wind and markets

[Marilyn Norgart]

I have a market today about 10 miles away. the storm just came thru here and dumped pea sized hail and its windy. looks like it is heading towards the town my market is in. the market isn't for another 2 hours but rain is predicted for those times. I guess I am staying home--on the upside I just got a shipment from NG--crackling birch, cherry, werewolf, fresh strawberry and a sample of their beer scent OH MY. the strawberry smells kinda light but the other scents are amazing, the beer is not real strong but smells really nice. I think I will just make some soap tonight

 

[shunt2011]

I do mostly outdoor 2 day shows I have 4- 50 lb weights. They works well but sometimes my show that’s right on Lake Huron it’s a challenge. I do two a year there and every event several don’t anchor their tents and they lose them. I’ve had a couple close calls.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I anchor mine with 4 1gallon milk jugs filled with water and I almost lost mine last week. I usually have a tarp on one side and the back because of the sun--it doesn't help when its windy. I guess I need to go heavier on the weights.
Lake Huron sounds like a beautiful place to have a market

 

[cmzaha]

I anchor mine with 4 1gallon milk jugs filled with water and I almost lost mine last week. I usually have a tarp on one side and the back because of the sun--it doesn't help when its windy. I guess I need to go heavier on the weights.
Lake Huron sounds like a beautiful place to have a market

A gallon of water 8.34 lbs, which is no where heavy enough. Also side and/or a back curtain will act as a sail in wind. Think sailboat

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

A gallon of water 8.34 lbs, which is no where heavy enough. Also side and/or a back curtain will act as a sail in wind. Think sailboat

oh yeah it does act like a sail--I have to find more weights I didn't know how much a gallon weighed

 

[Lin19687]

Buy the velcro bags, put sand to the top and use 2 per pole.
I ALWAYS watch the weather... after living in TX you have to And growing up here in New England with Hurricanes.

Good for you to watch the weather
I can't stand it when people think they don't need them. It not only is a hazard to Everyone but it can take out YOUR Product too !

 

[DeeAnna]

One guy at a recent farmer's market assured us his canopy was plenty fine without ANY weights because he'd tied two legs of his canopy to adjoining legs on his neighbor's canopy (which did have enough weights -- for the neighbor's ONE canopy.) I wanted to do a face palm but restrained myself.

There was an ugly-looking storm front moving in while we were visiting with the guy. We decided to leave before the front came through. I was betting the neighbor was going to learn why there's the saying "No good deed goes unpunished."

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

Buy the velcro bags

where do you get yours? I know the lady next to me at one of the markets has something like that too but I wont see her for a week

 

[soapmaker]

We have gallon jugs filled with concrete. One per pole. Perhaps that's not heavy enough either. Don't do many markets so it's been good so far.

 

[Lin19687]

I got mine at Ocean State Job Lot, I think they also have them at Wally World and Big Lots
Just use 2 full bags per pole. I use 1 per pole when there isn't any breeze. If it is really windy I don't go as it just is NOT worth it spending all my time holding things down and watching the Jerk next to me with no weights so I don't get killed.


You can also do Cinder blocks but I just don't think that they look nice. Course you could paint them too I guess

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

You can also do Cinder blocks but I just don't think that they look nice. Course you could paint them too I guess

that might be a good idea--painted that is!! would look better than my milk jugs

 

[amd]

My hubby says the Velcro bags aren't reliable enough for the tent. We use two 5 gallon buckets filled with pea rock, one at the front and one kitty corner on the back. I only use them when I'm on concrete and can't stake into the ground. The last show I was at was very windy and in a parking lot. The lady across from me did not have any weights, so her hubby and one of the neighbor booths were literally holding her tent down until someone could come with stakes (she was next to the boulevard so they were able to stake ropes into the ground). I was kind of disappointed, I thought I would have an entertaining day watching that. But all joking aside, losing a tent is pretty serious business, so don't mess around with weights.

 

[Lin19687]

I would be careful with stakes in the ground. They would have to go like 4 feet for me to be comfortable. Course that also depends on what kind of soil you have.
2 of the blacks filled to the top on each post is good for up to about 20 wind. Anything more then that I just don't go, just not worth it as customers don't come out either
Of course I only do that with cheap shows

Aren't those day just so fun to watch ? It makes me mad and glued to it all at the same time.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I have seen people that fill pvc pipe with cement and add an eye hook into it. the last market I went to the guy next to me didn't weight his down until it flew into my car luckily it didn't do any damage

 

[amd]

2 of the blacks filled to the top on each post is good for up to about 20 wind.

Haha, well that would explain that. 20 is a gentle breeze around here. Average wind gusts are in the 50 range. Wind is always the first thing people comment on when they come around here. Stakes have always held really well for us, but we double stake each leg too. We've had shows where people with weights were struggling but our tent wasn't budging. Of course, that was the old tent without walls. The last show I did put up the back wall only, made me so glad I had the weights because I could see how the wall was acting like a sail - but the lady behind me had a craptastic booth so I was trying to separate us and didn't want to take it down.

 

[shunt2011]

I used 4” PVC pipe 3 feet long filled with concrete with caps and a u bolt through the top. I hang them with bungee cords from the top and zip tie them to the legs.

 

[Lin19687]

I have seen the PVC. To me it has to still look nice. The Jugs look bad to me.
If we have Gusts over 25 that means there is a storm coming here At that point I am not going. Not worth my stuff being damaged and a mad dash to get out ... along with everyone else haha
Someone here just does indoor shows I think. I am leaning a bit more towards those.
The Fair I am doing now (think 4-H and tractorpulls, oxen pulls.. love it) I am in a building because I can go no matter the weather ! Last year it was super Muggy and hot, but inside was not too bad Don't want the Salt bars sweating. I also have 1 other that I picked an indoor spot (inside a huge tent with plywood staging floors) and one other Outdoor event.
My FM on Saturdays is free and while not a huge seller, it is 10 min away and if the weather is iffy I don't go.

@amd how far in do your stakes go and what kind of Soil do you have ?? I might try that if the outdoor event I have end of Sept puts me on the grass. Our Soil is the good stuff, dirt, No Clay and it doesn't crack when it is a drought like Texas did.

 

[shunt2011]

The two I do on the water don't allow me to use my stakes because they have a sprinkler system in the park. Mine are about 12-14 inches long.

 

[snofields]

I like 5 gallon water carriers, or empty kitty litter jugs filled with water. At the end of the show I can just dump out the water so they are light to load.

 

[true blue]

I used 4” PVC pipe 3 feet long filled with concrete with caps and a u bolt through the top. I hang them with bungee cords from the top and zip tie them to the legs.

My hubby made 4 of these for me - there's been days I've needed all 4, but most times I can get by with 2 or 3. Stakes in the ground aren't an option around here ... the ground is so full of rocks you can't put a stake in without hitting one. Literally. I've never used the bolt on top though ... we got some long lengths of double-sided velcro about 2 inches wide and I slap two of those around each tent leg with the weight. They've always held perfectly well. Hanging that amount of weight from the top part of the tent just strikes me as not good for the tent.
My sister put a canopy up once with tiny little stakes that she worked around the rocks and said it'd be fine. She found out otherwise. She lost her canopy completely when it twisted around and landed in the bed of the pickup truck parked behind her.