthbox that has the most tomatoes. It's a big job and it will be very hard to detach and not do damage but I guess the winds will do much worse damage. So angry - these tomatoes would have been off the vine if the weather wasn't so bad in June. They are so so late but coming none the less

I wouldn't do anything. I would make sure your stake is well supported and secure. Then I would make sure it was well watered. Put a sheet or plastic around it maybe worse. We have had multiple storms like that roll through here over the last month. Yes the plants looked alittle wind beat, but I never found any tomatoes that were broken off.

Just my thoughts from Kansas.

If the plant stakes are already secured to the balcony wall so the containers can't tip over in the wind, I think it would be best to leave them there unless you can bring them inside. Cutting the plants loose from their moorings to move them to another outdoor spot where they won't be anchored could get them blown over.

I agree with jrslick, a solid sheet of plastic like a garbage bag, even with holes in it, wouldn't be best. I've tried it and the plastic acts like a sail. It catches the wind and makes the plant even easier to tip over, and the open end of the bag has to be closed securely around the stem of the plant or the wind gets under it and rips it loose.

The most recent forecast I saw (posted by the NHC this morning) only predicted a 5% chance of hurricane force winds of 74 mph or higher, and even that probability was limited to Cape Cod and offshore islands like Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. The rest of the East Coast had nearly zero probability of getting winds over 74 mph. There is a 30%-40% chance of tropical storm force winds (39+ mph) from North Carolina northward, but even a thunderstorm can have higher wind speeds than that, so maybe thinking "thunderstorm" rather than "hurricane" will help put Danny in perspective as far as preparations. The probability of winds over 58 mph -- still in the range of what you would see with a strong thunderstorm -- is only 10%-20%. Really, I wouldn't go overboard with preparations unless the forecast changes drastically for the worse. If I understand your setup correctly, leaving the plants where they are sounds like the best plan to me.

But if you are still nervous, you might try putting extra stakes around the plants and tying strips of plastic around the outside of the stakes like a cage, leaving a gap between each "ring" of plastic and the one above it. That will act like a baffle to slow the wind down a bit and corral the branches but not be a solid barrier that could do more harm than good.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wind Speed Probabilities from NHC

Thanks - I think it will hit Eastern LI much worse than the city. I'll be here now because I canceled my plans to go out because of the weather. I'm getting more zip ties to reinforce and I will take you advice and leave them as is. I've been reinforcing vines etc as much as I can. Hopefully it won't be too bad. You know those weather people - scare the bejusus out of you. I'll take in my small plants and hope for the best. Lots of them are already bent over from the last storm where my husband stood outside holding the plants steady - it was quite a site.

I had a nasty nasty thunderstorm come through and hit my tomatoes, which were totally unshielded . The containers did fine - probably because they are super heavy and the cages reinforced. The tomatoes I had in the ground fell over - partly because the garden bed had turned into a mud slick with the 3 inches of rain that hit. Even then, I just stood them back up, and all was well. I think three green tomatoes and fell off, and one of those ripened on its own. So don't fret too much.

Thanks for starting this thread. Coastal RI here...100 ft. from Narragansett Bay. We get some pretty strong winds in storms. Concerned about my only CP tom on the deck who has been a low producer and has flowers and some small tomatoes. I think I'll bring him in with my smaller deck plants. The yard with the other heirlooms is a bit more protected from the direct wind.... but can't escape it much here.

Oh Karen me too - I have 2 CPs that are large- one is way over a pound and about 6 babies. I tied as best I could. Let's hope it somehow goes out to sea.

They downgraded the storm so winds are already decreased - won't be as bad as expected - yeah!

I am from coastal Florida so after 2004 and 2005 I am pretty much an expert. Luckily in our area the worst winds we got were from Jean about 60 mph. Don't use the plastic! It will increase the wind resistence. Secure the stakes carefully. All loose yard items should be removed or secured.

If you get tropical storm force winds for any length of time some of your plants will snap. Jeane split my tree in two and lifted several oaks in my neighborhood up by the roots. I had a hybrid hibiscus that split down the middle. On the other hand, you will probably get just a breeze or nothing at all. If you get hurricane force winds your tomatoes will be the least of your worries.

We just had 60 mph winds a couple of weeks ago but not for that long. It was a crazy storm. My plants survived however hundreds of trees in the city were destroyed, many over 100 years old when the park was originally built.

Fellow Rhode Islanders, consider this, wind will blow your plants right over if they're not supported. It will not kill them and since they're tough as weed it won't bother them a bit. Some folks just let the toms sprawl on the ground and get good results so a plant blown over will recover just fine. We're gonna get rain, that's it. Love ya.

It looks like the NHC has moved the forecast uncertainty cone for Danny westward a bit so that eastern LI and all of RI are covered now as well as eastern MA and coastal Maine. Hope it doesn't go much farther west!

Hrm...I wonder if it will hit us in Middle TN. It's already lookin a bit yucky out today. I'd better check! lol

I lived on the NC Coast through hurricanes Emily, Bertha, Fran, Dennis, and Floyd. I highly doubt that tomatoes would survive sustained hurricane force winds of any category at all. Luckily, recent reports from a hurricane hunter plane indicate that Danny is barely holding on to the tropical storm status.

I remember Floyd. It was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it hit Long Island. Everything in the garden over hip height was blown right over, the garden was destroyed. Clean up was actually easier than I thought it would be because I set a rule for myself. If it couldn't be stood up or tied up it was chopped down to the ground. The compost heap grew to enormous heights ;-O Floyd came in with horizontal winds and trashed my cedar shakes too. Grrr. We coughed up the bucks and re-sided with hurricane resistant material.

I don't know how the Pacific is for storms, but if you live a few miles from the Atlantic you're going to experience brutal storms. Hell hath no fury like an Atlantic storm.

It just stopped pouring. It will start again soon.

T

Trudi where are you on LI? I grew up out there. Not that I'm so far away now in NYC - but luckily we are usually not hit by hurricanes. I live right off the East River now and have much more wind than when I lived inland - like 3 avenues away in NYC language

LOL. I know what you mean.

I'm in East Meadow, about a hundred yards directly south of the Home Depot.

hah - there was no home depot when I lived there. I was close by in Merrick

Do you remember Models? Home Depot took over their building. It looks like it will pour again soon. The garden is getting a good drink.