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Sunday, October 25, 2015

A Mark of Desperation

Several people wanted  to know more about how snow fence works.  Snow fence can be any kind of fencing, shrub, hedge, barrier, etc that creates a windbreak.  In areas where a lot of corn is grown, you may even see 4-5 rows of corn left standing 50-100 away from the road, it can make a very effective snow fence.  The fence doesn't need to be solid or super strong, it just has to get in the way of the wind so that it drops its load of snow before it gets to the road.  Or, in this case, my driveway.  I am trying to prevent a repeat of this:
This misery was not caused by a big snow storm.  In fact, I don't think that we got more than an inch or two of snow that night, if that.  This was all blown in by the wind.  That double row of spruce trees that you can see on the right is supposed to be a windbreak, and they eventually will be.  Eventually.  

The willows that I planted this Spring are supposed to be another windbreak and they too will be - eventually.  Meanwhile, I opted to try this route again:

The mesh fence has enough wind resistance that the wind should hit this fence and lose its momentum.  If it works the way it should, the wind will hit the fence, lose all its power and drop its load of snow on the far side of the fence, a long way away from my driveway. 

The key to snow fence is in making sure it is put up the right distance away from the road it is supposed to protect.  It has to be at least 50-100 feet away from the road because the snow will drop mostly on the opposite side of the fence.  If you put the fence too close to the road, you'll make your problems ten times worse. 

The problems that I have had with snow fence in the past have been two-fold.  First, the cheap plastic stuff rips to shreds in the relentless wind I get.  Second, The snow drifts up so deep that it buries the fence completely, rendering it useless. 

It's probably a mark of desperation that I decided to put the damn stuff up anyway.  I just can't stand the idea of this again:

Just digging out these pictures makes me think I need to move to somewhere where people don't know about snow fence.



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9 comments:

  1. farm buddyOctober 25, 2015 at 10:24 PM

    Maremmas, like Bess, like snow.

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    Replies
    1. ShelleyOctober 26, 2015 at 8:27 AM

      Most of my mutts have loved snow too. I love snow: hate ice.

      Delete
  2. T.L. MerrybardOctober 25, 2015 at 10:47 PM

    I don't. I have, in fact, never even touched snow. :) You might find it a bit hot here in West Oz though. :)

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    Replies
    1. farm buddyOctober 25, 2015 at 11:06 PM

      That is sad! Snow is beautiful and fun, but just not for six months. I would say that it is fun for about three months tops.

      Delete
  3. IanHOctober 26, 2015 at 3:45 AM

    Think snow blower, at least 8 horse power

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  4. Tyche's MinderOctober 26, 2015 at 7:45 AM

    Two months and not a day longer. :)

    Thanks for the explanation. Now I'm thinking that maybe the snow fence I see every year is put up by the county, not the farmer. It must protect the road, not the cornfield. Makes more sense now. We don't get any where near the snow you get though. That's probably why it's hard for me to see any effect.

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  5. Rebecca2October 26, 2015 at 8:09 AM

    I didn't realize that the snow mostly dropped on the downwind side of the fence. Here's hoping you are lucky this Winter and all your hard work is rewarded.

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  6. Mary AnnOctober 26, 2015 at 7:53 PM

    I had a drive about 3/4 as long as yours. I dreaded winter, my drive was between a high bank on one side, and a low on the other. I kept the shovel handy all winter.... and sometimes had to park at the end of the drive (My car was broken into once).

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  7. UnknownNovember 29, 2017 at 5:29 AM

    the chickens still consumed a lot of purchased feed while incarcerated. We decided that it would be better to have them free ranging. So we gave away the chickens. That was about 3 years ago. wrought iron gates

    ReplyDelete